Page 17 of Reunion With Benefits

Apparently there was an office memo no one bothered to tell her about. As far as Abby knew, Derrick had kept the kiss information limited to a very few in the office. The idea that someone other than a small circle and Ellie might know made Abby’s stomach roll. She didn’t want to be viewed as someone who lied and schemed her way to the top. She didn’t care what choices other people made, but she’d earned this position by working her butt off.

Abby picked up the napkin then put it down again. “You know about that?”

“Of course. It’s the kiss heard ’round the family.” Ellie looked at Abby’s face and her smile disappeared. She waved a hand and shook her head. “No, don’t panic. Actually, I made Derrick tell me, but he wasn’t all that forthcoming with juicy details. All I know is Spence thinks you were playing a power game and kissed his dad.”

Abby’s stomach refused to stop somersaulting. If this kept up, she could forget about lunch because she’d be seeing her breakfast again. “He’s an idiot.”

“Which one?”

And that’s why she liked Ellie so much. “Good point. Both of them.”

Ellie winced. “I haven’t met father Jameson yet.”

“Lucky you.”

“How bad was it back then?”

Intolerable. All hands and creepy looks. Word was Spence’s father liked to pick interns by their looks—young, pretty and blonde. A practice Derrick immediately stopped once he figured it out. But there was no reason to completely terrify Ellie during her shaky pregnancy. “Bad enough that I’m considering skipping a party and missing cake, which is sacred food in my book.”

“If I let you punch him, will you come?” Ellie sounded excited by the idea.

So was Abby. “Which him?”

“Either. Both.”

So tempting.“That might be a deal I can’t pass up.”

“Believe it or not, I really like Spence,” Ellie said.

Some of Abby’s amusement faded. “Let’s not go there.”

“Of course, I’ve only know him for a few weeks.”

“I worked with him, was wildly attracted to him. Fought it off and lost. And then I really lost.” That was more than Abby usually admitted. Jackson knew pieces of the story and a bit about her feelings, about how hurt and torn apart she’d been. Derrick had made it clear back then he’d collected some of the facts but not all of them. It didn’t matter because Abby didn’t want to relive any of it.

“Any chance Spence can redeem himself?” Ellie asked.

Abby had asked herself that a thousand times over the last few months. She dreamed about Spence showing up and apologizing. Ran through all these scenarios on what she would say. But Spence stole that opportunity away from her, too, because he never came back for her. He came back for Derrick and Ellie. Abby vowed not to forget that.

She cleared her throat, swallowing back the lump that had formed there. “I have to be smarter than that, more self-protective this time around.”

The memory of the kiss flashed in her mind. Not the one that destroyed everything. The one from yesterday. The new one that carried a note of hope and a hint of desperation. The feelings had thrummed off Spence. And she’d been trying to forget them, talk herself out of the way her heart leaped and her body turned all mushy when his lips touched hers, ever since.

Ellie shook her head. “Men. They do ruin things sometimes.”

Abby suddenly felt like eating again. “No kidding.”

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