Not well. In fact, I’m about to lose my shit if I have to spend more than a few minutes with you. Wanna know why, Kane? Because when you’re around all I think about is sex. Glorious, orgasmic, wild sex with you in my bed. Again. For more than one night.
Sierra forced a brilliant smile that stunk of desperation. “Great. Umm, sorry, why are you here?”
He sat down across from her. “Aspen mentioned she was meeting you for a drink but got delayed. Since I was passing by, I told her I’d let you know and keep you company until she arrived.” His look was pure innocence. “You don’t care, right?”
Sierra wanted to scream with frustration. Instead, she waved her hand in the air with dismissal. “That’s nice but no need. My phone is my office so I can easily work till she gets here.”
“A fellow workaholic, huh? I know how that goes.” He peeled off his jacket and her mouth went dry. He reached down, freed each button on his cuffs and slowly rolled up each shirt sleeve. The expanse of corded muscles and tanned skin made her want to whimper. “Still, we both deserve a short break.”
He lifted a finger. A waitress came running. “Cabernet?”
Sierra tried to speak past the lump in her throat. “Yes.” If she was going to survive, she needed a bottle.
“Whiskey. Neat.”
The exact cocktails they’d drunk all those years ago.
He leaned back in the chair with a casual confidence and gave a rueful smile. “I wanted to apologize for our last conversation. I came across much too strong, and understand your position.”
She blinked. “You do?”
“Of course. Again, I have no intention of saying a word—we’ll forget the whole past thing. But with Brick and Aspen together, I thought we’d at least try to be cordial.”
He seemed to be over his frustration and hurt. Which was a very good thing. The pang of hurt was simply her ego. Sierra nodded. “Yes, I agree.”
Their drinks arrived. She swallowed the last of the liquid from her first glass and gratefully grabbed the second. He lifted his whiskey and held it up. “Great. Then let’s toast to new beginnings.”
Sierra grit her teeth and clinked glasses. She’d give her soul to the devil right now to be released from this cocktail hour. She was going to kill Aspen.
“So, you like retail?”
“Uh, huh.”
“I should come by sometime. See your place.”
She choked on her wine and slammed the glass back on the table. “No need. As I said, probably best to keep our distance. Don’t want anyone to get the wrong impression.”
“Oh, sorry, I forgot. Are you seeing anyone special?”
“Not right now.”
His brow lifted. “Looking for anything serious?”
“No,” she said forcefully. “I’m very happy the way things are.”
Kane drummed his fingers on the table. “Hmm, that’s good. Relationships are hard. Work is so much easier, right?”
Even though his questions were casually framed, Sierra felt like something was off. Best to keep up her defenses until Aspen got here. “Probably.”
“Funny how you can see things more clearly in a different environment. New York had me on the hamster wheel, which I loved, but I didn’t realize there were other ways to live.”
Her nerves screamed danger. “You’d get bored without the chase,” she said, trying to look unconcerned. “No million dollar deals or fancy boardrooms. Just horses and beach and local gossip.”
“There’s Duck Donuts.”
“You’ll have to give up bagels.”
A slight wince. “Point taken. Still, Brick seems happy. So does Aspen. It may be time for a change.”
