by Megan Bryce
She shut the door and quickly dressed, then leaned over the sink to stare at herself in the mirror.
Oh.
My.
God!
She looked a mess!
Her mascara and eye makeup was smeared, her lipstick—boy, clown was an unattractive look on her. And her hair!
It looked like she’d been doing exactly what it looked like she’d been doing.
She wheezed out a laugh.
“Oh, good. I’m drunk. I look like I’m totally drunk.”
She must be drunk.
She wouldn’t have done that with Mac if she wasn’t drunk.
I mean, it was two glasses of wine. Maybe two and a half. That wasn’t fall down drunk, and it did kind of feel like all the laughing had burned off the alcohol off but…
She. Must. Still. Be. Drunk.
She washed her face with hand soap, she brushed her hair with Mac’s comb—and then she washed it because he was probably stuffy about people using his stuff.
She took a deep breath.
Swallowed.
She opened the bathroom door a crack, hoping he wasn’t still lying there naked…
Nope, not still lying in the hallway.
She could hear him in the kitchen doing something, and she tiptoed down the hall to peek around the corner.
Not still naked.
Good. No, that was good.
It would have been awkward.
He’d thrown on a pair of soft gray sleep shorts and a white undershirt. No socks, just bare feet, and mussy hair like someone had been running their hands through it.
It might have been her hands.
He was inspecting the inside of the pizza box like he was maybe thinking about having another slice after all that activity and Gia gulped.
Comfortable Mac.
Maybe if she was still drunk they could…
Shit, she had to get out of here.
She stepped out purposefully from around the corner.
“Well, Mac. I’ve got to get home. You know, before it gets too dark. My driving doesn’t improve at night, ha ha ha. Ha.”
“Okay, do you—”
“See you Monday!”
And she slammed the door behind her.
Megan BryceThe Tie’s The Limit
Seventeen
Gia managed to not think about it all Saturday.
Not think about what she’d done, with whom she’d done it, and what she was supposed to say when she saw him again.
Her only saving grace was that he’d done it with her too, and what was he going to say to her?
She had no idea.
Couldn’t even guess.
And didn’t want to think about it.
The not thinking about it worked right up until Sunday night when she started hyperventilating.
So she did what any right-thinking twenty-something would do.
Grabbed a paper bag and texted her best friend.
Help. Help! Heeeeelllllpppp.
Thirty seconds later Gia’s phone rang and she answered with, “You know how you accidentally sleep with someone you shouldn’t but then you still have to see him and you don’t know how to act. Or what words to say. Or even how to look at him without seeing him naked?”
There was a short pause and then Nicole said, “I might be familiar with the situation. Are you?”
“Now I am. I don’t like it and I wouldn’t recommend it.”
Nicole made a soft sound of commiseration and then ruined it by saying, “When it happened to me, it turned out to be no big deal.”
Gia blew out a long breath. “When it happened to you, it was with Flynn.”
“I could be talking about someone else.”
“Are you?”
“No. But I thought it would be awkward and uncomfortable when I saw him again and it just never was.”
“My whole relationship—and I mean my professional relationship—with Mac is awkward and uncomfortable. This isn’t going to make it any better.”
Except that night had been comfortable.
And if comfortable Mac had been anybody else, she’d be wondering when they could do it again.
She might still be wondering when they could do it again.
She might also still be drunk.
Sometimes it lasted for days, right?
Gia put the bag back up to her face.
Big breath in. Big breath out.
Nicole said, “He can’t be that bad.”
Gia ripped the bag away.
“He is. He’s practical and cold and he makes a cost-benefit analysis for everything.”
Almost everything, Gia was pretty sure.
She cleared her throat.
“And he’s a workaholic. I’m not sure he has any relationships outside of work. And oh god, how am I supposed to look him in the face tomorrow?”
“How are you going to look him in the face tomorrow and the next day and the next… Why is it taking so long to find him a wardrobe?”
“Argh! Because he hates everything but his one tie, that’s why. I can’t figure him out.”
“Sleeping with him should help.”
“Shut up.”
Nicole sounded like she was trying not to laugh.
“Or maybe you’re just too close to the subject and need a second opinion.”
“But who? I could have asked Teresa before this latest development but now she’ll sniff out the truth and tell everyone in the family.”
“What about me? I can fly down tomorrow night.”
Gia gasped. “You? Come down here? Wait, you just want to meet him.”
Nicole laughed. “I do. I want to meet him. And I want to see you. And I want to see where you live now. And I want to help you finish dressing Mac so you can decide if there’s something else there.”
Huh. Maybe it was time to call in for reinforcements.
Admit defeat.
At the hands of a single tie, no less.
Gia said, “Are you sure you can spare the time?”
“I can take a day or two right now. How long could it take, really?”
“Ha. Ha, ha, ha. Ha!”
Nicole chuckled. “Send me the pics of the outfits he’s already tried and I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
Relief flooded Gia at the thought of Nicole coming and she said, “Are you going to bring Flynn?”
“No. He’s not going to be any help with this.”
“Alright. Kiss him goodbye for me and tell him you love him.”
Nicole said dryly, “Thanks for the dating advice.”
“You’re welcome. It was better than the advice you gave me about seeing Mac again.”
“I told you it’s not going to be as bad as you think it will. Don’t worry about it.”
Gia said dryly, “Yeah, thanks for the dating advice.”
“You’re welcome. And I think you should call Victoria. She’ll know what to do in this particular situation.”
Gia thought about what Victoria would say and decided she didn’t even need to call her.
She would walk in tomorrow morning and say, “You’re welcome. That was probably the best thing that will ever happen to you. Cherish the memories.”
So that’s what Gia did.
About ten minutes later, she was huddled in a bathroom stall texting Victoria.
Help. Help! Heeeeelllllpppp.
Victoria called her back, starting with, “Is this an actual emergency?”
“Oh my god. I slept with him! And then I told him it was the best thing that would ever happen to him.” Gia covered her face and squeaked, “I told him to cherish the memories. That’s what you would do if you slept with someone you shouldn’t have, isn’t it?”
“I wouldn’t have said it. I just would have thought it. Loudly.”
“Oh.” Gia chewed on her lip. “Yeah. That would have been better.”
“Now you know, for next time.”
“Thanks,” Gia said in an ungrateful tone. “What do
I do now, this time? What if he wants to do it again?”
Victoria laughed. “Well, he will want to do it again. But the default answer to the age old question of ‘will you sleep with me’ is always no. Easy to go back to it since most guys don’t know why it ever turns to yes in the first place.”
“I’m not sure that would work…”
“Do you know why you slept with him?”
Gia said, “No?”
“Are you going to do it again?”
“No?”
“See, there you go.”
Gia sniffed. “So, what if you had accidentally kissed him again? What about then.”
There was a long pause and then Victoria said, “Who are we talking about?”
“My client,” Gia answered sheepishly.
“One-tie guy?”
“Yes?”
“When did you accidentally kiss him again?”
Gia ducked her head even though Victoria couldn’t see her.
“Right after I told him to cherish the memories. He looked at me. He didn’t say anything, and then he just started typing again.”
Victoria said, “He was probably thinking something at you.”
“Well it wasn’t loud enough, and I just reached across his desk and pulled him across it. And kissed him. Again.”
Victoria said nothing.
Gia said, “And then I calmly walked out of his office and came and texted you.”
“You walked calmly?”
“Briskly. I walked briskly and with purpose. Towards the restroom.”
“Okay, here’s what you’re going to do,” Victoria said and Gia breathed out a sigh of relief. Victoria would tell her exactly what to do.
Victoria would tell her to—
“Go back in there and ignore the whole thing.”
Gia shook her head.
“No, that can’t be it. Just ignore it? But I already tried that.”
Victoria asked with clipped military precision, “Are. You. Going. To. Sleep. With. Him. Again.”
“Absolutely not?”
Victoria said nothing, letting Gia stew in her indecisiveness until she broke.
“I don’t know why I slept with him in the first place. How can I decide if it’s going to happen again if it’s happening without me deciding?”
“You’ve decided. You just don’t like the answer.”
Gia sucked in a breath. “I haven’t.”
“Then tell me you don’t like him and you’re not going to sleep with him.”
“I don’t like him. He fainted when he saw my room.”
Victoria snorted. “I visited your apartment in New York enough times to know that fainting is a very natural reaction. And you do like him, or at least a part of him.”
“Well…”
She liked how he smelled.
She closed her eyes, remembering how his neck had smelled spicy. And sweet.
What was that? Shaving cream?
She’d have to see if that was it when she went back to Mac’s condo.
If.
If she went back to his condo.
Gia blew out a long breath.
“I like his car.”
And she liked how serious and careful he was. And how he drove like a serious and careful maniac.
A focused careful maniac.
And something was obviously wrong with her if that thought was making her breath hitch. But she did like how very focused he could be.
Was it getting hot in here?
Gia flapped her shirt and cleared her throat and said, “I just didn’t know I was a hot rod girl.”
Victoria coughed. “You’re not. You had a momentary lapse of judgment. It happens. It doesn’t have to happen again.”
“That’s good, I like that,” Gia said, opening the bathroom stall door.
She looked at herself in the mirror and said it like she meant it.
“It doesn’t have to happen again. I can be a professional.”
Victoria said, “Can you? I’d like to see that actually.”
“I’ll have you know that I have been an absolute professional. Right up until I slept with him. And I am going to march back in there. And I am going to dress him like a professional and I will not sleep with him like a professional.”
“Sounds like a good plan. Glad I was here to help you with it. Now I’ve got to go be a professional myself.”
“Wait, did you sleep with your client?”
“Of course I didn’t.”
Gia said slowly, “Have you tried to kill him?”
“Not yet.”
“Look at us, being all professional.”
Victoria grunted, hanging up the phone, and Gia nodded to her reflection.
“It doesn’t have to happen again. I can be a professional.”
She walked down the hallway with her head held high.
Probably no one knew it had happened in the first place and since it wasn’t going to happen in the second place, it was fine.
She was fine, they were fine, everyone was fine.
Gia opened Mac’s door, pointing a finger at him.
“That won’t happen again. Any of it. Got it?”
Mac looked at her briefly and then nodded.
Well.
He could have thought about it a little.
He could have looked sad, or mad, or anything.
He could have argued with her. He could have tried to persuade her.
But no. He nodded, looking like he’d never expected any of it to happen again, and Gia briefly thought about telling Victoria that she had been right.
Then decided there was no need.
Victoria already knew it.
Megan BryceThe Tie’s The Limit
Eighteen
Gia met Nicole at baggage claim since she knew she’d be needed there and when she saw men start tripping over themselves out of the corner of her eye, turned to find Nicole striding towards her, looking beautiful and smiling widely.
Gia sucked in a breath and said, “I can’t believe you left Flynn alone in New York when he does this to you.”
Nicole stopped smiling, although she kept walking.
“What has he done to me?”
“You were smiling! Out in public!”
“I was happy to see you.”
“And you didn’t care who saw it.”
Nicole didn’t stop walking until she was hugging Gia, and Gia whispered, “Please tell me you told Flynn you loved him before you left.”
“Maybe.”
Nicole gave a dainty little tinkle of a chuckle and Gia glared at her.
“I hate you.”
“I know. That’s why you made me leave Flynn to come help you.”
“That was kind of mean of me.”
“Kind of. I miss him already.” Nicole worried her lower lip. “Is that normal?”
Gia smiled, crowding toward the conveyor belt when she saw Nicole’s tan and black luggage. She grabbed a suitcase and a garment bag and huffed, “You’ve been apart how long? Two hours?”
Nicole grabbed the other suitcase and swung her carry-on up onto her shoulder. “It’s been longer than that.”
“Did you call him as soon as you landed?”
“Maybe.”
Gia chuckled. “Sounds completely normal to me. Do you think you brought enough luggage?”
“Most of it’s empty. I expect to find lots of fun things to bring back while shopping with you.”
Gia said, “In the men’s section? You’re here to help me find Mac’s style, remember.”
“Yes, in the men’s section. Flynn needs another suit he loves.”
“Is he wearing out the Superman one?”
Nicole said, “No, but I only let him wear it once a week. The other days of the week…shudder.”
“I know exactly how you feel. Except for that one good day a week.”
They made their way to the parking lot and Nicole searched for her sunglasses.
“So this is F
lorida.”
“You’ve been here before.”
“Not to live. I didn’t think anyone lived here, they just visited.”
Gia said truthfully, “It’s not bad. It’s not New York, but it’s not bad. We’ll go to the beach, we’ll go shopping, you can meet Nonnie.”
“Shopping sounds fun. When do I get to meet Mac?”
Gia opened the back of the Escalade.
“Tomorrow morning. But tonight we’ll go drop off your luggage at the hotel and go to dinner. You know you could have stayed with us, right?”
“I know. I’ll just be more comfortable at a hotel. I need that alone time, even from friends and the family of friends.”
Gia laughed. “That’s exactly what I told my mother. She didn’t believe me so be prepared for her to try and talk you into leaving the hotel and staying on a blow-up on my bedroom floor.”
“Will your mom understand alone time?”
“I wouldn’t have said so until just recently. But she might get it.”
The next morning they pulled up to Mac’s office.
Nicole was showing more skin than she normally did, a full coat of makeup and sky-high heels, and Gia said, “What is this?”
“What is what?”
Gia waved her hand up and down Nicole. “This!”
“I felt like dressing up. And it’s a warm day.”
Gia tried not to glare at her best friend as they rode the elevator up, and tried to remind herself that looking like a gorgeous supermodel was actually horrible for Nicole.
At the moment, it was hard to remember.
Because if she was truthful with herself, she didn’t want to see Mac fall all over Nicole when he’d never fallen all over Gia.
Didn’t want to see that he was like every other man within a five-foot radius of Nicole Bissette.
She barreled into his office without knocking, like always, and said without preamble, “This is Nicole Bissette, a fashion designer from New York. And my friend.”
Mac turned to them, turning off his monitor, and Gia held her breath.
Bracing for him to get knocked off his feet, waiting for him to suddenly become helpful and chipper. Become a man enamored.
Nicole smiled at him, and Gia almost wanted to slap her friend. Just when had she become so friendly? Nicole was always so careful, so guarded, and here she was smiling like a loon at a strange man she’d only just met.