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“Me?” He laughed, his white teeth stark against his golden tan. “I’m immune to that. Age wouldn’t dare touch me. I’m too charming.”

“You certainly are.” I chuckled, turning to him. He held out my silver hair clip, the diamonds sparkling in the light of the morning sun. I took it from his fingers but he slipped his other hand around my bare thigh.

“Are you sure I can’t tempt you back into bed?” he murmured devilishly, his lips grazing the skin on my hip. “Even for just ten minutes?”

I twirled my curls into the clip and sighed. I dragged my fingers through his thick, dark curls, still mussed from sleep. And our, uh,morningactivities.

“As tempting as you are, I really have to get going,” I said, watching as his eyes slipped shut under my touch. “Will you be over tonight?”

“Hm, I don’t know,” he sighed, his eyes still closed. “There’s a new club opening and I was invited by the owner. I’ll call you?”

With a slight twinge in my chest that I squashed immediately, I patted the top of his head.

“Sure,” I said, waving him off as he disappeared into the bathroom.

I probably wouldn’t see him again until he called. Or I caved and called him.

I tried not to think too long about it, grabbing my purse and leaving for work.

“Miss. Jones, the legal team is waiting on your approval for the new acquisition-”

“Just tell them I’ve gone to brunch,” I told my assistant, the panic in her voice painfully obvious even over the phone. “They made us wait a good two weeks, they can wait a few more hours.”

I walked up the steps and nodded in greeting to the staff. They waved me in, bright smiles on their faces as they led me to my table. The girls were already there, the sounds of their laughter echoing along the hallway that led out into the courtyard.

The clear sky stretched endlessly above us, just a few clouds dotting the bright blue. Thankfully, our table hid in the shade of the restaurant, cool and breezy.

“Call me if anything is set on fire,” I said, hanging up before she could argue again.

“A fire already?” Alex asked, flashing me a grin.

“You should know my life is always full of surprises.” I winked, falling into the open seat beside Cameron. “It’s never a Tuesday if someone doesn’t set the sprinklers off.”

“You know, that wasone timeand I paid for the damages,” Taylor complained, embarrassment coloring her cheeks.

I chuckled at the memory of poor Taylor in all her despair under the sprinklers in my building.

“No one told you to light up in the lobby,” Reid interjected, a sly smile on her angled face.

“You’re both the worst,” Taylor whined, but mischief tugged at her lips.

I laughed as Reid apologized, looking around the table before my eyes landed on Cameron.

“Where’s my lovely Elliot?” I frowned, catching the twinkle in Cam’s eye before she ducked her head.

“She’s working,” Cam said, trying and failing to hide the grin on her lips. “She told me to say hi, and she promises to join us again.”

“The life of a big-shot software programmer sounds hellishly busy,” I lamented. Elliot had become very dear to me in a short amount of time, doubly since she managed to make my best friend truly happy again.

Frankie’s face flitted across the front of my mind and I quickly cleared my throat and turned away.

“She’s doing really well,” Cam said, stirring the cream of her cappuccino. “But that’s to be expected, after all. She was my assistant.”

“God bless her for it,” I chuckled. “You didn’t make it easy.”

“That reminds me!” We turned to Alex, who dove into the latest bit of gossip in her circle.

I tried to follow along but fell behind, thoughts of Frankie’s shy smile enough to unravel my focus.