Page 8 of Tempt My Heart

"Are you forgetting that we came to that Christmas party with you last year? God, you two would have set the room on fire if you'd had any more chemistry."

Ali spluttered, the air getting stuck in her throat as she looked up at her friends with streaming eyes. "That's ridiculous," she finally managed after gulping some water that Jesse handed her. "Christopher and I—"

"There it is," Jesse said, nodding and Freya tried to smother a grin. "Ccchristopherrr," she taunted. "Even the way you say his name is different."

Ali shrugged. "Sure, I may have noticed that he's attractive, but he's also my boss and just because I have a stupid crush doesn't mean those feelings are at all reciprocated."

"Oh, they are," Jesse said gleefully as she plopped down opposite Freya at the dining table and speared a cold blueberry pancake on the end of her fork before shoving it into her mouth.

Ali shook her head, unsure what else she could say, and Freya gave her a small smile—ever the peacemaker.

"I think what you really need is to not think about this anymore this weekend. You're going to give yourself a bad stomach."

It was true. Ali's body often reacted to stress with physical symptoms rather than emotional ones. "I'll be okay."

"I know, because you're coming with us to the spa tomorrow."

Ali raised an eyebrow as she looked between them. Things must have seemed dire for Jesse to agree to come to theSanctum, the high-brow spa Freya had a membership pass for.

Typically, Jesse hated it—she insisted that the face masks gave her hives and the steam rooms were too hot and the massages were just uncomfortable. So Ali appreciated them both sticking by her—not that she'd expected anything less.

Ali sighed. "I don't know if even that will be able to take my mind off of this. I just want to talk to Jared and get it over with."

"Give yourself some time," Freya said softly, standing up and wrapping an arm around Ali's shoulders before continuing to the kitchen and grabbing a glass of water. "He's not expecting to hear from you until Monday, right? So you should try and meet him then. Besides, you have that party tonight atHorizons—maybe you can test the waters with Christopher."

Ali shot her a sharp look. “There’s nothing to test and, even if there was, I’m not going to just do whatever Jared wants. That means he wins.”

"Monday makes sense,” Jesse cut in and Ali released a slow breath as she tried to calm down. “It'll give you time to figure out what to say now that he’s not springing this on you," Jesse added and Ali nodded slowly.

"Okay. Maybe you're right. I'll wait." What difference could a day and a half make, really?

ChapterFour

Polite applause scattered through the room as David and Christopher wrapped up their speech. It had been short and she knew everyone appreciated it. As well as a decent bonus, this party was their bosses way of saying thank you for their hard work and congratulating them on signing another big client. Normally Ali somewhat enjoyed these events—especially because it involved free food and usually good booze too. But it was difficult for her to relax and enjoy herself with everything going on, especially when it was all tied so closely to the two men who were now settling in on either side of her at the bar.

“The barisopen, right?” she teased, trying to keep her worry off her face and out of her voice as Christopher ordered a round. “So really we could have got our own drinks.”

He raised a dark eyebrow at her as David laughed. “Sure, but first and foremost I’m a gentleman, Alison.”

She snorted and his mouth softened, like he’d noticed she hadn’t been herself since she’d arrived and was glad to see her laugh. Soft pop music played inside the barHorizonshad rented and she quickly looked away from him, worried he would see too much on her face. The bar was large and wrapped around one wall with plenty of seats running the length of it, but there was still more than enough room for people to dance or enjoy the buffet on the other side of the room. There was a real mix of people in attendance, some of whom had gone all out with their makeup and outfits and then others, like Ali, who had on her most professional but casual ensemble—dark jeans and a cute green sweater.

Even Christopher was slightly dressed down. It wasn’t often she got the opportunity to see him out of the suits he wore to the office everyday but it haunted her whenever she did. There was nothingcasualabout the way Christopher’s shirt clung to his biceps or the way his dark jeans molded to his thighs.

Ali took a hasty gulp of the drink her boss handed her and wrangled her thoughts back under control. It was hard to remember that he was her boss when his warmth suffused the space between them and she felt her shoulders relax, wanting to lean in closer.

“So you can be honest, Ali—whose speech was better?” Christopher rolled up his shirt sleeves and smirked at his best friend over the top of her head as she fought to keep her eyes off of the muscled forearms now on display.

David made a sound of protest as he signaled the bartender for a glass of wine, his blue eyes sparkling as he brushed a piece of dark blonde hair out of his face. Ali raised her eyebrows at the still full glass in his hand and he grinned, nodding toward the doorway. Her bottom dropped out but she stopped her smile from falling as David continued to laugh with Christopher. “Hardly a fair judge, she’s your assistant. Talk aboutbiased.”

“Ali is nothing if not fair,” Christopher snarked and she remained silent as she watched the relatively tall, blonde woman David had indicated strut their way. “Plus, she’s my friend and friends don’t lie to one another.”

Ali gulped, alcohol burning her throat as she nearly inhaled it. Rose DuLoe smiled at them before accepting the glass David handed to her.Friends don’t lie to one another. Wasn’t that what she was doing right that second? Acting like her ex boyfriend wasn’t trying to breach the security Rose and David were trying to re-build for themselves and hiding things from Christopher in the process?

Her chest felt tight and her vision blurred until a hand settled over hers and squeezed before tugging her up out of her seat. She would have known that touch anywhere, so she let it guide her away from the bar and out into the lobby where the music sounded like a dull heartbeat reverberating through the walls.

Full lips. Wavy brown hair, free from the gel that usually kept the longer strands out of his face. Ali took in her boss warily as she leaned against the wall and sucked in the air like she’d been starved of it.

“Are you alright?”

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