Page 126 of Alive At Night

I swept my gaze up and down her body one last time, memorizing how she looked in my jersey.

“The kind that’s mine.”

* * *

Taking Juniper’s feedback,I spent the next week and a half giving her as much genuine attention as I could. I didn’t pile on the sweets or the sweet-talking, even though I would have been more than happy to do it, and instead focused on proving to her that we could more than just exist in our office together.

I worked on proving it to myself, too. I could do this; I could be an excellent employee while also giving my all to the pretty associate attorney sitting next to me. This would work. If growing up with so many sisters had taught me anything, it was how to efficiently divide my energy so everyone got the most out of me and I could be there for them all. This was basically the same, wasn’t it? I could do it.

Part of the problem, of course, was that I didn’t want to divide any of my time with Juniper. I’d much rather talk to her than discuss cases with my colleagues. I’d much rather talk to her than do just about anything. But actually working at work was somewhat unavoidable. Unfortunately.

I smiled, watching as Juniper chatted on the phone in Spanish with a client. Her voice was warm, and I just knew whoever she was talking to had to feel like they were in trustworthy, caring hands. Juniper wasn’t just good at her job because she was smart and tactical about law; she was also incredibly good at building personal relationships. She was a whole goddamn treasure.

As soon as she hung up the phone, I seized the opportunity.

“Juni baby.”

She froze. Her eyes flicked over her shoulder, flying to the door, which was open. And then a surprising scowl appeared as she turned to face me.

“Someone’s going to hear you call me that,” she hissed.

I took a sip of my coffee before grunting, “Good.”

Everyone in this office loved Juniper. No surprise, honestly. But some people loved Juniper a little too much. And the faster they got the picture of what was going on, the better.

“Good?” Juniper repeated. “You haven’t sent that HR email yet, Mr. Briggs.”

“Just waiting for your approval, Ms. St. James.”

“Well, it’s not like we’re dating,” she said with a little sniff as she spun back toward her desk. “I can’t help but notice that you haven’t bothered to ask me out.”

She always did know just how to test me.

“You haven’t bothered to give me any indication if that’s what you’re ready for,” I said, lowering my voice. “I figured you’d need a little time to decide if I’m even worth it after, you know, everything.”

“Oh, is that what you’re waiting for? An indication? Generally, if you want to know the answer to something, you ask.” She started typing as if we weren’t in the middle of a conversation that I considered extremely important. “It’s called communication, Julian.”

I shook my head as I tried not to glare at the back of hers. Half of Juni’s hair was pinned up with one of her bows, but it was smaller than usual. I sort of missed the big ones. “I think you just like fucking with me, Juniper.”

“No, that’s not true.”

“It’s not?”

“No.” She grinned over her shoulder, looking at me beneath sooty lashes. “Ilovefucking with you.”

God, she drove me wild.

“Juni,” I said, “are you ready for me to ask you out?”

Her fuck-me eyes vanished, and she lifted one shoulder with a shy expression instead. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt for you to ask, would it?”

I smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“But maybe we should focus on getting through this weekend first,” she added. “Assuming you’re okay with me coming.”

My thoughts momentarily raced as I reentered reality and remembered I had more obligations in life than Juni and work.

Christmas.Our annual family Christmas party was this weekend, and wait, what did she just—

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