Page 27 of Undeniable

I couldn’t hold back my smile at the mention of him. “Nope.”

She narrowed her eyes at me from where she sat. “Okay.” She dragged out the word. “What gives?”

“He’s notmysexy SEAL.” I rolled my eyes, though the image of his bicep had me clenching my thighs, assuming it was, in fact, his. I didn’t even know what he looked like, but I got excited every time my phone buzzed with a new email or text. “But things are going better with Connor.”

“I’ll say.” She grinned. “The fact that you’re no longer referring to him as ‘the asshole’ is a pretty good indication. So…” She crossed her legs as if settling in for a long story. “What happened?”

“Well…” I took a deep breath, still trying to make sense of it all. Still trying to reconcile how we’d gone from name-calling to…whatever this was. It felt like more than friendship. “He apologized, and so did I. And then we’ve sent so many emails and texts back and forth, I’ve lost count.”

“Texts?” She arched one eyebrow. “You took your relationship to the next level, huh? Nice.”

“Yeah. It is really nice.” I tucked my hair behind my ear. “He’sreally nice. Despite that first email, he’s been nothing but friendly since.”

“Mm-hmm.” She crossed her arms over her chest. I knew that look—it meant she was scheming.

This was part of the reason I hadn’t rushed to tell Alyssa. That, and she’d been out of town for book signings in Rome, London, then Edinburgh. Her Instagram feed was filled with pictures of her and some of our authors, attending parties, drinking. It made me even more thankful I worked in fiction, not romance. I wassonot that social.

“What?” I asked when she continued to study me.

“He’s totally into you. And you’re totally into him.”

I thought back on our emails, and now our texts. “Nah. We’re just having fun. Getting to know each other.”

She held out her hand expectantly. “Give me your phone.”

“What?” I jerked my head back. “Why?”

“Because I would bet good money that he’s flirting with you.”

“No way.” I shook my head, doubting it. “We’re just friends.”

Connor wasn’t flirting with me, was he? And was it wrong that I secretly wished that were the case?

Was it possible to be attracted to someone without ever meeting them? Because I was attracted to Connor.

He was well-spoken, smart, and funny. He made me laugh. He helped me let down my guard.

And despite his initial resistance to the program, he’d devoured every book I’d sent him. Since he consumed the books faster than I could mail them, we’d decided to switch to e-books. We’d had a lively debate about the characters and their motivations, the authors, and more. I’d never had such deep conversations with a man, especially not with one I’d never met.

Alyssa grabbed my phone while I wasn’t paying attention. And the longer she stared at the screen, the wider her smile stretched. Until finally, she squealed. “Oh my god. He’s totally flirting with you.”

She kept reading then said, “And you flirted back. Way to go!” She nudged me. “I love how bold you are with him. I was right about online dating for you.”

“We’re not…” I ducked my head, lowering my voice. We shouldn’t even be talking about this at work. “…dating.”

“You’resomething,though. No man texts this often and would read all these books, unless he was interested.”

“You really think so?” I asked, desperate for confirmation.

She leveled me with a gaze. “I know so. He’s hinted at your love life several times. He sent you a picture of his bicep—which was super hot. He totally wants you.”

“Jeez. Did you read our entire text thread?”

“Skimmed. And yes.”

I scoffed. “Invasion of privacy much?”

“Meh.” She lifted a shoulder. “Consider it one of the privileges of being besties.”

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