Another

“Hanna.” She turned over her shoulder. “The financial spreadsheet you created was amazing. I hope you don’t mind if I use it for the boys at Wellington and Russo.”

One side of her mouth ticked up. “Thank you. And go ahead. Just make sure they know a woman schooled them on how to do it best.”

“Of course.”

We all made mistakes, and I wasn’t sure Hanna and I would ever be close. But we had an understanding and us women needed to at least have each other’s backs in the office. I just hoped one day I could trust her enough to have my back outside of it too because strong lady friendships were where it was at.

As soon as Hanna left, Ian stepped in, eyes wide. “Everything okay?”

“It will be,” I said, stepping into his arms.

“Good.” He pressed a kiss to the crown of my head. “Now, about that office sex. What are you thinking? Bent over the desk or on top with your legs around my waist?”

I leaned back, and we both spoke at the same time.

“Bent over,” he said.

“On top.”

Doing what I always do with Ian, I shook my head and rolled my eyes.

“Go lock the door, Bergamo.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Hanna

Six months later

“That was fantastic, Carina,” Daniel said beside me.

I loved the sound of his voice. Every time he spoke over dinner, I had to remind myself not to get lost in the deep timbre of his voice or force myself not to stare at the way his lips moved over the words.

“Thank you,” Carina answered.

“Hey, I helped,” Ian protested.

“Ian, made the salad.”

“Good job, man. We’re all so proud of your cooking achievements,” Erik said, earning a finger from Ian.

Ian and Carina had invited everyone over for dinner like they did a couple times a month. Carina loved to cook for everyone, and Ian loved to make Carina happy.

Taking in the happy couple holding hands on the tabletop, it was crazy to think how far we’d come in the past six months. Carina and I had bonded over our mutual goal to dominate the mostly male office, and that had slowly shifted to lunches and eventually a kind of friendship.

I envied her boldness and confidence. It reminded me so much of Sophie that it both drew me in and hurt my heart all at once.

One night I’d drank more than my share of wine and admitted how similar she was to my twin. Somehow, I ended up sharing stories of Sophie and I growing up and part of what we endured when we were taken. Carina had cried with me and fed me ice cream when the worst of it was over.

I’d confided how desperate I was to move on and become a sexual woman outside of my trauma but hadn’t found a way yet. She’d held my hand and understood the best she could without false platitudes, and it had been everything I needed.

“When are you going to ask this girl to marry you?” Erik asked Ian.

“When are you going to ask Alex to marry you?”

Alex rolled her eyes, having heard this same back and forth before. We all knew they were waiting for Alex to graduate. I still cringed a little when I thought of the age difference between her and my brother.

Unconsciously, my eyes shot to Daniel. Then again, maybe a large age gap wasn’t such a big deal. Daniel was an older man. Not that he looked much older than my brother.

He had fine lines around his blue eyes and full mouth, proving he enjoyed life and laughed a lot. It was alluring. That kind of positivity and vibrance pulled me in through dinner. And when he happened to turn and catch me staring at him, giving me a wicked smile, my whole body burned.

“I’ll get the dishes, baby,” Ian crooned, pointedly looking at Daniel and Erik to help him.

They grumbled but obliged.

Carina caught me watching Daniel’s retreating back—his butt to be more specific. It was perfectly plump and firm under his black jeans.

“You know, Hanna,” she said with a slow smile. “You should come to Voyeur one night. It may be a good way to get your toes in the water without any pressure.”

Voyeur—the sex club Daniel owned. It wasn’t actually a sex club, but more a place to watch people perform sexual acts. I could even do it from a private room from what she explained.

My eyes bulged at her suggestion; at the same time, my heart thundered with excitement. “Oh, umm…”

“I want to go to Voyeur,” Alexandra said, perking up.

“We can make it a girls trip,” Carina suggested.

“Oh…don’t you need a membership?”

“I’ll talk to Daniel about it.”

“Talk to Daniel about what?” the man himself asked, strolling into the dining room.

“Can you get Hanna a night pass for Voyeur?”

All bodily functions stalled. My heart stopped beating, my lungs stopped inflating, and my neurons stopped firing.