A chemical fluke.
The universe's cruelest joke, pairing me with the one man guaranteed to complicate my life beyond repair.
If we'd met under different circumstances—if he weren't Miles's father, if I hadn't extricated myself from that toxic relationship—would I still feel this pull toward him?
This overwhelming, inconvenient desire that made nonsense of my carefully rebuilt life?
My office phone rang, startling me from my thoughts.
"Savannah Blake." I tried to sound professional, put-together, nothing like the woman falling apart at the seams.
"Hey, it's Zoe. Lunch. Now. Non-negotiable."
I checked the time—1:30 already.
"I've got too much?—"
"That wasn't a question," she interrupted.
"You're avoiding me, and we both know why. Meet me at Luciana's in twenty minutes or I'm coming to drag you out myself."
She hung up before I could argue.
Typical Zoe—bulldozing through my defenses with unwavering determination. Under normal circumstances, I appreciated her directness.
Today, it filled me with dread.
She'd seen too much at the wedding, had questions I couldn't answer without revealing everything.
But I owed her something.
She'd been texting since Sunday, concerned about my abrupt departure from the wedding brunch, and I'd been deflecting with vague excuses about work stress and migraine headaches.
Luciana's was our usual spot, a small Italian place halfway between our offices.
When I arrived, Zoe was already seated at our corner table, two glasses of wine poured despite the workday.
"You look like shit," she said by way of greeting.
"Thanks." I slid into the chair across from her.
"Always nice to hear."
"Are we pretending you haven't been avoiding me since you bolted from brunch on Sunday? Or can we skip to the part where you tell me what the hell is going on?"
I took a fortifying sip of wine.
"It's complicated."
"So uncomplicate it." She leaned forward, eyes narrowing.
"This is about Silver Fox, isn't it? The guy from the wedding."
My stomach dropped.
"What makes you say that?"
"Please. You disappeared after the ceremony. Came to brunch glowing like you'd been thoroughly satisfied, sporting a hickey you tried and failed to hide. Then you turned ghost-white when Cami introduced her uncle, who just happened to be a silver-haired hottie."
