Page 106 of Angel Eyes

Amélie shrugged. “She said her name is Juliet, but if you weren’t expecting her, I can—”

“No.” I shot out of my chair so fast I nearly upended my whiskey. Caleb and Amélie stared at me with twin looks of surprise, and I cleared my throat. “No, I am expecting her. Send her up.”

Amélie nodded and disappeared into the hallway, but Caleb’s eyes remained glued to me, his eyebrows inching upward.

“No girl, huh?” His lips tilted into a grin so smug my hand itched to slap it off his face.

“Out.” I rounded the desk, nodding toward the open door. “Our meeting is over.”

Instead of rising to leave, he sank deeper into his chair, resting his chin on steepled fingers. “But you still need to give me the contact information for that editor at France Today magazine. You specifically asked me to remind you so I could reach out about running an article on the restaurant in next week’s issue.”

“Look it up yourself,” I hissed, darting a look at the door and listening for footsteps.

“Mmm, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said, his eyes glittering with mischief. “I would hate to reach out to the wrong person.”

Shooting him a look full of dark promises, I snatched a Post-it from the desk drawer and scribbled the information down. “Here, now leave.”

He tutted, making no move to take it. “A Post-it? But that could get lost so easily.”

I bared my teeth. “Would you prefer I tattoo it on the back of your eyelids?”

He chuckled, slapping the Post-it on his forehead and pushing to stand. “All right, keep your pants on. I’m leaving.”

He was almost to the door when Juliet appeared, stepping across the threshold.

“Oh, hello.” She frowned up at the flapping piece of paper stuck to Caleb’s head. “Um, sorry, but did you know you have a Post-it on your forehead?”

“Yes,” he said, switching to English as his eyes perused her in a way that had me grinding my teeth. “It’s quite the story. I could tell you about it over drinks sometime—”

Crossing the room in three strides, I planted a firm hand between his shoulder blades and shoved him through the door, kicking it shut behind him as his laughter echoed in the hall.

“Please excuse him,” I said, shucking off my jacket and hanging it over the back of the chair Caleb had vacated. “Clearly, he’s overworked.”

“Well, I can’t say I’m surprised. You seem like you’d be a harsh taskmaster.”

“Why, darling, you flatter me.” My lips quirked when she burst into laughter, her green eyes sparkling with amusement. I watched her for a long moment, letting my eyes trail over a few loose tendrils of hair that had escaped her ponytail to spiral down the sides of her face.

Stop looking at her like that, I commanded myself. Stop looking at her like you miss her.

“So, what brings you here today?” I pushed my hands into my pockets, leaning on the desk.

“Hmm, let me see. Maybe it’s the fact that you haven’t responded to any of my messages? Or that you ghosted me the morning after the gala?” She huffed humorlessly, folding her arms under her chest. “Every time I think I have you figured out, you surprise me.”

I smirked. “Well, I should hate to be predictable.”

She eyed me for a long beat. “Look, I don’t remember much from the night you came over, but if I did something to offend you—”

“No,” I said too quickly. “I—I’ve just been busy, that’s all.”

Her mouth softened into a sad smile. “You’re good at that, you know.”

“Good at what?”

“Lying.”

I blinked, opening my mouth to say—what? There wasn’t a single true thing I could tell her that wouldn’t leave me feeling uncomfortably exposed.

Silence gaped between us until her eyes hardened. “I guess coming here was a mistake. I thought—well, I don’t know what I thought. I’ll just leave you to whatever it is that’s been keeping you so busy.”