Page 41 of Say it Ain’t So

Faking a smile, I extended my hand to her. I wanted to die the minute she slipped hers into mine.

It was Vegas all over again. One look at her and that was it for me. I was over. I was done for.

My mouth dried up and I forced myself to lick my lips, to try to find a way to keep her from affecting me. “Monroe, huh? Interesting name you got there.”

She slid her hand out of mine, took her hair off her shoulder and pulled it over to the other, and gave me a small smile that left my heart quivering.

Van edged closer to me, blocking even more of my view of the woman who’d completely wrecked me. “You know your next assignment?”

With a shake of my head, I tore my attention away from Joss. “Lee hasn’t told me what it is yet. Said something about coming in this morning and hopefully finding out.”

Van turned at the counter and hatred like I’d never felt before burned through me. I wanted to pummel him the minute his gaze landed on Joss.

“You get that far?”

She shook her head and—holy shit, was she trembling? Every protective instinct inside of me lit up. I wanted to bash Van in the face and jump over the counter so I could take her in my arms. I wanted to hold her. Comfort her. Let her know that I’d always⁠—

No.

No, I couldn’t do that again. I couldn’t lose myself to her because what we had wasn’t real.

I may have thought I loved her, but it wasn’t true. She proved that to me by running away.

“—isn’t complete.” Joss tossed a folder to the counter in front of her, and I cursed myself for getting lost in her again. “It’s like Cael’s file but different. Cael shows as ‘on assignment’ but there’s no client listed. But with Rylan…”

Did her cheeks turn pink when she said my name? I couldn’t be sure.

But I could be sure the little thief stole my breath right from my lungs when she peeked up at me under her lashes.

“…there’s no assignment on his chart.”

“We’ll have to talk to Lee when he gets in.” Van clapped his hand down on my shoulder. “Looks like you’re stuck with us.”

A grin pulled at my face, tempered only by the gorgeous woman trying to busy herself with her files so I wouldn’t notice her looking at me. “There are worse things in the world.”

Van laughed, pulling his hand away as he shook his head. “See what I mean, Joss? Biggest asshole this side of the Mississippi.”

I waved my hand between them, drawing his attention away from her. “Is there a mirror here? You talking about yourself?”

He laughed again. “Always the funny man.” He lifted his chin toward the front door. “You had lunch yet? Joss and I were gonna step out to the deli down the street. You’re welcome to come if you’d like.”

Joss’s shoulders inched toward her ears, and Van’s brows pulled into a V, and he amended, “That is, if it’s okay with her.”

“What? No.” She grabbed for her hair—fucking hell, the mere sight of her neck made my pants uncomfortably tight—and shook her head. “No, it’s okay. I’m not really— I’m just going⁠—”

“I’d love to come.” I rubbed my palms together and tilted my head to one side. “It’ll be great to get to know my new coworkers.”

“Really, I shouldn’t⁠—”

“You have to eat, Joss,” Van told her, turning a stern look her way. “You’ve been working non-stop since we got here this morning, and I can guarantee you didn’t bother eating breakfast.”

“Van—”

“Joss.”

Hell, even I would whither under the look he gave her. “Come on, gorgeous.” I reached across the desk before I realized I’d even done it, and I tried to tamp down the hurt that cropped up when she didn’t reach for my hand. I shouldn’t have expected her to. I shouldn’t have wanted her to. I smiled. “It’ll be fun.”

She gave in with the same reluctance you’d expect from someone going to face the firing squad. It was thick in the air as she locked her computer and grabbed her purse. It got thicker as Van helped her into her coat and hung back, waiting for her to walk first.