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When the kiss had ended, she’d been confused Reality had crashed in on her When had she becoathered her professional aura around her The way he grabbed her elbow meant he sensed her withdrawal and had disliked it as much as she had

She could have pulled away at any time Why hadn’t she?

The bell dinged, jarring her, and she pushed away fro clutched in her hands, she rode the elevator to the lobby

People strode past, so at the screens, withearbuds, lost in a world of h their day while her insides were in turmoil

On the sidewalk outside, she paused

Though it was ridiculous, she glanced up at the fifteenth floor and swept her gaze across the s Most were still dark But at the end of the row, a lass and steel and power

It couldn’t be Rafe He was far too busy running his conglomerate to look for her on the street

No matter what her mind insisted, her heart had no doubt it was him She’d had a connection with him that transcended common sense

She shook her head and hurried to the parking lot where she’d left her car

When she was inside with the doors locked, she exhaled Her heart thundered as if she’d run down the pavement And her skin was both hot and chilled She allowed herself another thirty seconds to pull herself together before slipping her car into drive and navigating Houston’s ever-thickening rush-hour traffic toward her on suite of small offices

In her purse, her phone vibrated half a h the passenger compartment, too loud and chipper for her current mood

She glanced at the screen on her dash Celeste Fallon Curious, Hope connected the call Her internship at Fallon and Associates during college garnered her a , dedicated hours were rewarded with an invitation into Celeste’s inner circle

As usual, Celeste skipped a greeting “He didn’t like any of the women”

“No” Even though Hope had spent hours with his raphies of iven any of theuess? Wait—did you already talk to him?”

“I know Rafe”

“You could have saved me some time”

“Why on earth would I do that?”