Page 3 of I Can't Help It

I take the long way to my desk, making sure to breeze by Luke’s desk, just so he knows I’m still around. Not that he’s forgotten already, but I’m pathetic.

Then, after I print the sign for the bathroom stall and tape it up, I let Colton know it’s been taken care of.

“Thanks, Ava.” He pushes his glasses up like he does all the time. “The plumber should be here tomorrow.”

“Cool, I’ll pass along the info.”

“Oh, Ava,” he says as I start to leave, “there’s something I want to discuss with you really quick.”

Ha, that doesn’t sound good.

“Am I getting fired?” I blurt out, unable to stop myself. “I mean, I love it here, and I can take on more responsibility if—”

“You’re not getting fired,” he interrupts with a laugh. “I can always count on you to be thorough with your on-site visits, and our client base has grown substantially since you started working here. It would be stupid of me to fire you.”

“Oh. Well, thank you, Colton.” I awkwardly clear my throat. “That means a lot to me.”

“You’re most welcome.” He proceeds to fold his hands over his desk. “Now, what I wanted to discuss with you is the on-site visit I have Luke working on.”

I blink at him. “What about it?”

“Luke will be going over to a new location next Saturday, and then he’s going to spend some time there to see if it’s a good retreat option for us to offer our clients. And even though I wanted this to be a solo project for him, the poor guy has been paranoid about it, so I think it’d be beneficial for him to have a helping hand.”

He’s right, Luke is way more anxious about this visit than I’ve ever been with any of my visits. I realize that traveling to various places and experiencing different things isn’t for everyone but—

Wait.

Is he saying what I think he’s saying?

“I’d like you to go with him,” Colton says with a firm nod. “You did such a great job with your last on-site visit, and I think having someone with him during the trip will help ease his nerves.”

A work trip with Luke? Just me and him? Spending mandatory one-on-one time together?

“Ava? Would you be okay with that?”

I try to keep my grin from being too wide. “I’d love to help.”

Help myself to finally catching Luke’s attention.

“Great!” he exclaims, looking relieved. “I’ll let him know. I’m sure Luke will be happy to hear it.”

I hope so.

It’d be pretty disappointing if he didn’t want me around.

BRO-CODE EXISTS FOR A REASON

Luke

Being around Ava is like drowning.

No matter how much I try to fight the waves of attraction I feel for her, they overtake me every time. Deeper and deeper. One glance from those playful, green eyes and I’m a complete goner.

Too bad she’s my best friend’s ex.

Yeahhhh, I’ve done my research. If you look at my browsing history, you’ll see where I asked the internet if it was okay to date your best friend’s ex-girlfriend. Some sources informed me that it doesn’t matter, and I should just shoot my shot. Other sources informed me that I was a human trash can, and I could kiss my friendship goodbye forever.

I’ve known Wyatt since we were kids, there’s no freaking way I’m going to lose my best friend because of some girl.

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