“You and your sister are close, then?”

“I’d say we’re pretty close,” he agreed. “We used to fight some growing up, but as we got older, we got closer. My niece, Addie, is going through the terrible-two thing. Lindsay’s always calling to tell me something funny Addie did, or to tell me about the huge messes she makes.”

“And you said your sister still works with your dad, right?”

He nodded. “She loves it. Her husband’s an illustrator, so he works from home and takes care of Addie. She draws next to him while he works, and then he works a couple more hours when Lindsay comes home.”

Jake ran his fingers up and down my back, his touch relaxing me so much I had to fight to keep my eyes open. “I was surprised when I first met Cameron,” he said. “He was the opposite of who I pictured Lindsay with. But they work well together. My parents are really good at that, too. I think first you’ve got to find the right person, then you have to work hard to keep the relationship going strong.”

If I wasn’t feeling so drowsy, I might’ve lifted my head and told him I wasn’t sure I agreed. Instead, I decided to change the subject. “You think you’ll ever go back to New York and open a restaurant there?”

“The restaurant market in New York is much tougher. Vegas is really competitive, too, but we set up in one of the newer hotels and it’s been doing really well.”

I’d been dumped for the city of New York once before, so I wanted to know how likely it was that Jake would be going back. Even if it involved a little bit of breaking my rules and talking about the future. “Do you ever think about going back there and doing something else? Maybe someday you’ll want to be back behind the desk.”

“I’d never say never, but right now, I’m very happy where I am.”

I wasn’t sure whether he meant with the restaurant or this moment. I was going to make a joke about it, but talking seemed like too much effort. Suddenly, I found it hard to form words or even keep my eyes open.

…

Nothing seemed right when I woke up. My neck and back ached, and after a confusing moment wondering where I was and what was going on, I realized that instead of being in my bed, I was sleeping against Jake. He groaned as I untangled myself from him.

I searched the room for a clock but couldn’t find one. Note to self: get Jake a clock.

My phone wasn’t in my pocket. I tried to remember when I’d had it last. I think I left it in my bedroom.

Stifling a yawn, I stood and stretched. The sunlight coming through the windows seemed brighter than normal, but I figured it was because the windows in his place were so big. I stepped toward the kitchen and looked at the oven clock.

“Is this right?” I asked, panic filling me. “Tell me that isn’t set to the right time.”

Jake sat up and squinted against the light. He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “It’s eight thirty.”

“No, no, no. This can’t be happening. Not today. Any day but today. I’ve got to meet my boss at nine. If I didn’t live two minutes away, I’d be screwed.” I stepped into my shoes, not bothering to tie them. “Even then, I don’t know if I’ll make it. She’s huge on punctuality, and I really, really hate being late. Today, it’s just not an option.”

Jake stood and ran his hand down my arm. “You’ve got some time.”

“I’m not a guy. It takes me a while to put myself together.”

“You look fine the way you are right now.”

I waved him off. “Don’t start with the sweet talk. I’ve got to go.” I grabbed my keys off the coffee table and rushed out the door.

The elevator chose this morning to run slow, and I couldn’t cross the short distance to my place fast enough. I hurried inside, took the quickest shower of my life, and threw my hair in a wet bun. I ran a coat of mascara over my eyelashes and rushed out the door, praying I’d make it in time.

Of course traffic was thick and the stoplights all red. I was muttering swear words under my breath as I half ran, half speed-walked to my office. I scooped up my trusty binder and slid into the conference room at 9:01.

My boss shot me a look that meant she noticed, and the meeting went downhill from there. Twenty minutes in I was scrambling through the contents of my binder, looking completely unprepared for the day, much less the meeting.

Patricia frowned at me. “Do you have it or not?”

“I know it’s in here somewhere.” Not only could I not find what I needed, I was blanking on everything. The one day I really needed to be on top of my game, and I was totally off.

Nadine handed a sheet of paper to Patricia. “Here it is. I know they’ll work with us if we do a large order like we did on the condos. Darby’s the one who got them to agree to it last time.”

Patricia arched an overly filled-in eyebrow at me. “Do you think you can manage to do that again?”

“Tell me what you need and I’ll get on it.” Normally, I got to pick and choose my clients. Occasionally, though, we got a company-wide account—like we did with the building I lived in. Patricia was working on a presentation for a new hotel renovation, which meant she’d tell everyone else what to do for it.

“I hope you haven’t been getting lazy. This deal with The Lion Inn is big for us. You’ve got to be a team player sometimes.” Patricia clicked a button on her laptop, changing the slide being projected onto the front of the room.

After going over the rest of the layout of the Red Lion Inn, Patricia dismissed us.

I hurried out of the conference room, toward my office. A person could work her butt off impressing Patricia and never get more than the tiniest acknowledgment. Screw up once, and she remembered it forever.

“Everything okay with you?” Nadine asked, stepping next to me.

“I didn’t get up early enough to organize all my notes, and my mind just wasn’t working as fast as normal,” I said. “Thanks for stepping in back there.”

“Of course. The only reason I had the information was because you’d given it to me.” Nadine stopped in front of her office door. “Barbara wants to know if she should put you down for one or two tomorrow night.”

One or two? It took me a moment to figure out what Nadine was talking about. “Right. Barbara’s party. In all the excitement last night, I forgot to ask Jake.” I wasn’t sure if I even should ask him to go with me. “Fridays are usually busy nights for him.”

“You know that she’s going to be setting you up all night if you don’t have a date.” Nadine shrugged. “Maybe there will be some interesting guys there.”

“Yeah, interesting like they have money and one to three ex-wives.” I sighed. “Let me call him and I’ll get back to you.”

I walked the rest of the way to my office and tossed my binder on the desk. It slid off the edge and fell to the floor. When I bent down to retrieve it, I noticed it had opened to the page I couldn’t find earlier. “Figures.”

After how bitchy I’d been this morning, I wouldn’t be surprised if Jake avoided me for a few days. I definitely I owed him an apology. And I’d much rather have him at the party with me than deal with the men Barbara would try to set me up with. I grabbed my phone and called him.

“Hey, how was your meeting?” he asked.

“Awful. I was disorganized and my boss called me out on it. Basically, it was my worst meeting ever.” I sat in my chair and scooted it closer to my desk. I’d never been great at apologies and my nerves were twisting around in my gut. “Look, I’m sorry about this morning. I was stressed and late. I really hate being late. But I shouldn’t have talked to you like that.”

“Meet me at Blue and we’ll have lunch. End on a better note.”

“I’d love to, but I can’t. I’ve got to fast track my current jobs and draw up a proposal so my boss doesn’t think I’m incompetent. I do have a question for you, though…” I picked up my pen and started doodling on my notepad. “There’s this party tomorrow night. The client with all the ex-husbands is throwing it, and I’ve got to go. I know it’s last minute, and that Fridays are really busy for you. I’m also sure it’s going to be boring. Anyway, if you can’t go, I completely understand. But if you don’t come with me, I’ll be forced to meet rich, eligible bachelors who may or may not have all their original teeth and hair.”

I bit my nail as I waited for his answer, trying to prepare myself for the possibility he couldn’t go.

“You’re not really giving me much of a choice,” Jake said. “Not when I know you’ve got a weakness for bald men with dentures.”

I grinned, getting that tingling-tummy sensation that flirting with Jake always brought. “The money eases those minor flaws. I’m really shallow like that.”

Patricia walked past my office window, slowing in the way that meant she was coming in. She always saved the meanest comments for when she sat down for a one-on-one meeting.

Apprehension replaced my momentary happiness. I had a feeling my day was about to go down in flames.

…

Only a few people remained in Blue, finishing up their meals. In five minutes, the place was closing for the night. After working late, going for a run, and pacing my apartment, I couldn’t get over my horrible day at work. I wanted to talk to someone about it but kept getting halfway through a number and hanging up. Steph was stressed enough with all her wedding stuff, and Mom would just tell me to do whatever I felt was right. So I decided to go for a walk around downtown.

After wandering in and out of a couple stores in the area, I’d ended up near Blue. I walked past once. Then doubled back. Then decided to go in.

Sitting across from Jake, picking at the chocolate-lava cake, I was getting more and more fired up. “Patricia’s made good money off jobs Nadine and I do all the work on. And I’m the one with the good rapport with all the vendors. Whenever they call, they request me. I’ll admit I wasn’t the most prepared for the meeting this morning, thanks to certain events…”