Page 23 of Their After Hours Playbook

She cleared her throat. “I am.”

“Worried I’m going to go for a replay of last night in the bar?”

A tremor of that incident rambled through her body. The thought that it might happen more than once had never occurred to her. She was more worried she’d fall asleep with her head on his shoulder. Or have to ask him to get up so she could go to the bathroom, only to have him say there was plenty of room for her to squeeze past him. Because of course he was going to do that. It was going to be impossible to sit next to him for five hours, watching him be adorable and heartbreakingly handsome, knowing this was not meant to be.

The driver pulled up to the curb again and Zach was quick to put his card into the payment terminal.

“Let me know the total. We can split it.”

“Paige. I’ve got it. It’s fine.”

“Okay. Thanks.” She climbed out of the car, grabbed her suitcase from the trunk, then waited for Zach at the curb. She couldn’t be rude. They were traveling companions now, whether she liked it or not. “Ready?”

“I’ve never looked forward to a flight more than this one.”

“Zach. Come on. Please stop messing with me.”

He stepped closer and reached for her elbow. “I’m not. I’m really not. No matter what happened last night or this morning, I’m determined that you and I will be friends. Beyond that, don’t worry. I will respect your boundaries. You said you don’t want anything to do with me and that’s fine.”

“I don’t think I put it that way. Did I?”

“You said it was just sex. And I said that I didn’t understand what the problem was with just sex. That was the beginning of the end.”

Paige quietly sighed. What was it about him that stripped away her defenses? That made her want to backtrack on every damn thing she’d said to establish boundaries? “You want to be friends?”

“I do.”

“Okay. Then let’s be friends. Just friends. That’s it.”

“I can live with that.” He turned toward the terminal. “For now.”

Seven

Paige had been back in New York for three days, but she was having a hell of a time focusing on work. Zach was still so present in her head that it was like he was following her around all day. Sitting in her office. Joining her on the subway for her ride home. He was certainly there when she went to bed at night and turned off the lights. It was all too easy to think about no one but him. To think about what it would be like if she’d simply given in to the idea of “just sex.” If she were truly capable of not getting emotionally involved, she wouldn’t have hesitated to say yes to the idea. But she knew herself. She knew what time with Zach Armstrong was going to do to her.

The flight home had been more than enough of a test. She couldn’t help it—she loved hanging out with him, watching him turn on the in-flight entertainment and witnessing his genuine excitement that he could watch sports highlights. She enjoyed eating a meal with him, even if it was merely airline fare. As much as she’d been determined to create distance between them, they still effortlessly fell into conversation. They laughed together. With not-so-innocent glances, they flirted. In any other world, if their difference in age wasn’t quite so great and his stepdad wasn’t such a colossal jerk, she might go for it with Zach.

When it came time for lunch on Wednesday, she ordered a salad, ate it at her desk and planned to call April. The truth was that she needed some time outside of her own thoughts and ruminations about Zach. And if anyone would have some good advice, it was her.

April picked up after the first ring. “Hey there. I’m glad you called. I’ve been meaning to reach out and see how the rest of your Vegas trip went.”

“Yeah. About that...” Paige wiped her mouth and sat back in her chair.

“Oh, boy. That’s the sound of a big story coming my way. Hold on one sec. Let me close my office door.”

Luckily, Paige had enough foresight to have done that already. She adored Henry, but he was not only a gossip—he had a real knack for eavesdropping.

“Okay. I’m back,” April said. “I want to know everything and don’t leave out the good parts.”

“I don’t even know where to start, to be honest. Let’s just say that things got complicated.”

“With Zach?”

“Yes.”

“Complicated good? Or complicated bad?”

Paige hated that there was no clear answer to this question. “Mostly good?”

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