Page 38 of Last Chance Seduction
“Are you guys hosting a New Year’s party?”Reece asked before he took a sip of his coffee.
I looked down at my now cold cup of coffee and shrugged.“I don’t know.Are we?”
“I don’t think there’s a set one.Everyone’s just doing their own thing.The Christmas party was a lot,” Jamie answered.
I nodded.“But Reece, if you need someone to celebrate with, you’re welcome to join us.We’re just going out for part of the night but planning on celebrating midnight at home.”
“We’ll see,” Reece answered.
I rolled my eyes.“I love thatwe’ll see.You have it down like my mom did.”
“A mom’swe’ll seeis the best out there.But thankfully I mean we’ll see.”
“What are your holiday plans?”I asked as we settled into our seats.
“Nothing much.Same old, same old.Not all of us have a stadium full of cousins.”
“Well, you’re welcome to come and hang out with us.”Brooklyn beamed.“Mom and Dad and the twins always go all out.Not to mention Duke will be there too.”
“For Christmas morning?”I asked, surprised.I hadn’t heard when he’d met the family, but things seemed to be progressing.
Brooklyn looked like she lived on Cloud Nine as she bounced in her chair.“Yes!Mom and Dad already love him.”
“You don’t need to take care of Little Orphan Reece,” he said.
Brooklyn rolled her eyes, not taking the man’s usual grouchiness to heart.I didn’t know if Reece was an orphan, or if he had any siblings, or any family.I knew he was single, just because the man had mentioned it recently, and had no kids from what I knew.But Reece was a co-worker, so it wasn’t as if I was going to pry completely.
“Do you know what Mercy’s doing for Christmas?”
I shrugged, though I’d already had the idea on my mind.Trying not to think about Mercy at work was starting to become a full-time job.One I was clearly failing.“I don’t know.We didn’t talk about that.”
“So whatdidyou two talk about?”Dash asked.
I flipped him off, ignoring his laugh.“Enough.Let’s get to work.”
“I have questions,” Jamie teased.
I ignored the group calling after me as I headed back to my office.I answered phone calls, went through paperwork, and worked on a few sketches.But the phone never rang with the one I wanted.Not a single call from the Arnaults.I knew it was the holidays, and I probably wouldn’t hear anything until after the first, but still, I wanted to know if all of that lying, and stress, got us our dream bid.
I made my way home, before the others did, to finish working on sketches, and I knew it was not that big of a deal.It was rare that we all worked underneath the same roof anyway in this line of business.Music blaring, I tried figure out exactly what the hell I was going to do.
Because all day, while trying to think about the stress of the project, and the actual projects we had on hand, I couldn’t help but think about that kiss.
And Mercy.
Damn it.
I pulled into my driveway, only to see the object of my traitorous thoughts standing in her front yard, frowning at her mail.I got out of the truck, and I knew if I went inside and ignored her, I’d be a dick, and frankly, I didn’t want to ignore her.
I moved around the truck and came to her side of the yard.
“Hey there.”
Mercy looked up, her frown disappearing.“Hey.Why do they send so many bills that I have on e-delivery and automatic payment?It scares me that it’s like they’re going to shut off my heat or something.”
“I think they enjoy the stress, even if they can’t see it.”
“They’re probably watching us right now,” she teased.
