Casual Affair

“At least I acted on my attraction and made a move,” Bea continued heatedly. “You just waste your time pining after Gabe. Newsflash, sis. This isn’t a John Hughes movie. It’s not going to magically happen. You want something with Gabe? Grow some lady balls and go after him.”

Felicity’s lips curved into a tight smile as she stood up to leave. “I’m not even going to comment on that because you like to fight whenever someone puts you on the spot. It’s one reason you and Zane fight so much at work. When you get all defensive like this, you’re as deaf as a doornail and stubborn as a pit bull. So I’m going to walk away.”

“And you always walk away from a fight when you know the other person is right,” Bea shot back.

Despite everything, she had to chuckle when her sweet and shy sister flipped her the finger as she walked out the door.

But God, the woman was frustrating when she made sense.

Chapter Twenty

Oh, the torture.

Bea’s only saving grace during the boring-ass political debate was the tequila. Years of growing up around politics with their congressman father meant she wanted nothing to do with it in her adulthood.

But best friend duties and all that.

Tonight was supposed to be about celebrating their business accomplishments. But Felicity, the devil woman, had effectively managed to kill Bea’s buzz before she’d ever had one. Didn’t mean she couldn’t drink, though. She still had to make the effort to achieve tipsiness, right?

“Finally,” Bea said with a long-suffering sigh as she clicked off the television when the debate was over. “I thought it would never end.”

She didn’t even try to listen as Gwen and Felicity discussed the debate, how Clay had done, who they thought had won. She just continued to sip her margarita and push her worries about the Zane situation out of her head.

“I want to know how it’s going with your sexy man-friend, Bea,” Gwen cheerfully said.

Ah, hell in a handbasket.

Felicity was trying to hide her smile behind her glass, but Bea saw it and glared at her. “The sex is great,” she responded. “That’s all that matters, right?”

Felicity chuckled under her breath, but Gwen’s eyes were full of questions. “But don’t you sort of have a thing going on with him?”

“Yeah, Bea,” Felicity teased in a singsong voice. “Isn’t it more of a thing?”

She ignored her sister and answered Gwen. “When have you ever known me to have a thing with anyone? We’re just hanging out and sleeping together.” She threw up her hands. “Just because we’re spending time together outside of work doesn’t mean it has to be more than that. It’s not like we’re about to go pick out china patterns.”

“Sorry,” Gwen said. “I wasn’t trying to insinuate anything. I just assumed. Because you’ve seemed so happy lately.”

Bea felt guilty for being bitchy, and in an effort to avoid addressing Gwen’s comment about her happiness, she shifted the conversation away from herself. “Why don’t you ask Gimley over there what she’s doing about her crush on Gabe Wexler.”

Felicity choked on her drink and shot daggers at Bea. She blew her sister a kiss in response. Payback’s a bitch.

“Has he finally asked you out?” Gwen asked.

Felicity’s jaw clenched and she finally looked over at Gwen. “No, and it wouldn’t matter if he did. I’ve told you before he has a complicated family situation. And there’s also the matter of him being our client. Things could get weird if we got involved.”

“Those are just excuses and you know it,” Bea said.

“What family situation?” Gwen asked.

Felicity rubbed her forehead and took another drink. “He’s divorced, and all I know about it is that it didn’t end well. He hasn’t shared much, but I’m guessing they’re having custody issues over their daughter. And he doesn’t seem too open to dating right now, which is completely fine with me because we have a ton of work to do for Paxton Designs and I need to be concentrating on that.”

Bea sent Gwen a wry look. “Translation: she’s got a major lady boner for him, but she’s too scared to ask him out.”