Satan’s Valentine. Fan-freaking-tastic.
I trudge my way home, cursing the icy wind. Luckily, the walk takes me through an alley that blocks the wind on either side, creating asmall reprieve from the weather—so long as I don’t run into any shifty characters.
The apartment that I share with Holly has notoriously thin walls, so when I get back to the building, I stop at the door and listen. I can hear the television, but nothing else. I open the door, making as much noise as possible. Not to interrupt anything, but because I would feel like a massive creep if I just quietly snuck in without them knowing.
As it turns out, I had nothing to worry about.
Jordan turns to look at me from the couch where he and Holly are cuddled up.
“Hey, you’re home late,” Holly says, poking her head up, a pink silk bonnet tied around her braids.
“Yeah, I stayed late at work.”
“Were you just trying to stay away from home?” Her glare tells me that she already knows the answer to that. “I told you, you don’t have to do that. We’re not going to throw you out of the apartment in the middle of winter just so we can bone.”
A loud laugh burst out of me.
“Who says bone anymore?” I say through my laughter.
“Who says we won’t throw her out so we can do it?” Jordan adds with a cheeky smile at her.
“Shut up.” Holly pushes at Jordan playfully, giggling all the while.
She and I have been friends since college, and I have never seen her so giddy over a man before. It’s actually kind of adorable.
“Well, I appreciate you considering me. At least tomorrow night, you’ll have the place to yourself for a bit.” I stop in the galley kitchen and grab a drink. “Anyone want something to drink?” I shout back at them.
They both assure me they’re all set. When I head back into the small living room, I find Holly staring at me expectantly.
“What?”
“Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day,” she says.
“I know. Do you guys have any dinner plans or anything?” I throw myself into the accent chair, draping my legs over the side. Our living room is barely big enough to fit a love seat, chair, and TV stand, but we make it work. Especially when it’s just the two of us. Three people in this room feels almost crowded.
“No, we were going to stay in. Didn’t want to fight the crowds of people when all I really want is to spend time with Hols,” Jordan says, looking at her with hearts in his eyes.
Holly, on the other hand… “Yeah, that’s great, babe. What do you mean we’ll have the place to ourselves? Where are you going to be?”
“Oh, I have a dinner thing,” I say, quickly adding, “for work.”
I twist the top off my bottled iced tea and take a swig.
“On a Saturday night? On Valentine’s Day?” she asked skeptically. “You’re an accountant, Bri. What work thing is happening tomorrow night?”
“It’s nothing. Just something the boss asked us all to go to.”
I hate lying to Holly, but I know her. If she finds out that my boss… my boss’s boss… is asking me to pretend to be his girlfriend for the night so he can score points with a client, she’s going to flip.
Probably rightfully so, but that doesn’t mean I want to hear it. Or the lecture that would follow about keeping my distance from men in the office. All men. She remembers what happened the last time I got too close to someone I worked with.
But this is different. No one is going to find out. It’s a one-dinner commitment where I’ll smile and engage in small talk and then get my extra vacation day. No harm, no foul.
Holly scans my face, looking for the deception that she can tell is there, but in the end, she purses her lips and lays her head on Jordan’s chest as we go back to watching the movie they had playing.
They watch the movie, anyway. My mind is busy shuffling through my wardrobe, trying to figure out what I’m going to wear to a fancy Valentine’s dinner at an upscale restaurant with my rich, brooding boyfriend.
Chapter 5
