Page 55 of The Relationship Clause

Kiera scoffs. “Fine, whatever. I was out of line a tiny bit, but if you left it up to Junie and this guy to work things out, it would be a decade before either of them asked the other on a date.”

It certainly didn’t take us that long to kiss each other. Ack! No. I shouldn’t be thinking about that. No more thinking about the k-i-s-s.

“So you admit it, you’re trying to set us up,” I say instead.

“Question,” Summer says, holding up a finger. “This guy you’re referring to wouldn’t happen to be Mr. Ferguson, would it?”

Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh. “Uhh…”

“Yes!” Kiera looks way too pleased with herself. “How did you know?”

“It’s totally obvious you two have chemistry. I noticed it the first day you started at Em3rge.” She folds her hands in her lap and nods as if she’s calmly informing someone that their paychecks are scheduled to arrive.

Aaaand I’m back to questioning this relationship with Summer.

“Wouldn’t they make such a cute couple?!” Kiera practically shrieks. Meanwhile, I’m growing more and more red in the face. Fair skin, I hate you.

“Kiera,” I hiss, “Summer is in HR. Shouldn’t we maybe not be talking to her about all this?” Seriously, I’m going to hyperventilate. Someone bring me a paper to-go bag so I can breathe into it.

“Hey, I’m not that kind of HR person,” Summer says, looking offended. “What we talk about out of the office, stays out of the office. And, yes, they totally would make a cute couple.”

“What the heck, Kiera?” I say after I swallow another spring roll down. “Before I accepted this job, you were all, ‘Oh, be careful with my brother. You might not like him so much once you get to know him,’ and now you’re throwing us together?”

“That was before I saw how well you two work together. I’ve seen a change come over Owen during the last few weeks. You’re good for him, Junie. I really think you are. My matchmaking senses are tingling. What do you think, Summer?”

Summer tilts her head, and some of her glossy, black hair spills over her shoulder. “I have noticed things feeling lighter around the office lately. It’s like Mr. Ferguson isn’t quite as uptight as he normally is.”

I will not let that go to my head, I will not let that go to my head, I will not—

It’s going to my head.

I want to ask them a million clarifying questions, but I press my lips together and pretend I’m reading my menu instead.

“When is this trip?” Summer asks.

“Next weekend,” Kiera says. “They leave early Friday morning.”

“Right.” Summer nods. “I forgot Mr. Ferguson usually takes a couple of days off around Valentine’s Day… That kind of makes it weirder, doesn’t it?”

“Yes. So much weirder,” I say. Okay, Summer might have potential to be a yes in my book.

“And why exactly don’t you want this to happen when you clearly like him?” she asks.

Warmth floods my cheeks, and Kiera slowly starts grinning. “I don’t clearly like him, okay? He’s good-looking, but that’s it.” He’s also a great kisser. Don’t forget that part. I groan and cover my face with my hands. It’s a good thing Kiera can’t read my mind. “Besides that, aren’t all the reasons we can’t be together obvious? He’s my boss, he’s Kiera’s brother, oh, and also, once his parents figure out the truth about me, they’re both going to hate my guts.”

“They won’t hate you,” Kiera says, though she looks uncomfortable.

“It seems to me,” Summer says, “that those are all superficial reasons. If you two want to be together, you could find ways around those obstacles. So what are you actually afraid of?”

My mouth falls open at her blunt question, but I’m saved from answering it when our server shows up to take our orders. The server seems to remind Kiera of the guy she recently set Summer up with, and she starts asking about that.

The rest of our time at the restaurant, I can’t stop thinking about what Summer asked. I try to distract myself, but there’s no avoiding it. It’s like I’ve been living in a cave all my life and someone flipped a switch, shining a floodlight on all my insecurities.

Putting up walls is the only way I know how to take care of myself. I never had a problem with it before. Yes, I knew it wasn’t the healthiest way of dealing with things, but I was blissfully happy moving from job to job, place to place, friend to friend. After all, my dad made it work and still does today. What could be so wrong about the way we live our lives?

But over the last several months, I’ve noticed something lacking in my life. Actually, now that I think of it, maybe it started even before I met Owen. Maybe it started with Kiera.

Everyone else in my life, when I left them in the dust, they watched me go. Dad always said it was better to leave people before they could leave you, and I tried to do that with Kiera, but she wouldn’t let me. More than that, she dared to flip that notion on its head, saying, “I promise to never quit you, and if you want to quit me, good luck trying.”

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