“This really is my favorite time of year,” Tessa says with a happy sigh. “All the pretty parts of winter before the real cold kicks in.”

We’re strolling down Fifth Avenue, hot cocoa in hand, admiring the store window displays. Jill tugs her tasseled hat lower on her head. “If you ask me, this is plenty cold already.”

“Wimp,” I tease. She sticks her tongue out at me.

Tessa hugs herself. She’s been looking a little extra flushed since we met up, and I don’t think it’s just the chill in the air.

“Doug and I were talking about Christmas plans last night,” she says slowly. “And he insisted that we should have some quiet time together before we meet up with my family. I think . . . he might actually be planning to propose.”

I hold back a grimace. Jill catches my eye, looking like she’s suppressing the same. I can only see two possible outcomes here, and I don’t like either of them. Maybe Drippy Doug is going to propose—and then Tessa will say yes, and she’ll be stuck with him in a much more permanent way. Or maybe he just wants to make sure he gets his rocks off before he hides behind his phone through family time.

“How do you feel about it?” Jill asks.

“I don’t know . . .” Tessa pauses. “I mean, I’m happy. Obviously, I’m happy.”

She doesn’t sound happy.

“We’ve been together a couple of years now, and it makes sense,” she continues. “The next step. Marriage, and kids, and . . .” She trails off.

“You don’t have to decide anything,” Jill insists. “Just because he proposes, doesn’t mean you have to say yes.”

“I know . . .” Tessa says quietly, and I wince.

“You have to call us the second anything happens,” I tell her. “I definitely think we should know before your parents do.”

“We are here more of the time,” Jill agrees.

Tessa nods. “You’ll definitely be at the top of the list. But I guess I shouldn’t get ahead of myself. We’ll see what happens.” She nudges Jill’s shoulder. “Did I hear you mentioning a new audition to Barb?”

“Oh!” Jill’s face brightens. I can see her trying to restrain her excitement. “I shouldn’t get too worked up. It’s only first rounds. But it’d be a lead role in a big production. Not just off-Broadway, but actual Broadway. I don’t know how much of a chance I have—”

“You have an amazing chance,” I say. “You’re experienced, you know your way around an audition. You’ll knock their socks off. It’s your time. I know it.”

“I really hope so.” She shivers. “It’s next Monday. But a show this big, they probably have to see a ton of people before they even do callbacks. I might not know for weeks.”

“It’d make a perfect Christmas present,” Tessa says. “I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.”

Jill turns to me with a mischievous smile. “You’re being awfully quiet about your big news, Mac. Not ready to kiss and tell yet?”

My face warms. “I can tell you that there was kissing.”

“And . . . ?” Tessa says, raising her eyebrows.

“And a lot more than kissing.”

“Come on, girl. Don’t make us drag it out of you.” Jill elbows me gently.

“I’m sorry.” I sigh. “Being with Jack has been so great so far, but, you know, maybe it isn’t the best idea? Sleeping with the guy who’s funding my company. I don’t think they usually recommend that in business school.”

“Aw, don’t think about it like that,” Tessa says. “You’re the relationship guru. Think of it as you’re taking a calculated risk. I can tell how happy you are.”

“I am,” I admit. A smile crosses my face just thinking about the texts Jack sent me this morning, arranging to meet for drinks later and promising lots more fun after. “I’m not really freaking out about it. I can handle it. I’m a big girl, right? It just feels a little weird talking about it.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Jill says with a firm nod. “At least you’d better, because we are going to want to hear all the details. And he’s the best guy you’ve hooked up with in ages. You finally found one who loves his work but manages to have fun too.”

“Um, yeah, he definitely doesn’t skimp on the fun.”

Tessa smirks. “Uh-huh. And obviously you’re fully . . . satisfied. What possible reason could there be not to run with it?”

“None,” I say. “None at all.”

---

It’s dark out by the time I get to the bar to meet Jack. I spot him through the front window, leaning against the corner of the counter and chatting with the bartender. He glances up as I make for the door and immediately grins. I’m warmed before I even step out of the cold.

He saunters over with two glasses, one of which he hands to me. “I took the liberty. Vodka tonic. I hope I remembered right.”

I take a sip. And very good vodka that is. “Can’t go wrong with a good vodka tonic. You weren’t waiting too long?”

He shakes his head with a grin. “You’re right on time. But I did have a chance to scope out the best spots in this place. For example . . .” He directs me through the busy room to a corner cast in darker shadow. “This spot offers a little more breathing room. And privacy.”

I take a seat. Our little nook feels more intimate already. He sidles close to me, brushing a strand of hair back from my face, and my pulse speeds up. Suddenly I wish there were walls around us for some real privacy.

“I missed you,” he says softly.

“You just saw me two days ago.” I smile.

“So you’re saying you didn’t miss me?” he teases.

I make a face at him. I did, actually. I went to sleep last night thinking how nice it would be to be drifting off with his arms around me. But that doesn’t mean I can’t keep playing it cool.

“Maybe I was looking forward to seeing you again,” I allow.

He chuckles. “You’re a hard nut to crack, McKenna. It’s a good thing I’m not afraid of a little work.”

“Not afraid? You love it.”

“Maybe.” He trails a finger down my back, leaving my skin quivering. “When I know it’s worth the effort.”

His phone buzzes in his pocket. “Although speaking of work . . .” He checks the call display, and his mouth twists. “Normally I’d never interrupt a date, but I’ve been waiting on this call for three days. Give me a sec?”

“Of course.” I sip from my drink as he ducks out of the bar onto the quieter street. I sigh with satisfaction. A good drink, a great date, I have everything I need . . .

Except the blonde, glossy-haired woman who’s walking over to me.

Shelby Summers?

My heart sinks. I steel myself for awkward small talk.

“McKenna!” Shelby cries, and she gives me an air kiss by my cheek. “We keep bumping into each other. Running in similar circles these days, I guess.”

“It seems that way,” I say, with zero enthusiasm.

Shelby lowers her voice. “I’ve got to congratulate you. I saw who you’re here with. Keeping his interest this long—you’re obviously putting our research into practice with the right moves.”

My face flares. “It’s not our research, and I didn’t make any moves. We just . . . enjoy each other’s company.”

Shelby smiles knowingly. “Sure. Oh, here he comes back. Good job, McKenna. Really.”

She pats me on the shoulder as if I’m a star pupil who’s made her proud. Excuse me while I vomit. She’s sashayed away before Jack reaches me, but my stomach is still churning.

Apparently a vodka tonic can go wrong. I’m not sure I want to finish my glass.

“Sorry about that,” Jack says. “All sorted out, the phone is off, no more interruptions. Now, where were we?”

I can still see Shelby from the corner of my eye, laughing with a bunch of girlfriends, all of them equally blonde and primped. I’m not going to be able to enjoy Jack’s company with her watching our every move. She probably thinks I seduced Jack just to get ahead. If she had any idea how hard I tried to resist this attraction . . .

But that’s what anyone would think if they saw us together, knowing what he’s doing for my company, wouldn’t they—that I charmed my way into his wallet?

“Are you all right?” Jack asks, looking confused. “If it bothered you that I stepped away—”

“No,” I say quickly. Now that the idea is in my head, I can’t shake it. Maybe I just need to get away from Shelby, since she’s the one who planted it. “It might sound silly, but I’m not really feeling this place. What would you say to a change in scenery?”

Jack’s smile turns wicked. “If the scenery in my apartment meets your approval, I’d say what are we waiting for?”

I swat him. “Someone is getting ahead of himself.”

He leans so close his lips brush my temple. “Don’t worry. I’ll always make sure you come first.”

“Let me just dash to the ladies’, and then you can make good on that promise.”

I squeeze through the crowd and duck into the restroom. I’m just finishing up in the stall when the main door squeaks open. A familiar voice fills the room.

“It’s just proof that my strategies are the only sure thing there is,” Shelby is saying. From the footsteps outside my stall, she’s with two or three of her friends. “All that research, and in the end she still had to come around to my approach in order to get ahead.”

“I can’t believe she acts like she’s better than you and then she turns around and sleeps with investors,” one of the friends chirps.

“Oh, it’s fine,” Shelby says magnanimously. “She has to save face. But I know how she got where she is. That’s all that matters.”

I’ve stiffened behind the stall door. Makeup compacts click open and shut. The women murmur about each other’s hair. A tap runs. Then they shuffle back out again.

I lean my head against the cool surface of the door. The churning in my stomach has come back.

Does it matter if I know I’m not sleeping with Jack for his support? If Shelby connects the dots that way . . . And who else is she going to tell?

They’ll all think I fucked him just to get ahead.

I rejoin Jack with my head in a spin. I don’t know how to talk about this with him, not after having played hot and cold for so long.

Jack hails a cab and slides into the back next to me. He sets his hand on my leg, running his fingers over my knee. “Better?”

“Much.” But not completely. I swallow hard, trying to figure out how to start this conversation. “Do you think it’s going to look strange to people, us going out together?”

Jack raises an eyebrow at me. “Why would it look strange?”

“I just mean, with the app preparing for launch, and people knowing you’ve funded it . . .”

He lifts his arm to slide it around my shoulder. “You worry too much, McKenna. What we do with our businesses and what we do with our private time is totally separate.”

Jack traces his thumb along my lower lip and draws me into a kiss. I melt against him, I can’t help it. His touch feels too good, and just like that, Shelby is the last thing on my mind.

“You are a dangerous woman, McKenna Delaney,” he says in that husky voice that turns me into a puddle of hormones. His lips move to my neck, and I sink back against the seat in pleasure.

Talking can wait.