Riley, seemingly smashed on free wine and high on herfavorite music, bounded over to Raffi, grabbed his face in both hands, and kissed him on the cheek, which was a very Riley thing to do. Always physically lovey-dovey after a few drinks. But today, the force of her affection caught Raffi by surprise and bumped him in a way that the entire contents of his Incredible Hulk–sized cabernet sauvignon erupted from his glass and soaked Ani’s very white dress.
Ani stared down at the damage. It was worse than the matcha latte she had pegged him with, and Raffi felt so horrible, he did the first thing he could think of, which was grab a flimsy napkin off the counter and rush to blot the stain. He turned back toward Ani while Riley caught up and gasped at the entire display, saying a string of words he couldn’t quite hear, and he must have been a little tipsier than he thought, because his hand headed straight for the heart of the stain, on Ani’s chest. He reached for the stain, nearly at his target, when—oh,no—the napkin slipped right out of his grasp and his hand landed on something soft and warm and oh my God that was a boob. Hand on the boob.
Raffi caught Ani’s eye, her sheer horror, and he removed his hand as immediately as the apologies began to flow.
But he shut up as soon as Ani’s mouth opened and she started to speak. “This was…This was…”
This was what? She seemed to be referring to the dress, by the way she stared down at herself. Had he ruined a priceless family heirloom? What if it was some vintage sixties creation her parents had brought over from Lebanon and now he’d destroyed it?
“…a mistake,” she finished.
With that, she turned and stormed away, toward the doors. Any bit of hope he’d had at a great night, all that optimism, was crushed.
Devin, his party animal buddy, chose that exact moment to drape his arm around Raffi and say way too loudly, “Don’t worry. Plenty of other hotties, right? We know how the ole Raffi G operates.”
“Bro,” Raffi said angrily—much more angrily than he had expected to become at that statement—but it was too late. The doors had shut behind Ani.
Now he could finally hear Riley. “I am SO sorry. I let the music and the vino get to me. She looked wrecked. You need to go after her, like, yesterday.”
“Aw, c’mon, this man doesn’t chase anyone. Women chase him.”
Riley put her hands on her hips. “While that may be true, Mr. I Buy Up Hospitals and Chop Them Up Into Parts—”
“Hey! Wait, do I know you?”
“Devin. We were in Operations Management together. Riley?”
“Oh. Your hair is short now, I—”
Raffi didn’t hear the rest of their conversation. He rushed out of his own party into the night.
The chilly evening air sharpened his senses and made him feel far less drunk as he searched for Ani. It wasn’t difficult. A car door slammed and an engine ignited, along with bright lights. Raffi ran toward them.
A part of him wondered if maybe the accidental wine spill followed by the accidental grope were all for the best. He shouldn’t be pursuing Ani. They still had well over six monthsof working closely together. Maybe that was fate intervening in the form of a whopper wine pour and a careening Riley. Telling him tostay the fuck away.
But the thought of her leaving, sopping wet in a wine stain of his doing, driving off alone and possibly evencrying, created a leaden feeling in his stomach. He couldn’t allow that.
God, what had gotten into him? A woman hadn’t made him feel this way in, well, ever. He didn’t need to think about that now, though, because he had reached her car.
“Ani,” he shouted, lightly slapping the rear passenger door twice just as the vehicle began to reverse. Raffi jumped back in a move of self-preservation—at least he still had good instincts, even three heavy glasses in. The car stopped suddenly, lurching forward from the abrupt halt.
He heard swearing from inside her car. She shut it off and swung open the door, and despite Ani’s obvious anger, he couldn’t help but feel relief that she hadn’t simply ignored him and left. He had a real chance to apologize.
“—do you think you’re doing? I almost ran you over!”
“You didn’t. My survival skills are top-notch,” he said, feeling a goofy grin spread across his face.
Ani unbuckled herself and got out of the car, slammed the door shut, crossed her arms, and stared at him. “What do you want?”
Raffi took a deep breath. The sight of her infuriated face was intoxicating. He could feel the anger rolling off her in waves, and he wondered what other types of emotions she could elicit with that intensity. Then he told himself to put the testosterone on mute and turn on his brain instead.
“Listen, I needed to give you a real apology for destroying your dress and—” How should he phrase this? “The napkin slip.”
“A slip, was it?” she said, sneering. “Or getting bold and handsy after a couple drinks?”
Raffi planted his feet firmly on the ground and looked straight into Ani’s eyes. He needed her to understand. “I promise you, I would never touch someone without their consent. Ever. I know some of what you’ve heard, but that? That was never me.”
Ani let out a breath, defusing. She seemed to believe his truth. He felt the blood pumping through his body at the sight of her chest rising and falling and remembered how soft and warm she was. He couldn’t help himself. Raffi took one step closer and lowered his voice. “And if I was touching you in a place like that, on purpose, believe me, you wouldknowit was on purpose.”
