After the Kiss (Sex, Love & Stiletto 1)

The “office” was more of a nook with a sliding door, and there was a stack of magazines on the desk, with Stiletto on top. Mitchell smiled. It made him think of Julie.

“So what’s up?” Colin asked, folding his arms across his beefy chest and giving a plastic smile.

Mitchell’s instincts went on alert. Colin was seriously freaked out about something.

“The deal’s off,” he said quietly, grabbing a stapler off the desk and clicking it idly.

“I’m sorry?” Colin said, his eyes locked on Mitchell’s hand.

“The deal. With Julie, the Yankees tickets, the whole thing … done.”

Colin ran a hand over his short brown crew cut and gave a nervous laugh. “That’s it? Okay, then. Consider it over.”

Mitchell narrowed his eyes at Colin’s easy tone. “Let me be more clear. It never happened.”

Colin looked confused. “Wait, I don’t get the office? I thought that was part of the deal. I thought you were conceding.”

Mitchell swore. “Christ, I don’t care about the damned office. I just meant as far as Julie knows, this whole thing never happened.”

Colin held up two innocent hands. “Sure, man. I’ll never mention it again.” A flash of Colin’s old smugness resurfaced, and Mitchell felt oddly relieved.

“So you couldn’t do it, huh?” he asked.

“Do what?”

“Couldn’t fuck her and dump her. You had to make a thing out of it, just like you do with every woman who spreads her legs for you.”

Mitchell felt his face go hot, and he took a step toward Colin, feeling uncharacteristically violent. “It’s not like that.”

“Yeah?” Colin said, looking genuinely curious. “What’s it like?”

Mitchell shook his head in annoyance, not the least bit interested in spilling his guts to Colin.

And he certainly wasn’t about to let any of this hurt Julie.

The wounded creature he’d seen crying her eyes out last night would definitely be hurt if she found out about this. Last night as he’d listened to her heartbroken sobs, he finally realized what made Julie Greene tick—what made her draw men to her like toddlers to candy and then dance away before they could see anything but her sweet outer coating.

Beneath all that confident, sassy flash was a lonely orphan whose parents had never come home. It was the oldest story in the book: a woman who didn’t believe in lasting love because she’d never had it.

And Mitchell knew just the man to show her the way.

But she couldn’t learn about his stupid arrangement with Colin. For a woman who thought she wasn’t worthy of long-term love, knowing that he’d sought her out specifically for a fling would kill her.

“It’s none of your business,” Mitchell said finally. “I’ll talk to Suzanne tomorrow about arranging to switch offices.”

Colin’s wary look returned, as though he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. “That’s it? That’s all you came over here for?”

Mitchell looked at him closely. “Is there something I’m missing here? You’re acting as guilty as a kid with frosting on his face before dinner.”

Colin’s eyes went wide and innocent. “No, man, just making sure we’re cool—”

Mitchell held up a hand to halt the babbling. “What is that?”

“What’s what?”

Mitchell tilted his head slightly. “I hear voices.”

Colin gave him an incredulous look. “Well, yeah, it’s my girlfriend’s place. She’s allowed to talk.”