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“Except there are. It’s never personal.” I like Avril. There’s nothing about her that doesn’t fascinate me. Her ponytail, her smile, the way she’s so fucking insightful. And now I’ve learned the way she grew up, it just draws me to her more. I’ve never been so intrigued by another person and it’s unsettling. I’m in unfamiliar territory, and what I can’t do is add business into that mix.

She narrows her eyes. “Except you want everyone to like you.”

“That’s just good business.”

“This is infuriating.” She releases her fork and it clinks as it hits the bowl. “You’re into me, so you won’t help me. It makes no sense. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?”

She’s right. If I were to help her, there’d be an excuse to have more contact with her. And that’s where things start to feel really messy. I don’t want her to spend time with me because I’m helping her and she’s indulging me. I want her to want me for me. Even as I have the thought it makes me feel vulnerable as fuck.

I’ve never wanted a woman to like me. Not someone I didn’t need to know for professional reasons.

“If I were to help you, I’d be doing it for the wrong reasons. I don’t want to compromise either of us like that.”

“I’m fine with being compromised like that,” she says. “I don’t mind if you help me because you’re…into me.”

“I’m sorry, Avril.” She’s too much of an unknown quantity and that makes her dangerous to my business.

I’m not going to change my mind. I just won’t.

EIGHT

Avril

It’s been an exhausting couple of days. Since my conversation with Ben, I’ve called all the commercial realtors in Boston to see if anything had come on to the market. A couple of places had, but nothing suitable. Since then, I’ve been focusing on New York. Today, Poppy and I are going to visit a few places to see if there’s anything we like that we can show Worth.

I can’t believe I have to focus on a second hotel in New York just because Ben East wouldn’t help.

What a dick.

“This is a great location,” Poppy says, coming toward me up West Forty-Fourth Street, wrapped up in her padded black long coat that makes her look like she’s wearing a duvet.

“I suppose,” I say, glancing up at the impressive facade. We wouldn’t have to do any work on the exterior. Three stone steps lead up to the entrance, which is flanked by imposing Doric columns. “The realtor will be here in a sec. He just messaged.”

“You seem irritated,” she says.

“I just really wanted Boston to work.”

“So why don’t you ask that guy who Worth mentioned. He was pretty sure he could help. You want me to ask?”

I shake my head. “I did already. He said no.”

“He did? Because he’s too busy? It’s too small a project?”

“No, because he’s into me.”

Poppy pulls in a sharp breath. “The guy you sat next to at Aurora and Deacon’s engagement party?” Her mouth pulls into a wide smile. “He’s into you?”

I shrug. Maybe this is all of my own making. If I hadn’t asked him to take me home, then I wouldn’t be in this mess. Ben couldn’t argue that we were mixing personal with business because there would never have been anything personal between us. Now I’m not just mad at him, I’m mad at me.

“He doesn’t want to mix personal and business,” I say. “And I may or may not have gone home with him on Saturday night.”

“How in the heck didn’t you tell me?” Poppy asks.

It’s a good question. Normally, I share everything with Poppy. It’s always been the same between us. But there was something about the night with Ben that felt a little different. And there was part of me that wanted to keep it to myself. “I was going to tell you,” I say. “I haven’t seen you much since then, and⁠—”

“We’ve sat opposite each other in an office every day this week.”

“I know, but I’ve been on the phone nonstop to the Boston realtors. I kinda forgot about it.” That’s a complete lie. I don’t think I’ll ever forget about that Saturday night. Ben was…probably the best lover I’ve ever had. And there’s no “probably” about it.