Chapter 7

Melany

“YOU DIDN’T HAVE to walk me all the way back to the office,” I insisted as we stepped off the elevator onto my floor. But, in all actuality, it felt really nice that he was being so gentlemanly. He’d even insisted on carrying my leftover tiramisu on the walk back from the restaurant.

“Don’t worry about it. I don’t have any meetings scheduled until later this afternoon.”

I’d seen another side of Chance today that I hadn’t realized existed when I first approached him for his help. I knew he was charming, charismatic, and confident, but today I saw the genuinely nice guy that lay beneath all of that. It had to be said that I truly liked Chance Hoffman. There was no doubt in my mind that he was a good person.

And because of all that, I had to ask the question that had been weighing on my mind. “Chance,” I spoke up, coming to a halt a few feet from the reception desk.

“Hmm?”

“How are you single?” He gave a little laugh and looked skyward, but I persevered. “Seriously. You’re handsome and sweet and really funny. I just… I don’t get it.”

When his gaze came back to mine, it still contained humor, but this time it was mixed with sincerity as he answered, “The same could be said about you.”

I gave an indelicate snort and rolled my eyes. “I think lunch was the perfect example of why I’m still single. You had a front row seat to that disaster.”

He smiled in a way that appeared almost affectionate as his voice lowered. “I don’t think you give yourself nearly enough credit.”

My belly gave a little whoosh of pleasure as the skin on my neck and cheeks began to heat up. “Th-thank you.”

“You’re welcome. And to answer your question, I think I’ve just been unlucky. I have a knack for picking unavailable women.”

My eyebrows drew together and I opened my mouth to ask what he meant when an all-too-familiar voice interrupted our conversation.

“Melany?”

Chance’s back straightened at the same time that unwelcome spike of anxiety reappeared. It was him. And not only had he gotten my name right, but for the first time in five years, he seemed to be initiating a conversation.

Turning to face him, I stuttered, “H-h-hi, Logan,” as he closed the distance between us. I unconsciously took a step closer to Chance as Logan grew near, his eyes doing a scan of my dress. My stomach flipped and I felt the words begin to clog in my throat as Chance placed his warm, large palm on the small of my back for comfort.

“Hi,” Logan finally responded several seconds later when he was done taking in my new outfit. There was a strange look in his hazel eyes I had never seen before. “You look… wow, you look really nice today.”

Chance’s fingers spasmed at my back, but I was too busy trying to control the heat radiating from my cheeks to give it much thought. “Uh… th-thanks. I, uh… I’m… what I mean to s-say… um. Y-you look nice, too.”

Oh God.

I couldn’t even form a coherent sentence. I was making a complete fool of myself… again. Why couldn’t I just be normal around this guy?

He smiled politely and opened his mouth to speak up when Chance’s hand suddenly disappeared. But before I had an opportunity to miss its heat, I found myself spinning around and coming chest to chest with him. “I need to get back to the office,” he spoke, stunning me speechless with the unexpected close proximity.

“Uh… okay?”

His head tipped down, and one arm wrapped around my waist. I was frozen solid as his breath hit my ear, sending a tingle down my spine. “Just trust me and go with it,” he whispered.

Since words were failing me at that very moment, I simply nodded woodenly.

“I’ll explain later,” he continued in a hushed voice. Then he placed a kiss against the sensitive skin right below my ear and pulled away as my body shuddered.

His hand lifted toward my face, and the pad of his thumb brushed against my cheekbone. “Thanks for lunch,” he said, loud enough for Logan to hear this time. “I had a great time.”

I remained rooted in place, my head unable to wrap around what was going on. “M-me too.”

“I’ll give you a call later tonight.”

“Okay,” I breathed out on a sigh as his hand dropped back down to his side. The skin on my cheek prickled where he’d just touched.

I felt something hit my chest and looked down to see Chance holding my leftover dessert. I wasn’t sure how I managed to get my arms to cooperate, but I somehow lifted them and took the to-go bag from him. Without another word, he turned and made his way back to the elevator.

I continued to stare after the doors closed behind him. It wasn’t until Logan spoke that I remembered he was still standing there. How I could have forgotten that the man I’d been obsessing over for five years was less than two feet away was beyond me, but I had. And it was all because of Chance.

“So, was that your boyfriend?”

“What?” I squeaked in surprise. “Oh! No. Uh, no. He’s… he’s not my boyfriend. He’s just a friend.”

Logan regarded me curiously for a second. “Just a friend?”

“Just a friend,” I parroted.

He smiled again, something gleaming behind his brownish-green eyes. “Well, okay then.”

I knew if I didn’t walk away then, I’d more than likely do something irreparably embarrassing. “So, I should probably…” I dragged out, throwing a thumb over my shoulder, “…get back. You know, to work. I should probably get back to work.”

“Oh. Yeah. Me too.”

I gave Logan an awkward wave and started backing away on my new heels. “Uh… bye.”

His grin turned humorous as he watched me. “See ya.”

With that, I spun around and started down the hall toward my desk, praying I didn’t fall face first on my wobbly feet.

It wasn’t until I was in my chair that I could breathe easily. I pulled my cell phone out of my purse before dropping it back in my bottom desk drawer. Scrolling to the text screen, I typed in Chance’s name and shot off my message.

Me: What the heck was that?

He replied instantly.

Chance: The next phase of the plan.

My face scrunched up in confusion as I reread his message.

Me: How are we on the next phase already when I failed the last one?!

Chance: I told you to trust me, didn’t I?

I was getting really sick of hearing that, but before I could respond, another text came through.

Chance: He noticed you today. Now we have to make him think you’re unavailable.

I really wasn’t sure I liked the sound of that. I didn’t know much about dating, and I was willing to admit I was pretty clueless when it came to members of the opposite sex, but I didn’t think I was the type of woman to play games. Still, I was the one who approached Chance for help. If I started questioning his methods now, everything we’d done so far was for nothing.

Me: You sure?

Those three little dots on the screen flickered as he typed back.

Chance: Positive. We’ll discuss it later.

Deciding to just follow his lead and go with it, like he’d said, I dropped my phone onto my desk and booted up my computer, ready to get back to work.

Two minutes later, the door to Collin’s office opened and his fiancée, Devon, walked out, looking slightly disheveled and blissfully happy. I shot up a quick thank you to whatever higher power was responsible for Chance taking me to lunch today. Collin was a good guy and a great boss, and I genuinely liked Devon, but the last thing I needed was to hear them having sex in his office during lunch, when they thought no one could hear them. Again.

“Oh!” she chirped brightly when her eyes landed on me. “Hi, Melany.”

“Hi, Devon.” I smiled back. “Good lunch?”

Her cheeks tinged pink as she emitted a tiny giggle. “Yeah. A really good lunch.” She stepped closer, her eyes taking me in from the top of my head to where the desk cut off. “Oh my God. You look so pretty! Is that new?”

I looked down and nervously ran my palms down my middle, brushing nonexistent wrinkles from my dress. “Thanks, yeah. I… um… I got some new clothes over the weekend.”

“Well, stand up and show me the rest!” She rounded the desk and grabbed my hand, jerking me from my chair before I had a chance to comply. “Melany,” she gasped. “You look stunning!” With her hold getting tighter, she spun me around in a slow circle to get the full effect. “Where did you get this? I want one just like it. And those shoes!”

I was already blushing furiously when Collin stepped through the door of his office suddenly. “Honey, look at Melany. Doesn’t she look fabulous?”

I appreciated Devon’s enthusiastic compliments, but the attention I was unexpectedly receiving was the very reason I’d never dressed to impress before. I just didn’t know how to handle it.

“Wow,” Collin spoke. I looked over to see him crossing his arms over his chest. “You look very nice, Melany.”

Devon scoffed, but finally relinquished her hold on me so I could sit back down. “Pfft. Nice? Please. She’s smokin’ hot.”

I hadn’t thought it was possible for me to blush any harder. Clearly, I’d been wrong, because hearing Devon call me “smokin’ hot” made my chest and neck burn like fire. “So, where’d you get that outfit?”

“Um…” My instinct was to lower my gaze to the lacquered top of my desk, but I managed to force myself to maintain eye contact with Devon as I answered. She’d always been nice to me; there was no reason for me to be so uncomfortable with someone who’d shown me nothing but kindness. Besides, I was the one who wanted to boost my self-confidence, and that meant developing friendships outside of Constance and her husband… and possibly Chance.

“Chance took me to a little shop called Fire & Ice.”

Devon’s head cocked to the side curiously. “Chance?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “We, uh, kind of became friends. At your engagement party.”

Collin still looked confused, but Devon’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “And he took you shopping?”

“Mm-hmm. He and his friend Pepper helped me pick out a new wardrobe.”

“Chance,” she repeated. “Chance Hoffman took you shopping?” I was in the middle of nodding when a strange, pleased smile spread across her face.

“That’s fantastic! Honey”—she turned to my boss—“isn’t that fantastic?”

I heard Collin mumble something under his breath that sounded like, “Dear Lord. Not again,” and I looked in his direction just in time to see him drop his gaze and give his head a shake.

“So you two really hit it off, huh?” she asked, bringing her attention back to me.

My forehead wrinkled at her sudden strange behavior. “Um, I guess?”

“Chance is a great guy. Like, the best. He’s sweet and kind and funny and so handsome—”

“And I’m standing right here,” Collin interrupted, causing Devon to roll her eyes.

“Please, he’s just as much your friend as he is mine,” she grumbled in return.

His arms came uncrossed and he held them up. “Whatever. I’ve got work to do.” Making his way toward his fiancée, he placed a chaste kiss on her lips and headed back for his office. “I’ll see you at home later.”

“Okay, babe,” Devon returned. As soon as Collin’s door closed behind him, her attention came back to me. “You know, if you’re interested in a makeover, I’d be more than happy to give you some makeup tips. You’ve got an amazing complexion, and you don’t really need much, but I could give you a few pointers on how to highlight your natural beauty. If you’re interested, that is. I’m not saying I think you need makeup, because you totally don’t!” she added quickly.

I stopped and gave her offer some thought. “Actually, that would be great. I’ve always wanted to learn, but the last time I tried to use eyeliner I nearly blinded myself.”

Devon clapped her hands and gave an excited squeal. “I’ll totally help you! We can actually make it a girls’ night in kind of thing with wine and stuff.”

That actually sounded like a lot of fun, so much fun that I found myself smiling with an enthusiasm that matched hers. “I’m in.”

“Awesome!” she cheered. “I’ll set it up and get back to you, sound good?”

“Sounds perfect.” And it really did. I’d managed to overcome my anxiety and build on the foundation of friendship that Devon had already laid out for me. All of that with the added benefit of a makeup tutorial. I was pretty damn proud of myself.

And, oddly enough, I couldn’t wait to tell Chance about it, because I had no doubt he’d be proud, too.