“No. No girlfriend. We saw each other for a little bit here and there.”
Peter and Freddie, in their drunken state, let out an overly dramatic ‘oooooh.’
Alexander rolls his eyes. “But that’s over now.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” Eden replies. Is this a smile tugging at her lips? But why doesn’t she feel bad about the news?
“Don’t be. It was very amicable.”
“Well, that’s…good. Yeah, I’m... Good.”
Alexander smirks. “Prosecco hitting you a little hard there, Monroe?”
“What? No, of course not.”
“Sure,” he says dryly.
“Like you’re one to talk,” she teases, poking his cheek. “Look how red your face is. You’ve had, what? Three beers? You look like a tomato.”
“I’ll have you know it’s called Asian flush, and it’s perfectly natural.”
Eden, bubbly and just on the other side of tipsy, giggles. “A cute, cute tomato.”
He chuckles. “Oh, stop,” he says, but there isn’t any heat behind it.
“I should take a picture for posterity. Or blackmail.”
“Blackmail? What could you possibly want to blackmail me for?”
“More paid vacation days, for one,” Eden says, teasing. “Maybe a raise?”
“You already have fourteen paid vacation days a year, and your salary is more than generous.”
“Yeah, but like…Moreof all that stuff, please.”
Alexander snorts. “It’s going to take a lot more than an embarrassing picture of me to get me to cave.”
Her camera clicks. She’s managed to steal two pictures of him, one mid-sentence and mid-blink, while the other shows off a partial smile.
“There,” she beams. “Let me just forward this to the waitstaff. Iknowthey’ll love to see these in the group chat.”
“Don’t you dare!” Alexander reaches out and grabs the phone from her, holding it up and away. He fends her off, one hand on her shoulder as she laughs.
“Give it here!”
“Absolutely not!”
She’s practically crawled onto Alexander’s lap by the time she manages to get her phone back, feeling proud and very,veryaware of how solid his body feels beneath her. Their eyes lock for a moment, the air around them electric.
“Anybody up for more drinks?” Rina asks, much louder than necessary.
Eden retakes her seat, suppressing her smile while Alexander shifts in his chair.
Peter mumbles awkwardly, looking between Eden and Alexander, then back to Eden again. “I don’t know. It’s getting pretty late.”
Freddie pats him on the shoulder. “Come on. One more round, hm? What do you say, boss?”
“I think I’ll pass,” Alexander says, voice a bit hoarse. “Someone needs to be sober enough to drive you all home.”
