LITMIR.BIZ

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      Loyalty. Derrick and Spence had it. Abby got that.

      “No, it’s fine.” She tried to keep her voice even but knew she failed when Derrick frowned and Ellie’s eyes widened.

      “Really?” Ellie snorted. “Because that tone did not sound fine.”

      Derrick had stopped massaging Ellie’s neck but he started again. “I think she’s afraid she’ll upset you if she launches into her why-I-hate-Spence speech.”

      Ellie waved the concern away as she turned the television from muted to off. “Nope. Jameson family gossip is ridiculously delicious. I’m always happy to hear it.”

      Hate Spence. If only. Abby’s life would be so much easier if she did hate Spence. She’d tried. Her mind spun with all the ways he’d failed her. How he hadn’t believed her or let her explain. She could call up a ton of hate for the elder Mr. Jameson and heaps of anger and disappointment for Spence, but that was it. And seeing him again...her normal breathing still hadn’t returned.

      She’d heard his deep, rich voice in the hallway at work and ducked into the closest office to avoid him. Then there was his face. That gorgeous face. The straight black hair and striking light brown eyes. He’d been blessed with those extraordinary Jameson genes, including a hint of his Japanese grandmother around the nose and cheeks. Tall, almost six-two with impossibly long legs and a trim waist, Spence was a bit more muscled than Derrick. Spence’s shoulders, and that pronounced collarbone, cried out for kisses.

      Not that she noticed.

      She was trying really hard not to notice.

      With a shake, she forced her mind back to work and the best way to survive being in the same building as Spence. “Well, hopefully it was a one-time thing and I can submit reports or tell Jackson and make Jackson talk to Spence.”

      Derrick frowned. “That sounds like an efficient use of office resources.”

      “It might keep Spence alive.” Ellie slipped her fingers through Derrick’s as she spoke. “Just saying.”

      The gentle touch seemed to spark something in Derrick. He sat up a bit straighter as he looked at Abby. “If it’s a problem to deal with Spence, I’ll switch projects with him. I’ll be the silent Jameson looming in the background on yours.”

      As if she could agree to that. Saying yes to the offer suggested she couldn’t handle pressure, and that was not a message Abby wanted to send.

      Ellie visibly squeezed his hand. “That’s not really how you run the office, is it?”

      “No,” Derrick said.

      Abby shrugged. “Sort of.”

      For a few seconds, no one spoke. They all looked at each other, back and forth, as the tension rose. Abby wasn’t clear on what was happening. Maybe some sort of unspoken chat between Ellie and Derrick. But Abby did know that the cool room suddenly felt suffocating. Even the cream-colored duvet cover with the tiny blue roses—an addition she would bet money moved in with Ellie—didn’t ease the mood.

      “Everything okay in here?” Spence’s firm voice boomed into the silence.

      He hovered right behind her. Abby could almost feel the heat pulse off his body. When he exhaled, his warm breath blew across the back of her neck.

      Time to go. That phrase repeated in her head until it took hold.

      “Spence.” Ellie smiled. “Look, it’s Spence.”

      “I do live here. Temporarily, but still.”

      In the bedroom down the hall. Abby knew because she’d walked by it a few days ago and glanced in. Saw a bag and hoped it meant nothing. Then she recognized Spence’s tie from the day before flung over the unmade bed.

      “For now.” Abby meant to think and not say it, but she managed to mumble it.

      Of course Spence heard and placed a hand on her lower back. “Meaning?”

      The touch, perfectly respectable and so small, hit her like a live wire. Energy arced through her. She had to fight the urge to lean into him. To balance her body against his. “I’m sure you’ll be on your way again soon.”

      Spence’s exhale was louder, more dramatic this time. “That’s not—”

      Derrick stood up. “As fun as it is to see you two work things out by lobbing verbal volleys at each other, Ellie does need her rest.”

      “I’m having fun.” Ellie caught Derrick’s hand.

      Abby silently thanked Derrick for giving her the easy out. Once she maneuvered her way through the three-story brick mansion, she’d be gone.

      She put the box of brownies on the bed and pointed to them. “I just wanted to drop them off. Don’t eat them all at once.”

      “You’re very sweet.” Ellie went to work on the tape holding the sides of the box down. “I make no promises about how fast they’ll be gone.” She shot Derrick and Spence a serious look. “So we’re clear, I’m not sharing.”

      “No one would dare defy that order.” Abby could not escape fast enough. “I’ll text you later.”

      She pivoted around Spence and practically raced down the hall. Moved as fast as her stupid spiky heels would let her without wiping out in an inglorious sprawl. The humming in her head blocked out all sounds. She didn’t realize she’d been followed until she reached the bottom of the intricately carved wooden staircase and heard footsteps behind her.

      She turned around just as she left the steps. Spence was there. Of course he was.

      With his palm flattened against the wall and his other on the banister, he stopped. She couldn’t help but stare. His body was an amazing mystery to her. A package she ached to unwrap. How long were his arms, anyway?

      His expression stayed blank as his gaze searched her face. “What are you doing here?”

      “Visiting Ellie.” Not a lie. She’d brought a treat and everything.

      Spence finished coming down the stairs. Slipped his body by hers until they stood side by side. “How do you even know her?”

      He still towered over her. She stood a good five-eight and with the heels could talk to anyone without feeling as if someone was trying to intimidate her. But Spence still towered, though he did stand a few steps back, giving her space.

      “I do work at the company,” she pointed out, not knowing what else to say.

      “A lot of people work there. None of them show up at the boss’s house.” Spence folded his arms across his middle and stared her down. “What’s really going on?”

      He had to be kidding with this. “Do you think I’m stalking you?”

      “Are you?”

      She was doing the exact opposite, whatever that was called. Hiding from him? Sort of. Trying to find breathing room to center her control and ease the disappointment that clawed at her every time she thought about him and what could have been. “Lately, when I come over I text first to make sure you’re gone. Happy?”

      His arms slid down until they hung at his sides again. “Isn’t that a bit extreme?”

      “No.” It was self-preservation.

      She refused to get snared in another Jameson trap. She trusted Derrick. He’d delivered on every promise he’d made to her back then, when he begged her to stay with the company after...Spence.

      “Sooner or later, we’re going to need to talk to each other,” Spence said.

      “I disagree.” Not her most mature answer ever but probably the most honest one.

      “Abby, come on.”

      The tone of his voice suggested

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