“Remember, it’s important to identify the events that trigger you. You need to know the cause. Also, pay attention to your negative thought patterns,” I said to my client, Mr. Wade, but then I frowned when I lost my train of thought.

I was in the midst of a therapy session, but I had trouble focusing because I kept thinking about Jared. My lips still tingled whenever I thought about the searing kiss he’d given me three days ago in his car, or should I call it making out?

Either way, it affected me more than I’d thought, and now I wasn’t able to stop thinking to myself how sexy he was. We’d been texting each other these past few days, getting to know each other better, which culminated in a phone call last night when he admitted he missed me and wanted to see me again.

“It’s so hard,” Mr. Wade responded, rubbing his temple. “I’m reminding myself to follow your advice about mindfulness all the time, but I often catch myself a little too late. My wife is threatening me with a divorce.”

“My offer for couples therapy is still on. You’ll have more chance of overcoming this crisis if you two work on this together.”

He pressed his fingertips against his temples and began massaging them in circles. “She doesn’t want that. I’ve been trying to convince her, but she’s stubborn.”

I shot a discreet glance at the clock on the wall. Only a couple more minutes left. A legion of butterflies filled my stomach with the thought that I would get to see Jared soon. I had a hard time keeping a huge smile in check, but luckily I was an expert at controlling my facial expressions. It was funny how only several days ago I thought the worst of him, but now I really liked him and wanted to see where our mutual attraction could lead us to.

Okay. I should focus on Mr. Wade already. Stop thinking about Jared, silly. “If you’re able to bring her here at least once, maybe I’ll be able to convince her to give couples therapy a shot.”

His wife’s support was important for his improvement, but it wasn’t rare to see unsupportive spouses. If she didn’t want to cooperate, it could prove to be detrimental to Mr. Wade’s case because he wasn’t a strong-willed individual. He needed to be reassured all the time and have someone by his side.

“I’ll try once more,” he muttered.

“In the meantime, redirect your anger and focus on positive thoughts. There are a plenty of healthy ways of letting that anger out. Like sports.”

“I’ve tried running.”

“And?”

He shrugged his shoulders, his smile sheepish. “Overall, it helps, but I hate running.”

I returned his smile. “I understand, but if it helps, it’ll be good for you to continue running, and you know it. Or kickboxing. You mentioned once you love kickboxing.”

“Yeah. But my wife hates when I do kickboxing.”

Years of experience taught me not to show my real reaction to clients, which helped me look as if nothing surprised me or perturbed me. So, I didn’t show him my sneer, which begged to come to the surface. The more I heard about his wife, the less I liked her.

“Then try to find some compromise.” Casting another glance toward the clock, I threw on an encouraging smile. “You’re doing well so far, and you’ve shown a lot of progress. Keep up the good work.”

As soon as he left my office, nervousness came knocking on my door, and I grabbed my compact mirror to see how I looked. My makeup was understated and fresh, and my hair was falling in perfect blonde waves. I looked good, especially because I was wearing a black suit that accentuated my curvy figure.

I checked my phone for any messages from Jared, who was about to arrive in a few minutes, when the phone started ringing and Marissa’s ID appeared on the screen.

“Hey,” I greeted her, checking my red polished nails. “How’s it going?”

“Do you want the good news or the bad news?”

“Didn’t I tell you there is no bad news at all? Each bad thing has a grain of something positive, which can lead to much better things.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. But I don’t know how this can be at all positive.” Her grim, impatient tone of voice told me she wasn’t in the mood for my motivational talk.

“Okay. Give me the good news first.”

“I managed to talk with the developer’s CEO.”

“Nice. And?”

“And it was a let-down. I went above and beyond, trying my best to convince him to change his plans, but it was pointless. He mentioned it’s not only up to him but up to his board too. It seems that this project is pretty lucrative, which is why they don’t want to give up on it.”

I squeezed my hands together, exhaling a heavy sigh. There had to be some way out of this. We couldn’t just close our doors and do nothing.

“So there is no way to convince the CEO to change his mind?” I asked, still trying to find at least something hopeful.

“Nope.”

Bastard. “Okay. Thanks for trying, though. So what can we do next?”

“I’ll talk with Bobby again and see if the purchase is definite. Maybe there are still some other buyers in play, and if so, I can try contacting them too.”

“Okay. Keep me posted.”

“Sure. We didn’t have time to talk about your date a few days ago. How did it go?”

One more glance at the clock told me Jared was about to come any moment. I didn’t have time to go into details with Marissa, so this conversation would have to wait for some other day.

“It was fine, and I had fun. It went above my expectations.”

“Oh?” I could practically imagine her eyes growing wider. “So you two hooked up or what?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Uh-oh. That doesn’t sound good.”

“Not in that way complicated. It’s just that his friend came instead of him.”

There was a short silence on her end before she squealed. “Really?!”

“Yep.”

“I can’t believe it. And how did it go?”

Heat spread through me as I remembered the intensity of our kiss. “A bit bumpy, but in the end, we managed to find a mutual language.” I grinned at the memory of his hands on me...

The knocks on my door interrupted my reverie, telling me to wrap this conversation up. “I have to go now. I’ll tell you more about it later.”

“Definitely. I’m dying to know now.”

“Sure. Love you. Bye!” I ended the call. “Come in.”

My pulse accelerated when Jared opened the door and strolled into my office. He was dressed casually—jeans and a leather jacket, which made him look yummy—and he was carrying a bouquet of roses. I hadn’t even realized how much I’d missed him, overjoyed to see him again.

“Jared. You didn’t have to,” I said breathlessly, approaching him. The roses were beautiful, covered with silver glitter, and the fresh smell caressed my nostrils.

His smile was captivating. “Anything for you.”

Just as I stopped in front of him, he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me in for a kiss. It was unexpected, but my body reacted immediately, my hands grasping his shoulders as I steadied myself in his embrace. His tongue delved into my mouth, creating more heat in me, and my body came closer to him on its own accord.

I could sense his erection against my mound—hard against soft—and the contrast was arousing.

When he finally pulled away, we were both hot and breathing unevenly. His dark eyes skimmed over my face as if he was drinking in my every pore and line, and I basked in his attention.

I looked at him through my lashes. “What was that for?”

“I just really, really missed you, Claire. You’re so beautiful.”

“Thank you. And I missed you too, Jared.”

His grin brought dimples to his cheeks, which were plain adorable. There was no physical part of Jared I didn’t like, which was new to me because I always managed to find some physical flaw in guys I dated. I was smitten by him, literally swooning at each of his smiles or gazes, and I had yet to see if that was a good or a foolish thing. I’d never felt this strongly about someone whom I’d just met.

“Here. Take these,” he told me, handing me the roses.

“Thanks. They are perfect.”

“Just like you.”

I actually blushed. Like a teenage girl on her first date. What was he doing to me?

“You’re flattering me.”

“I’m just telling the truth.” His fingers trailed my face, his gaze holding me captive. “So how about a dinner at my place? I’ll make something delicious for you.”

My brow arched. “Oh, so he cooks?”

“That’s one of my hobbies. I love experimenting with food and creating different dishes.”

“Wow. I’m impressed.”

His cocky smirk was adorable. “Wait until you try it.”

He lowered his head and pressed another kiss on my lips, and it was all I needed to completely forget about the problems with Pathways. At least for tonight. Tonight I’d push my worries aside for a moment and let myself enjoy this time with him.

“So is that a yes?”

“Absolutely.”