“Your wish is my command,” I say in a low, seductive voice.
She laughs and squeezes my arm as we head toward the bar.
“Do you enjoy working at ABC?” she asks as we walk.
“It isn’t a matter of enjoyment,” I say with a shrug. “It’s a job. There are parts I enjoy, like working on contracts, and parts I’d rather skip.”
“Like this?” she says with a laugh.
“Only with the wrong date.”
“And I am…?” she leads with a teasing smile.
I stop and come around to face her, staring down at her with absolute awe. “Perfect.”
The smile fades under whatever spell I’ve managed to cast on her.
“You don’t have to change, not for me. Not your name or what you wear, Honey.”
Her lips part, but I see the hesitation, wondering if it would be appropriate to kiss.
I reassure her with my lips.
Right about now, I couldn’t give even half a damn about anyone at ABC. My entire universe is wrapped up in the woman I’m kissing.
“Well, you two certainly seem to be enjoying yourselves.”
I recognize the voice. Of course, I do.
Honey goes taut against me.
I growl in protest before reluctantly pulling away to face the one woman who inadvertently made this night happen.
I suppose I at least have Emily to thank for that.
She’s in a long, black sleeveless gown so similar to Honey’s one might be inclined to think it was planned if observing the four of us from a distance. Emily’s falls in straight, severe lines, giving off an aggressive vibe to Honey’s, which caresses her curves in a more flirtatious way.
The man standing next to Emily is anything but put out, in fact amused in the face of his date’s obvious irritation.
He must be Tyler. He doesn’t look at all like I thought he would. His hair is a little too long in a decidedly non-corporate way. Even the tuxedo Emily no doubt forced him to put on seems incongruous with everything else about him. His demeanor is easy-going, the kind that is more than happy to see how the wind blows rather than take hold of it and drive it in the direction he wishes.
In other words, Emily’s exact opposite.
Her eyes remain focused on Honey for a long moment, sizing her up before she slides them to me.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your date, Jesse?”
“It’s Giuseppe,” I correct.
She blinks in surprise, even though my voice wasn’t curt or aggressive, simply matter-of-fact.
“And this is Honey, Honey Dewberry.”
The way the sides of her mouth hitch up into a subtle smirk grates on me.
“You must be Emily,” Honey says next to me, as gracious as Jackie Kennedy in the role of First Lady. “Giuseppe has told me so much about you.”
“Has he?” Emily raises one challenging eyebrow as she stares at me, she shifts her gaze back to Honey. “That’s funny, he hasn’t mentioned you at all.”
If I was still interested in the original plan of making her jealous, this would be working like magic. Emily might as well be green with envy as she stares at Honey.
Now, I just realize what a bitch she is.
“Well,” Honey turns to me with an amused look. “We only recently decided to become something more than neighbors.”
Emily scrutinizes Honey, and I can read her putting her together with that pink feather on my collar.
“As you know, Giuseppe and I dated during law school,” Emily says with a light laugh. “If I hadn’t moved to D.C. we would probably be married by now.”
Honey turns to her with a mildly incredulous look, casting a quick peek to Tyler and back again.
Even I’m surprised at how tactless Emily is being in front of her boyfriend, and I’m about as tactless as they come.
“And you are?” Honey says, addressing him with a gracious smile.
Emily at least has the decency to seem embarrassed at her insensitivity.
“Obviously the plan B, Tyler Atkins,” he says with good humor as he answers Honey. He chuckles and reaches out a hand to me. “Good to finally meet you, ah, Giuseppe, right?”
“Right. Good to meet you too,” I say, shaking it. “Emily tells me you work from home. That must be nice.”
Emily coughs and glares at me for some reason. Apparently my attempt at small talk has opened a can of worms.
Tyler chuckles and casts a quick but amused glance at Emily. “Yeah, I stream videos while I play video games. It’s a pretty decent living and not bad for turning a hobby into a career.”
“Oh how fun!” Honey says, resting a hand on his arm. “Isn’t it nice making money doing something you love?”
His smile broadens. “It is.”
“It’s surprising how much people make playing for a living,” Emily says, sounding less than impressed.
Tyler turns to face her, still with good humor. “It’s…been a source of contention between Emily and me, let’s just say.”
Emily swivels her head to give him an incensed look. He just shrugs and takes a sip from his bottle of beer.
“The course of true love never did run smooth,” Honey says in a sympathetic tone.
Emily gives her a patronizing look. “Heaven help us if we have to rely on James Joyce for relationship advice.”
“I’m pretty sure it was Shakespeare,” Honey says.
I feel a smile tug at one side of my mouth, but when I turn to face Honey there’s no hint of sarcasm or pretension coloring her expression.
My smile fades as I realize what a genuine person she is. Rare in my experience, or maybe it’s just my chosen occupation.
Or perhaps too much influence from the woman I spent three years dating.
I turn back to find Emily’s patronizing gaze is practically boring a hole in Honey. “I took at least a few literature classes at Harvard. I think I know my Joyce from my Shakespeare.”
I have no idea which of the two wrote the quote but right now I know which of these two women I should be embarrassed about ever having had an interest in.
It suddenly hits me what it was really like dating Emily in law school. All
