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She had left her long blond hair loose, and it hung down her back in waves She had been surprised to catch h the parking garage When she heard a whistle fro to reach the safety of the building She was alhter then a fa"

Whirling around, she gasped in relief when she saw the ad eyes of Mark DeSanto Mark’s company, the DeSanto Group, had been a partner in soh the on soht, after one too s had been fine until he had playfully held her arms above her head as he’d kissed her Ava had completely freaked out then She had had some small panic attacks before, but that one had been epic Poor Mark had been on the verge of dialing 911 before finally handing her a bag to breathe in Afterward, she had explained soirlfriends, but in thata woreat man but seemed to have just as many issues with intimacy as she did He didn’t talk about his past, but Ava had a feeling there was a story there

Thanks to their odd friendship of sorts, she felt herself relax When you freak out while trying to have sex with someone, there isn’t a lot left that you can do to embarrass yourself in front of him In a weird way, it had made friendship between a man and woman almost pressure free "Mark, I didn’t know you were back in town"

Mark curled an ar a kiss on her cheek Still holding on to her, he pulled back slightly, running his gaze along her fro inyour hips sway before I realized it was you"

Ava felt her cheeks color slightly at his words She knew hi at her ass and thinking about picking her up before he recognized her and kneas futile "ErthanksI think So, where have you been?" she asked as they stepped into the lobby

With a wolfish grin, he said, "Ah, you knowaround Enough about h Whatever has happened tofar ued" Before she could answer, the lobby doors opened near theue when his gaze i abruptly back If she had wanted his attention today, she had it His mouth thinned as he took in the arm that Mark still had curved casually around her waist She could al within him before he walked over to the his arood to see you again, buddy" Ava knew that Mark had joined her brothers and Mac for drinks on several occasions Mark didn’t seeet a name or a face, and hehis way as he returned the handshake With a devious curl of his lips, Mark pointed to her, then back to Mac "I was just telling Ava that she looked beautiful today Just like a ripe, juicy peach, wouldn’t you agree?"

Almost as if on cue, Ava saw the tic in Mac’s jaw She’d heard of a nervous tic, but apparently Mac had an angry one She’d never noticed it before, but he’d also never seery around her in the past as he was now She only hoped that was a good sign

"She always looks beautiful," Mac said gruffly Mark looked strangely pleased with Mac’s answer for some reason that she couldn’t fathom He knew a lot of the history there, so maybe he had decided to try his hand at reat idea, as she already had help fro desirable to other ht slutty Her mind had drifted for a , "Can I talk to you for aher ar with Jason Ava, let’s have lunch one day this week, okay?" She nodded in agreement before he walked toward the elevators The receptionist looked thrilled when he said hello as he passed Mark was a handsome man and the expensive suit that he wore only added to his allure

"If you’re finished staring, we can grab a coffee on the way up" She turned to Mac in surprise, noting that he looked , "Is he why you’re dressed up today?"

She stopped in her tracks and turned to face him "Of course not I didn’t even knoas back"

He looked doubtful for a , "For Do to annoy her So maybe her sudden association with Dominic looked a little suspicious Did he really think that she would profess to have feelings for hiht? Soht that after years of friendship, his opinion of her ht up in his face, with only a few inches separating theritted teeth, "Did you maybe think, for even a minute, that I wore this dress today for you? So e appeared over Mac’s shoulder holding a stearin before freezing in place "Holy shit, Ava?"

Ava wanted to laugh at the look of shock on Gage’s face Then she had a sobering thought She must look rather bad every day in her usual attire for the men around her to be so ae"

The otherto look at her in fascination "Honey, you look hot as the fires of--"

Before he could finish his sentence, Mac turned to glower at hiled his eyebrows, saying, "No, actually I don’t, but you e added, "Your girlfriend is in the cafeteria Things look a little intense between you and your BFF here, so just a suggestion" He took the last bite of his donut and wiped his hands down his thighs before stepping forward to extend his arm to Ava "Hoould you like to make my day and let me escort you to your floor?"