The Trouble with Love (Sex, Love & Stiletto 4)

Emma was still most definitely single. Intentionally.

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sp; She dated whenever it suited her, and had had plenty of relationships over the years. But Emma had no intention of shackling herself to a man, no matter how happy her friends were.

Because that happiness could be ripped away faster than a burst pipe could ruin your morning. And then you were left with nothing but a gaping hole where your heart should have been.

“Okay, so if there wasn’t a hurricane or prom date gone wrong, what’s with the weird combination of wet hair, au naturel makeup, and glam cocktail dress?” Grace prodded.

Emma filled them in on her apocalyptic flood situation. As she talked, Julie rummaged around in her purse until she came up with a mascara wand, lip gloss, bronzer, and a hairbrush.

She offered them up to Emma, who reached for them eagerly.

Grace checked her watch. “Sorry, Em. You’ll have to rock that natural look a bit longer. Staff meeting’s about to start.”

“Emma, you didn’t tell them the best part of your morning,” Julie said, as the four of them headed toward the conference room.

“What?” Emma asked. “The part where you gave me your caramel macchiato?”

“Nope,” Julie said, “I’m talking about who we saw in the elevator.”

Emma rolled her eyes. Oh. That.

“Who?” Riley asked. “Was it the Duchess of Cambridge? I heard she and Prince Willy were coming to the States and I must know what hair conditioner she uses.”

“We saw Cassidy,” Julie said in a singsong voice.

“Yikes,” Grace muttered as she pushed open the conference room door. “I hope everyone was bundled up. It’s always like an ice storm when Emma and Alex are in the same vicinity.”

Emma’s eyes flicked to Grace in surprise. It was weird to hear someone refer to him as Alex. When they’d gone to college together, the guy had been known only by the last name scrawled across his back on game day. To Emma, Alex Cassidy had only ever been Cassidy. Had that changed? Had he grown up? Decided to ditch the soccer superstar identity and go by his first name?

Not that she cared. Whether he went by his first name or last name, it all translated to the same thing: jerk.

“Speaking of that ice storm,” Riley whispered, as they filed into the conference room. “Brrrr.”

It took Emma all of five seconds to know what Riley meant. She didn’t see Cassidy so much as felt him.

But no matter.

She didn’t know what the hell he was doing at their Stiletto staff meeting, and she didn’t really care.

She’d quit caring about anything having to do with Alex Cassidy long ago.

Say . . . right about the time he left her at the altar.

Chapter 2

It was hard not to stop and stare when the reigning queens of Stiletto entered the conference room. Or any room.

Instead of sucking all of the air out of the space, as the cliché went, it was almost like the four stunning women brought air into the room.

And Alex Cassidy didn’t think he was biased just because these women—most of them, anyway—were his friends.

But they were his friends. Good ones. Just when he’d started to think Manhattan was the loneliest, most foul place on earth, he’d stumbled on the unexpected:

Friendship.

It had started when he’d clicked with Jake Malone. Jake was one of Alex’s employees, who’d fallen hard and fast for Grace Brighton when the two of them had done a story together.