“You did good in there,” Caitlin Black says to me.

“Thanks.” Maybe on her last day, I’ll correct her grammar. But until then, I’ll bite my tongue.

“Barring a major disaster, I foresee a promotion in your not-so-distant future,” she says quietly as we step out of the conference room. After an hour and a half of negotiations, I got a very popular author to sign with us instead of a competing publisher—with a smaller advance than they offered. We’d make it up in marketing dollars, giving his book a bigger release. If Caitlin were still around when the time came to invest into promotion, she’d find a way to pull dollars away and go back on everything we agreed upon, but do it in such a way it didn’t breach the contract. She’s slimy like that.

The book sounds great—a humorous thriller with a plot I’ve never read before—and I believe it can be one of our biggest sellers the year it releases. Assuming I’m a publisher then, I’ll make sure we give it the attention it deserves.

“Let’s both hope a major disaster doesn’t happen,” I say back.

“Right.” We take a few steps down the hall. “You know this industry well, Cole. I stand by my decision to have you take my place. You’ll put the company first. Me and you…we’re not so different.” She gives me a tight smile and walks toward the lobby. It takes until I get into my office for her words to sink in.

She thinks I’m still single and don’t want a family. I’ve been married to Black Ink the last few years, and she’s assuming it’ll stay that way. That’s why she wants to promote me, but it couldn’t be further from the truth.

I love Ana.

I want to marry Ana.

I want to have children with Ana.

But none of that will happen anytime soon. Hell, I probably shouldn’t have dropped the L-word already, but I couldn’t help it. By the time I seriously consider a proposal, Caitlin will be long gone. It’s just two more months, I remind myself. Two more months of pretending to be my old self, not interested in relationships or family.

I respond to Ana’s text now that I’m out of the meeting. She’s at the house working on her book and said she’s feeling too lazy to get dressed and leave today, but is willing to put clothes on and meet me for lunch if I want her to. I tell her it’s okay, and that I’ll probably work through lunch in my office anyway. I have to get through three chapters of edits today or I’ll fall behind.

I haven’t been behind in years.

I order food to be delivered to the office and lean back, getting started on editing. I’m two pages in when someone knocks on my door.

“Come in,” I call, not looking up from the computer. The door slowly opens and I raise my gaze, hearing footsteps but not seeing anyone.

“Hiiiii.”

A smile comes to my face and I recognize the little voice right away. I stand, now able to see Harper from behind the desk. She waves with both hands then turns around, reaching out.

“Daaaa! Da-da!”

“I’m right here,” Luke says and steps in. Harper runs to him and he scoops her up. “She wanted to come visit her uncle,” Luke tells me. “Listen to this: Harper, say ‘Cole’.”

Harper points at me and says, “Cowe.”

“Good job, baby!” Luke tells her.

“That’s pretty cute,” I say. “And thanks for the visit, Harper. I’m guessing you guys are here to see Lexi?”

“Yeah, we came to surprise her. She doesn’t know we’re here yet. She’s on the phone and her door is closed.”

I take a step back. “Come in and stay out of sight. I’ll call her in if you want.”

“That’d be great. I said something I shouldn’t have said this morning and want to make it up to her.”

Harper toddles into the office and immediately starts climbing onto the leather chairs by my desk. “What did you say?”

“Grace gets defiant when she doesn’t get her way and mouths off to Lexi. This morning was one of those where everyone was crabby, tired, and the dog and cat kept chasing each other and knocking shit over. I was frustrated and snapped at Lexi when I heard Grace talk back. I said she needs to be the mother and not the friend.” Luke grabs Harper a second before she falls. “Lexi puts up with a lot, and it’s because of the shit her ex put her through. He yelled a lot and told her she wasn’t a good mom all the time, which is bullshit. She’s great. I was irritated at the moment and should have worded things differently, and now I feel bad.”

I nod and look at Luke. “Does Lexi talk about her ex much?” I ask, my mind going to Ana and her ex. Lexi still has to deal with Russell because they share children, and Ana still has to deal with Steven because he won’t fucking leave her alone.

“Not unless she has to. I can tell she doesn’t like talking about him. She thinks it makes me uncomfortable, but it doesn’t, not in the way she’s worried about, I mean. It’s no secret I don’t like the guy, but if they hadn’t been married, Grace and Paige wouldn’t be here and Lexi wouldn’t have gone out that night and met me. I’ve had relationships in the past, and Lexi and I both know nothing compares to what we have now.”

Talk about a chain of events. I wouldn’t have met Ana if it weren’t for Lexi being part time and all, and she wouldn’t even be with Luke if she hadn’t gotten divorced in the first place. Thinking about everything that had to perfectly fall into place for Ana to walk into my life at the exact moment makes my head hurt. “Right.” How the fuck did my brother go from being the guy who literally runs away from his problems to the most well-adjusted person on the planet? “That makes sense.”

Luke pulls a sippy cup from the diaper bag and gives it to Harper. “Is Ana still in town?”

“Yeah, she is.”

“You’re smiling.”

“No, I’m not.”

Luke smirks. “Fine. You’re not. I take it things are good with her?”

“Very good.” Dammit, I am smiling. I turn and look out the window, watching cars go by below.

“Is she ready to meet Mom and Dad next week?”

“Next week? I thought they were coming for Halloween.”

“They are. They get in on Wednesday.”

“But Halloween isn’t for another—seriously? They’re staying that long?”

Luke laughs. “Yep. They’re staying with us this time, though. Lexi could use a bit of a break during the day and Mom is all about playing with the girls. And Lexi and I thought we’d give you and Ana some space. The beginning of relationships are the best, though the I-can’t-stop-touching-you phase never went away between me and Lex.”

“I’ve noticed. We’ve all noticed.”

“Don’t be jealous.”

“I’m not.” And really, I’m not. Not anymore. Because I have someone I can’t stop touching. “Want me to call Lexi in now? It looks like she’s off the phone. Her line is open.”

Luke scoops up Harper and crouches down behind one of the big chairs. I go around to my desk and pick up the office phone. Out of habit, I look at the street below. The office is high up, but not so high I can’t see people, though the fine details are too hard to make out. It’s interesting to people watch from above, to see people frantically running about or lazily walking along the sidewalk in no hurry at all.

I’m too high up to make out the details, but the second I see him, dressed in a dark hoodie and sitting on the same bench as before, I know it’s him. His head is turned up to the building.

Watching.

“Cole?” Luke asks.

I hesitate, considering telling Luke about Steven. It’s smart to let someone else know about the fucker, just in case shit hits the fan, and Luke would offer a fresh perspective on the whole situation. But here’s not the place. Besides, maybe it’s better he doesn’t know. Because when I beat the shit out of Steven, I don’t want Luke involved.

I shake myself and dial Lexi’s extension. “Can you come in here for a minute? I need to go over something with you,” I say to her.

Lexi sighs but agrees. A minute later, she’s walking through the door. Harper sees her mom and gets excited, running to Lexi with her arms in the air. Lexi smiles widely, picks Harper up and gives her a hug. Then she sees Luke, and tears fill her eyes.

“I’m sorry I was a jerk this morning,” my brother says, and pulls Lexi into his arms. I turn back around, and the man who was sitting on the bench is gone. I blink and stare down at the street before turning away and rubbing my forehead. There’s no way to be sure it was him. But…fuck…that’s the same bench he was sitting on before.

This is crazy. I turn back to Luke and Lexi, who are borderline making out while Harper digs toys out of the diaper back, and clear my throat. They break apart and Lexi takes Luke’s hand.

“Sorry. Want to join us for lunch?” she asks, and Luke looks annoyed.

“No, thanks. I need to get through a chapter over my lunch break or I’ll fall behind.”

“I know how that goes,” Lexi says. “I’ll see you later, then.”

They leave and I close the door behind them, needing a minute to calm the fuck down before I get to work again. Right on cue, Ana sends me photos of the costume she just ordered to wear to the Halloween party. I open my texts to respond.

Me: Very fitting. And I always thought Wonder Woman was sexy.

Ana: I got something for you too.

Me: Should I be worried?

Ana: Nah. You’ll look good in spandex.

Me: You’re joking, right?

Ana: I wouldn’t joke about Superman’s costume.

I laugh and lean back in my chair, and the anger I was feeling minutes ago is gone. Ana has that way of making me feel better without even trying.

Me: I’ll wear it, just for you.

Ana: We can role play after ;-)

Me: I’m going to hold you to it. Wonder Woman has a lasso, right?

Ana: She does. And yes, I like to be tied up.

I’m getting turned on, eager to go home and fuck Ana. I want to bury my head between her legs and feel her clit vibrating against my tongue as I make her come.

And then it hits me: if we dress like Wonder Woman and Superman at this party—this company party—people will assume we’re together.

Fuck.

Ana is so excited about this and I don’t want to let her down. I let out a sigh and shake my head. We have a while until the party. I’m sure I can figure something out before then. My phone vibrates in my hand as another text comes through.

Ana: Left you speechless, eh?

Me: Slightly. The rest of the day is going to go by slow now.

Ana: Maybe this will help.

A photo of her—naked—comes through.

Me: You are so fucking hot. And cruel.

Ana: That’s why you love me, right?

Me: Just one of the reasons.

Another editor knocks on the door, needing help with a project, and it takes me a minute to put myself back into work mode. Ana is the best thing to ever happen to me but might be the worst for my career.