Page 23 of Tempt Thy Neighbor

Sutton saunters toward the break room, that same smug grin he’s always wearing plastered across his lips.

I lean into Emma. “Now’s your chance.” I nod toward Sutton, who has been stopped by another employee. “He’s coming this way.”

She glances at him, then back at me, practically jumping up and down with excitement.

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh,” she chants, letting out a little squeal. “How do I look?”

“Fantastic as always.”

She grins, then gives her blonde hair a shake and pushes her boobs up higher. “Wish me luck.”

I laugh, and she gives me a wink before sashaying over as Sutton walks into the break room. He looks her up and down appreciatively as she approaches, giving her that same seductive smile he used to give to me.

Something in my chest squeezes, and my mind is screaming at me to smack that look off his face.

Pushing the feeling aside, I turn away, busying myself with making a cup of coffee. I pop the pod into the one-cup machine and press the button, straining to listen to the brew filling my cup rather than their conversation.

As much as I try to ignore them, I still pick up the words “tonight” and “dinner.”

And that damn squeeze is back.

It’s ridiculous. I’m not jealous of Emma’s date with him.

I mean, it’s Sutton for crying out loud. I’d rather eat pizza with pineapple on it for the rest of my life than ever get involved with him again. And Ireallyhate pineapple on pizza.

The coffee machine beeps and I remove my mug, adding a single-serve pack of creamer to it, then stirring it loudly into my coffee to drown out their voices a little more. I tap the spoon against my mug just as I hear Emma’s heels clack against the floor and down the hall.

Then, I feel him.

He’s standing right at my back.

I know it’s him because the faint scent of cedar and sage fills the air, and I’ve had the smell wrapped around me like a cozy blanket in a winter storm too many times to not have it committed to memory.

I ignore him, reaching for the cinnamon and shaking out just a pinch into my mug.

“Holls.”

Holls.

It’s all he says, and my body tightens, his voice rumbling straight through me.

He chuckles at my reaction, and it’s like ice through my veins.

I turn and glare at him and that ridiculous smirk still plastered across his face.

“What do you want, Sutton?”

Another low laugh. “What? Can’t hang out in the break room?”

I scowl at him. “What are you even doing here?”

“Are you going to keep asking me that? Didn’t we go over this in the elevator on my first day?”

“I meanthere. Why are youhereof all places?”

Just when I’m finally starting to get my life together. Finally ready to start anew and excited about doing so. When I’m looking to flip my world on its axis, of course Sutton is there to drag me right back into reality.

He shrugs. “Seemed like a fun job.”

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