Casual Affair

Bea: Ditto.

Zane: I won’t be able to concentrate on work until I rub out this current problem. After that, I promise. No more beating the bishop until I see you.

Bea: Such a way with words, Mr. Price.

Zane: You love my words, Ms. Paxton. Now get back to work.

She set her phone aside and tried to focus back on work. But her mind kept drifting.

Over a month they had been doing…whatever it was they were doing. She still didn’t know quite what it was, but they both seemed happy with the status quo, so she didn’t want to question it. She was sleeping over at his place more often than not. They had eaten dinner together she didn’t know how many times, whether it was at a nice restaurant or at his place on the couch surrounded by take-out containers. They had even been working out together. And considering how much they had been around each other at work getting ready for the store launch, it seemed like they spent every hour of the day together.

The surreal part?

It didn’t bother her. Not one bit.

It hadn’t exactly happened on purpose. They had just gotten comfortable with each other, established a routine before they even realized what was happening. They hadn’t had that awkward “what’s our label” conversation yet, and frankly, she didn’t want to have it. Ever. Things always got sticky after that discussion. Expectations were set, rules were made, promises given. Everything she wanted to avoid.

Right now, they were free to just be themselves, without any pressure.

That’s how she wanted it to stay.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t going to.

Things were coming to a head, and they both knew it. Although they hadn’t discussed it, his imminent departure had been hanging over them the entire month. She’d felt it weighing them down, leaving so many unspoken emotions right under the surface.

What would happen once he left?

It was the most important question of all, but she was too much of a coward to ask. Too afraid of the answer. She couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing his boyish grin again. Never feeling his arms wrapped around her in bed, or laughing at his dirty banter. As much as she couldn’t imagine her life without him in it, she didn’t have a clue how they could make a relationship work while they were thousands of miles apart.

“Who do we know in Surrey, England?” Felicity asked as she walked into Bea’s office holding a package. With their offices right next to each other, they could usually talk to each other just by yelling through their open doors. But every now and then, one of them actually made the effort to walk to the other room.

Bea schooled her expression and tried to wipe her mind of her disturbing thoughts. She reached out and took the box. “No one you know,” she replied. Her heart skipped a beat as she assessed the label. It was the final piece she was waiting on. She was enormously relieved it had arrived on time. “This is just something I ordered for the store.”

Felicity’s brows furrowed. “For that mystery display you’ve been working on?”

Bea nodded but remained tight-lipped.

“I still don’t understand why I don’t even get to know what it is,” Felicity grumbled as she fell into a chair across from Bea’s desk. “I am your partner, after all. We’re doing this job together.”

Bea leaned back in her chair. “I know. And normally you would. But this is something I want Zane to be the first to see.” That was actually very important to her.

Felicity looked like she wanted to add something to that but changed the subject instead. “Do I need to stop and get another bottle of red for tonight?”

“I’m thinking we go all out and have a margarita night,” Bea answered. “We’ve earned the right to get a little crazy.”

The group presentation they’d given last month had really paid off. They’d just landed two huge commercial accounts out of that group and received a proposal request from another. Between those clients and the final paychecks from Envision, they were going to be free and clear of the loan from their father right on schedule.

So they were celebrating.

Celebrating meant margaritas. And lots of them.

Felicity laughed. “Don’t lie. You’d get crazy whether you earned the right to or not.”