Page 56 of Tempt Me

“But I want this.” I waved between us, still not sure whatthiswas but determined to hold on to it with both hands.

“Then we’ll try it out. I can’t promise anything but casual. If either of us decides it’s not working, we can call it off. No harm, no foul. Still friends. Okay?”

Her teeth glanced off her kissable lip. Her gaze was cool as if she didn’t care, but that one tell gave me hope that she might care about this as much as I did.

“And we’re exclusive?” I asked.

She huffed. “Damn, girl, you think I have time to play the field?”

It wasn’t a great offer, but it was the best I’d get. “Okay.”

A grin dawned across her face. “Okay.”

“Now what?” I folded the check and put it into my pocket. “Do we shake hands? Kiss?”

“We’re not kissing in my office. There are boundaries to this. That’s one of them.”

“Got it. Drinks tonight?”

“The team is pushing to meet a deadline. I can’t walk out of here while they’re still working.”

“Right.” Her work was more important than whatever casual thing we were doing. “I guess—”

“Tomorrow,” she rushed to say. “I’ll take you out. Plus, I have a gift for you.”

“A gift?” I grinned. “I love gifts.”

“Come here.” She grabbed something from her desk, then strode to the window that overlooked a slice of the parking lot. She handed me the black plastic object.

“A key fob?”

“It’s a pain in the ass to get down here from San Francisco every day with no car. Click it.”

I clicked the unlock button, and there was a faint chirp. I did it again and focused this time. A candy-apple red Porsche convertible flashed its headlights.

I stared at Jamila, mouth open. The BMW from my parents had been one thing. I didn’t know anyone who gave a friend a car. Not even friends with benefits did that.

“They don’t come in pink,” she said. “I asked. And I told them they could skip the giant bow.”

“You can’t give me a car. That’s not what g—” I had to choke back the wordgirlfriends.“That’s not what friends do.”

“Employers do it all the time. It’s a lease. Call it a company car.”

“But…” I didn’t know what Jamilow’s policy on company cars was, but I suspected PR specialists who hired themselves didn’t get them after less than a month of work.

“Drive it to my place tomorrow. We’ll go on a date.”

A date. A genuine date. In an over-the-top gift.

“Okay.” I closed my fist around the fob. “This is normally where I’d kiss you.”

Her brown eyes burned into me, and her voice came out husky. “Save it for tomorrow.”

I didn’t know how I made it out of Jamila’s office, but I floated back down the hallway to Hannah’s and mine.

“All straightened out?” Hannah asked.

“What?” What I’d done was anything but straight.

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