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CHAPTER 22

JASMINE: Did Petra invite you to her Halloween party? It’s a famous films theme.

Ari looked away from her computer and picked up her buzzing phone. It was already late, and she should finish her work before responding to the text so she could go home, but she couldn’t resist. They hadn’t talked in days.

Ari: Petra? The alumni association lady?

> Jasmine: Yeah. Apparently it’s a huge deal. And it’s supposed to be super fun! It’s not school sanctioned, she’s just been doing it forever.

Ari: Halloween is more than three weeks away lol but anyway I didn’t get an invite.

Jasmine: It’s a word-of-mouth thing. As long as you graduated UM Law, you’re in! You should invite Sloane. I heard she changed her number and didn’t give it to anybody lol How is she? Still monstrous?

Unsure of how to respond, Ari started and deleted multiple messages. Sloane was as smart-mouthed and blunt as she ever was, but she’d been kind and decent too. Being

around her was starting to feel like it had when they first met. She had no idea what to do with that yet.

Jasmine: Uh oh. What happened? Did you shove her o a bridge??!

Ari: She’s not too bad. We’re actually sharing an o ce . . .

Jasmine: WHAT!?!?! AND YOU FAILED TO MENTION THAT?!

Ari’s face flushed with heat. Why hadn’t she mentioned it to her?

“I thought you said there wasn’t a tall, dark, and sexy woman aching to sweep you o your feet,” Sloane said from the doorway, making Ari jump at the unexpected sound of her voice.

“What?” Ari asked, staring at Sloane, who’d appeared in high wasted black leggings and a cropped tank that just barely covered her black sports bra. The swath of abdomen her outfit exposed was the same golden tone as the rest of her, but smooth and tight.

Sloane’s eyebrows stitched together for a second before she bit back a smile. “You’re blushing,” she explained, keeping her eyes trained on her as she approached like a gazelle gliding through a meadow. “At your phone,” she added after a painfully embarrassing pause.

“Oh,” Ari laughed nervously, averting her eyes. “No, that’s just Jasmine.”

“Number fifteen,” she responded, recalling Jasmine’s class rank. “She’s cute. You could definitely do worse.”

“No,” Ari insisted, hating that her face was only getting hotter. “We’re definitely just friends.”

“Okay.” Sloane shrugged. “But that blush says otherwise.”

“What are you doing here?” Ari pressed, desperate for a change of subject as Sloane sat at her desk.

Sloane reached up to tighten her high ponytail. Unable to stop herself, Ari stared at the very bottom edge of a tattoo wrapped around her sternum. More than anything, she wanted to push the rest of the fabric up and see what lay beneath. She ached for it.

“In my defense, I didn’t think anyone would be here or I wouldn’t have come straight from the gym,” Sloane said, knocking Ari out of her lustful thoughts.

Following the curve of Sloane’s bicep, Ari’s mouth went dry. What would it be like to have those arms wrapped around her body? To have them pulling her in and keeping her close.

“You doing alright? Have you eaten today?”

Sloane’s question forced Ari to clear her throat and sit up straight. “Yeah, fine.”

The questioning look Sloane o ered in response made it obvious she didn’t believe her. Mercifully, she left it alone and moved toward the stack Ari left on her desk. “How’d it go today? Any surprises?”

“Nope.” Ari was grateful to think about something other than Sloane’s distractingly hot body. “I made notes.”

Sloane opened the first file containing a typewritten memo just like the rest in the short stack. “No kidding,” she joked, running her fingertips over the page as a throaty laugh vibrated in her chest. “I bet your parents must have loved you as a kid.”

The comment was so out of nowhere, it pushed Ari’s attention away from Sloane’s exposed collar bones. “What