Still, I can’t dismiss the odd prickle at the back of my neck as I turn away from the door and walk back to my office to straighten up so I can head home. I’ve no sooner begun than my phone rings with an incoming call. I smile when I see my friend Paige’s name on the display, not only because she’s one of my besties, but because at the moment I’m relieved to have the company.
“Hey, girl.”
“Hi!” Paige shouts back. Loud, throbbing club music pulses in my ear, almost drowning out her voice. “You were supposed to call me this afternoon. Where are you, Boo?”
“Didn’t you check your texts? I’m working late at the shop tonight.” I realize I’m talking as loudly as if we both were at whatever hot nightspot she’s calling from. “Can you even hear me?”
“What? Hold on, I can’t hear you!”
I laugh to myself, shaking my head as she yells thatshe’s going to look for a quieter spot to talk to me. When she comes back on a minute later the music is muffled to a low, vibrating bass. I hear other female voices and running water, which tells me she found her way to the ladies’ room. Still noisy as hell on her end, but at least Paige and I can carry on a conversation.
“Eve, you have to come check out this club. It’s amazing!”
I flop into my chair and prop my bare feet on the edge of my desk. “Are you talking about that artsy weird one you like over in Brooklyn? The one with the trapeze performers and costume theme nights?”
“No,” she says with a giggle. “That was my favorite a few months ago. Now I’m in love with this brand-new place called Muse. It’s in the Meatpacking District, just opened last weekend. Anyway, what are you doing working this late? Get your ass over here and join me, girl!”
“Maybe another time.” As much as I enjoy spending time with Paige and the rest of my friends, I’m feeling the effects of two back-to-back 16-hour workdays in the bleariness of my eyes and the kink in my neck and shoulders. “The club sounds great, but right now, all I want is a cup of hot tea and a long soak in the tub back at my apartment.”
“Fine,” she replies, sighing dramatically. “We’re still on for lunch tomorrow with the girls, right?”
“Definitely. I wouldn’t miss it. How long has it been since everyone was in the city at the same time?”
“Too long,” she agrees, shouting her reply. “Hannah spends more time in Italy than she does the States now. I don’t think she’s been over here longer than a week or two since she and Alessandro got married.”
“Well, having seen the photos of their villa in Tuscany, I can’t say I blame her. She’s also got a baby on the way now.”
“Fair enough, I guess. How long do you think it’ll be before Melanie starts talking about wedding bells and babies?”
I laugh, but it’s not that I haven’t wondered the same thing. “Give her time. Mel’s only been dating Daniel for three months,” I remind Paige.
“Yeah, but you’ve seen them together. She’s head over heels for the guy. Honestly, it’s kind of sickening how adorable and happy they seem together.”
“I know, but I’m glad for her. Mel hasn’t had it easy. She deserves a good man.”
“I won’t disagree with that,” Paige says. “So, I guess that leaves just you and me, Boo. Blissfully single, right? Unless you plan to do something about that hot security guard you told me about yesterday.”
I scoff. “I never said Gabriel Noble was hot.”
“You didn’t have to. I could hear it in your voice.”
I roll my eyes. “It doesn’t matter what I said or what you think you heard. He was a temporary annoyance, nothing more. I’ve already forgotten about him.”
“Well, I haven’t. Maybe you could introduce me to him. I hate to let a gorgeous hunk of prime, medal-decorated military man go to waste.”
I can’t help but laugh, even though it rankles something inside me to picture my beautiful, bubbly, man-magnet of a friend getting anywhere close to Gabriel Noble. “I don’t know why I even mentioned him to you. Now I’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Probably not. And don’t think I haven’t noticed you’re not volunteering to share.”
“Consider it a favor. Believe me, you’d thank me la—”
My words cut short in my throat. Because suddenly, without any warning at all, I’m sitting in the dark.
“Eve? Are you still there?”
“Shit. I think the power just went out in the building.”
“Are you serious?”
