Page 98 of Conspiracies and Chemistry

His chuckle was dark as the shadows overtaking the room at twilight. “Do you?”

“Cut it out, you two,” Savannah said, bursting into the kitchen. “The girls are demanding snacks, and we can’t wait for you two to finish canoodling.”

“Canoodling?” Oliver wrinkled his nose.

“It’s a Y2K thing,” Savannah said. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“I was around during Y2K,” he protested.

“Stop teasing him, Savannah,” I said. Taking a step back, I smoothed the front of his charcoal-gray sweater. “Go on. Tell Andrew hi for me.”

“Game night won’t be the same without you.”

“Maybe you’ll win for a change.” I kissed his cheek.

“I’ve already won,” he whispered in my ear.

“Seriously, you two,” Savannah said. “Before I throw a bucket of ice water on you.”

With one last, longing look, he turned away and grabbed his keys from the hook. “Okay if I’m back around midnight?”

“Sounds perfect,” I purred.

Savannah groaned.

I waited for Oliver to walk out, then I turned to my friend. “Youseriouslyneed to get laid.”

“What?” She went pink all the way to the open collar of her cranberry velvet tracksuit. “I won’t even be officially divorced until next week.”

“I’m not telling you to get married. I’m saying you could use an orgasm or ten.”

“Ten?” Her eyes bugged.

I waved away her shock. “It’s not difficult. Take the weekend. Pace yourself. And be sure to hydrate.”

My phone buzzed on the counter with a security system notification. I hit the button to let in Bridget, glad she’d actually made it this time. I hated how demanding her job had become. She’d taken on too much in her desperation to prove herself in the CEO position. Still, I tried to be supportive. We all did.

“Right. Snacks,” I said. “What do we need?”

Savannah shook off her fog. “There’s homemade hummus in the fridge, and some Buffalo chicken dip, which you should avoid because it’s got cheese in it. And grab the veggie platter. I’ll get the crackers.”

I set the platter on the island as Bridget let herself in through the kitchen door, scowling.

I still wasn’t a hugger, but I walked over and squeezed my friend’s shoulder. “Rough day?”

“The worst. Some days, I want to give up.”

“That’s life as a CEO,” I said, not unsympathetically. I remembered the long, difficult days, agonizing over decisions, but also the highs of knowing my company succeeded because of me. I wouldn’t exactly call it easy now, but having Oliver a few doors down the hall helped.

“As aco-CEO, you mean.”

“Hasn’t that been resolved yet?” I asked.

Savannah folded her into a hug. “What did he do this time, honey?”

Bridget bit her lip. “It’s more what I found out?—”

She stopped when the door opened. Oliver stood in it, his eyebrows drawn together.

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