Page 10 of The Boyfriend Material Novellas

“One, I would never say that. Two, I don’t think I would ever compare you to eggnog.”

“Oh, thank you,” I say, laughing. “I guess that’s a nightmare I never realized I had—being compared to eggnog.” I take a beat, and the self-preservation part of me tells me sternly that I shouldn’t be chatting like this, punctuating everything with a wink and a nod. I know I shouldn’t flirt, and God knows I shouldn’t take the next step.

But since I met him an hour ago, my heart has been tripping the light fantastic inside of me. I love a good old-fashioned conversation. And fine, maybe it is sprinkled with sugary flirtation. “What kind of drink would you compare me to, then?”

He takes his time studying me, and his gaze makes my skin sizzle. So much for my vow to stay unaffected.

Vaughn hums as he considers. “Vodka. Tequila. Whiskey. Something that has a little kick. What do you think?”

A wave of desire rolls down my spine.

His hot gaze is doing things to me I didn’t expect. Things I don’t walk away from, even though I should. Instead of being professional, instead of keeping conversation to the party I’ve been hired to plan, I let it stray onto the what-kind-of-drink-am-I path. “I think I’m a tequila kind of woman.”

“And that’s the kind of drink you order a second round of,” he says in a raspy, sexy tone.

My throat goes dry.

My libido speeds into overdrive.

And all my good sense slinks away.

I don’t know where the hell it went, or if I want to find it.

And when my brother returns at last, I don’t know if I want to throw my arms around him and thank him or kick him out the door.

But that’s not a choice I can make, since he redirects the conversation to the reason we’re here tonight—the holiday fete.

We’re all business for the rest of the meal, Vaughn and I trading ideas, tossing out suggestions, and even arguing over the best Christmas songs, the ideal cocktails, and the most fantastic party games, until Josh smiles like a cat who snacked on a plate full of canaries.

My brother catches Vaughn’s glance. “Turns out I need to take off for a week to deal with Enrique and some of the Los Angeles clients. What would you say to working with Quinn on the party details? You’re much better at it than anyone else.”

But he doesn’t even need to butter him up, it seems. Vaughn catches my gaze, grins, then says, “Sure. I’d be happy to.”

“Quinn, is that cool with you?” Josh asks.Is he secretly trying to set me up with Vaughn?

But I dismiss that thought. My brother is not the matchmaker type. He is definitely the party-hating type, and the busy type, so I know his question is legit.

And so is the answer I’m going to give.

Though I’m dating my job exclusively, I jump at the chance to spend time with this man—jump on it like it’s a winning lottery ticket. “Want to start this weekend?”

Vaughn says yes, and we exchange phone numbers.

Oh, yes. Spending time with this wildly attractive man is a brilliant idea when I’ve sworn off romance.

4

QUINN

As I turn over the card I’ve drawn in Pandemic, Amy and I groan in unison.

“Are you kidding me?” I say. “New York has another infection?”

“Board game epidemics are no laughing matter,” my younger sister says soberly, and we set to work on finding a cure.

It’s Friday night, and while we save the human race from deadly diseases at our favorite board game café, I ask what she’s up to this weekend.

“I only have about six hundred manuscripts to read,” she says with a too-bright smile.

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