As we slide back into the booth, the waiter returns with our bottle of wine and a second bottle of red wine. Tyler pours Angela a glass while of red while Ryder fills my glass with the pinot grigio he ordered. Taking a sip, it’s sweeter than I expect it to be, crisp and light. I like it. Taking a second sip, I look around the table at the company I’m keeping tonight.

My best friend and confidant, and two of the Dixon brothers.

Tall and handsome, Tyler and Ryder may look different and act different, but there’s no denying they’re related. Both have an infectious laugh and a smile that will melt any women’s panties. Thankfully for Angela, Tyler only has eyes for her. Ryder, on the other hand, isn’t tied down anymore. He could have any woman in the room, yet he’s staring at me right now.

“What?” I ask, avoiding eye contact.

“Nothing. If I haven’t said it already, you look beautiful tonight.” His voice is soft, only loud enough for me to hear over the murmur of the guests dining around us.

“Thank you,” I reply, look to Angela for support. She’s ignoring me, watching us out of the corner of her eye but refusing to face me. “Did you know Tyler was coming tonight?”

“I had a feeling,” he replies, shifting in his seat.

All eyes are on me as I reach for my wine. Angela and Ryder are playing it cool, watching me nonchalantly. Tyler, on the other hand, is looking directly at me.

That’s what confirms it. This was a setup.

“So am I the only person who feels awkward about this right now?” I ask louder than necessary. They’ll never admit to it, but I know I’m right.

“About what?” Tyler asks, his eyes darting between me and Ryder.

“About the fact that I’m on a double date with my boss?”

“This isn’t a date,” Angela defends.

“Sure it’s not. Two young couples, eating at a nice restaurant on a Saturday night. What would you call it?” I ask, my irritation with her rising.

She knows how I feel about being set up. I’ve never been a fan of blind dates, double dates, people playing matchmaker. She knows that I have concerns about how I feel about Ryder, even if she doesn’t share those same concerns.

“Emerson,” Ryder says, his voice calm and soothing. “My father made the reservation. I’m sorry if this looks one way. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable, and if you’d like to go home, I’ll gladly take you.”

Well, now I feel like an asshole. I don’t want him to think that I don’t like him. I mean, as a person, as my boss. Of course I like working for him.

Pull up those panties, Emerson. You’re a big girl. You can handle having dinner with your colleagues and your best friend. Suck it up. For one night.

Before I can respond, the waiter arrives to take our order. I’m the last to place mine, unprepared for his arrival. After he leaves, I apologize to everyone at the table and reach for the wine bottle, my glass half empty already. Ryder stops me, picking up the bottle to refill my glass.

To ease the tension, Tyler changes the conversation to something less serious. Ten minutes later, we’re laughing about the paintball game and how Ryder and I lost so quickly. Ryder demands a rematch, his finger pointed at Angela as he says it.

Challenge accepted. I have a feeling we’re going to be back on the battlegrounds in the next few weeks. Let’s hope we have better results this time.

The conversation over dinner is just as light and fun. Ryder keeps my glass filled with wine, ordering a second bottle. After he’s finished eating, he relaxes back into the booth, his hand resting behind my head.

It’s not until we’re about to leave that I realize what a nice time I had tonight. After the initial tension I caused was cast aside, the conversation flowed and it was nothing but laughter and good fun. As we make our way to the parking garage, I shoot Angela a pleading look.

I try to convey to her my concerns with my eyes. I’ve had wine. If he takes me home, I won’t be able to resist temptation. I’ll be the idiot that makes a move on her boss and then I’m out of a job. She’s not picking up on my hints.

“We should have our rematch tomorrow,” Ryder announces as we approach his truck. “Are you guys free?”

“Hell yes, we are,” Angela says, looking to me for confirmation. “Wait, did we have plans?” she asks when she sees the look on my face.

“Girls’ night,” I reply. “Plus, I’m getting a headache, too much wine. Can you take me home, Ang?”

“I can take you home,” Ryder says, placing his hand on the small of my back.

A wave of desire washes over me at the thought of his hands exploring other areas of my body. I can feel a smile begin to spread across my face and then Angela slams the door on my ideas.

“I’ll take her,” she says, moving to pull me away from Ryder.

“I thought you were going to stay over tonight,” Tyler says in protest.

“Not if Em needs me. I’ll stay over another night,” Angela replies, pulling me away from our little circle. “See you guys later. Rematch next week,” she screams, her words echoing through the empty garage.

“Thank you,” I say as soon as we’re on the highway.

“Do you really have a headache, or did I just give up sex because you were freaking out?”

“I’m sorry.”

“That’s what I thought. Can I ask you something?”

“Do I have to answer?”

“What are you afraid of?”

“I’m not afraid of anything.”

“Liar. I saw how you reacted when he put his hand on the back of the booth. I saw the way you were looking at him the entire night out of the corner of your eye. You were watching him eat, Emerson. You have it bad, and you won’t even admit it to yourself.”

Was I? I mean, it’s hard not to stare at him, but was I really watching him eat? I doubt it. What did he have again? Oh yeah, asparagus. And steak, medium rare. And mashed red potatoes. Those made his lips glossy.

Shit! I was watching him eat. If Angela noticed, did he?

“I’m a mess, aren’t I?”

“No, you just need to stop lying to yourself. I don’t understand why you won’t go for it. I mean, tonight wasn’t actually a setup. It was last minute, but I thought it would be fun and so I agreed to take Tyler instead of Herman. I’m sorry if you got the wrong impression, but I wasn’t trying to trick you into anything. You can date Ryder if you want, or anyone else for that matter. Things with Ian ended abruptly and maybe you’re not ready yet, but when you are, I hope you won’t ignore the way you feel for Ryder just because you work for him. He’s actually a good guy. And I’m damn near positive he has it bad for you.”

I let Angela’s words sink in as she pulls into the parking lot to our apartment. No matter how hard I try to deny it, I do like Ryder. As more than a boss. More than a friend. More than I should.

I may not be ready for a relationship again, but it couldn’t hurt to see if there was something else there.

I won’t make the first move, though.

That will have to be on him.

And I won’t share my feelings with him.

That would make me look desperate.

I need to make it clear that liking him has nothing to do with his position or his money or anything else. I have a feeling he’s been used in the past. I know for a fact that Megan took advantage of him and he needs to know that I have no intentions of following in her misguided footsteps.

Not that I plan on marrying him.

Or even getting serious with him. I’m getting ahead of myself with this internal monologue. It’s time to shut up and shut down for the night. If that’s even possible.

* * *

“Next Saturday,” Angela announces from behind the shower curtain as I brush my teeth.

After dinner last night, I was exhausted. Angela wanted to start planning Tyler’s birthday party, but I wasn’t in the mood to discuss ideas. I’ve been awake for less than an hour and she’s picking our conversation up where we left off.

“I thought his birthday was Sunday?”

“Exactly. We have plans to spend the day together for his birthday. That’s why he’d never suspect a surprise party on Saturday night.”

“And where do you suggest we host this surprise party? It’s not like our apartment can host something as grand as I’m sure you’re thinking.”

“Well…” she begins, her voice trailing off.

“Ang?” I ask after a few moments of silence.

“How would you feel about Ryder’s house?”

“You’re joking, right?”

“No. Think about it. He has plenty of space, an immaculate kitchen, and Ryder could be in cahoots with us, occupying Tyler while we set up.”

“And I’m guessing you want me to ask him.”

“I can ask him if you want. I just figured since you’ll see him tomorrow morning, ya know, that he might be more receptive.”

I have enough to ask him in the morning. I need a day off this week to get my things from Ian’s apartment. I’ve put it off long enough. Plus, I just want it to be over with. The longer I leave my things there, the more hope I give him that I’m coming back eventually.

Now that Ryder knows we broke up, I feel better about asking him. Less leery of having to answer a shit ton of questions. What else could he ask me that he hasn’t already?

“I planned to ask him for time off tomorrow, to move my things out of Ian’s. Can you ask him?”

Poking her head around the shower curtain, Angela’s beaming smile catches me off guard. Her soapy hair is dripping onto the tiles and she continues to stare at me.

“What?” I ask, exasperated at her stare.

“You’re finally doing it. I’m proud of you.”

Turning away from her, I stare at her in the mirror before responding. “It needs to get done eventually. Better now than later on.”

She disappears back behind the curtain and begins sharing all her ideas for the party while I stare at my reflection in the mirror.

Costume party. Halloween themed since it’s only a few days after his birthday. The food will follow the theme as well, with appetizers like a pumpkin shaped cheese ball, stuffed mushroom eyeballs, hot pepper mummies and so many others. She goes on until she’s finished showering and dressed.

“What about drinks? Is it bring your own?” I ask, scribbling down all the ideas I can remember.

“Nah. We’ll come up with something. That’s what Google’s for, right? Type in a few keywords and it’ll pop up all sorts of cool Halloween themed drinks.”

We spend most of the afternoon planning, making more lists and working out all the details. By midafternoon, Angela is so excited she wants to go shopping. Images of her in the Halloween store scare me, but I agree, and two hours later, we’re home with more decorations than one person will ever need.

“Maybe we should have asked Ryder first,” I say as we attempt to organize everything she just purchased.

“Oh, yeah. I should probably call him.”

Grabbing her phone, Angela disappears into her bedroom to call my boss. I have the urge to stand outside her door and attempt to listen to their conversation. I know they’re not talking about me, or at least I hope not, so I force myself to stay seated on the living room floor sorting decorations into piles.

Ten minutes later, Angela appears with a huge smile on her face.

“I’m guessing he said yes.”

“Yep. We need to bring all this stuff over to his place so let’s pack it all up,” she announces as she begins shoving my mostly organized piles into random bags.

“Wait, what? Why are we going over there?”

“He said we could store everything over there. We’ll go shopping later this week and bring the food to his house and then we can prep everything there while we set up on Saturday.”

Thinking quickly, I say the first thing that comes to mind. “What about girls’ night tonight?”

Shaking her head at me, Angela grins. “It’s five o’clock, Em. We’ll be back here in an hour and we can start drinking. Girls’ night in, okay?”

Not okay, but it’s going to have to be.