Irritation flared in her eyes, making the tiny gold flecks shine. He could almost see the rebuttal ideas forming in her head vying to break free.
“Take it or leave it. Let me know what you decide.” Zane leaned back in the chair. He looked at the immaculate wood surface and smiled. Leaning forward he pressed his palms against the desk top. When he removed them, his prints remained. Instead of stopping there, he smeared his hands over the entire surface, smiling at the streaks left behind. Happy with his artwork, he leaned back again and propped his feet on the desk.
He really shouldn’t have made the last stipulation. Compromise was one thing, but he had to draw the line with this issue. She couldn’t dictate what he did with his private life, and he had to have some fun at the receptions.
Before she could answer, footsteps clicked on the tile floor in the outer office. “It’s awful quiet in there. I hope that means you’ve worked this out.”
Zane glanced at McKenna, still sitting ramrod straight on the love seat. “Have we?”
“Yes. We just agreed on the last issue.”
Go figure. Score one for him.
*
As they returnedto the Horseshoe, McKenna couldn’t believe Zane and AJ joked and shot the breeze as if nothing had happened. How could Zane move on so fast after their experience tonight?
She sure couldn’t. In fact, how could she go back in the Horseshoe? She couldn’t. All she wanted was to go home and try to forget. When they crossed the street, she said, “It’s been a long night. If you’ll excuse me, I’m calling it a night.”
“You can’t do that,” AJ said. “Grace will lock me out of the house if you don’t come back.”
“You were worried about what people would think. What better way to say us leaving with AJ wasn’t a big deal than to return with him?”
Zane had a point, and because she didn’t want to get the chief in trouble with his wife-to-be, since they were clients, McKenna agreed to stay for a while. As Zane held the Horseshoe’s door for her, he said, “You’re not at work. How about you dance with me?”
McKenna froze. Words refused to form. Zane had asked her to dance. With him. Again. The man had lost his mind. They said incarceration changed people.
You wanted to say yes before, and you want to more now.
“You said another time when you weren’t working.”
He remembered that? Ugh. She’d only said it to be polite to her boss’s grandson and because she never expected to be anywhere around him with dancing when she wasn’t working. Who’d have thought simply being courteous would come back to bite her on the butt?
“I never thought you’d take me up on that?” she said.
AJ snickered, and both her and Zane’s gaze flew to him. He cleared his throat. “Sorry. Allergies.”
“That’s funny since you’ve never had any before,” Zane said before he turned to McKenna. “Throw me a good faith bone.”
When Zane phrased his request that way, dancing with him made sense. She could say yes without sacrificing her principles.
What about never having anything to do with a man who’s more attractive than you are?
In this case, the benefits of forging a good working relationship outweighed the risk of breaking her rule. She smiled. “In the interests of good company work relations, I agree.”
*
When they returnedto the Horseshoe, Cassie, Grace, and Cheyenne clustered around McKenna. Her face grew heated with embarrassment and she tensed. How could she have acted so unprofessionally? What would they think of her now? How would Grace trust her planning her wedding after this?
“Are you okay?” Cassie, her beautiful face lined with concern, placed her hand on McKenna’s arm.
“I’m sorry you got caught in a pissing match between those two lug heads. It was inexcusable,” Grace said, her voice filled with irritation as she pointed to AJ and Zane.
Cheyenne shuddered, sending her thick red braid tumbling over her shoulder. “When AJ threatened me and Cooper with jail, I never really believed he’d go through with it. That could’ve easily happened to us if we hadn’t taken our discussion outside.”
McKenna stood there stunned. No one was judging her? They were sympathizing with her and showing concern? People never showed concern for her. Instead, they viewed her as capable, responsible, and self-sufficient. But here were people she barely knew worried about her. “Thank you for understanding and fretting over me, but he didn’t throw us in jail. We went to his office where Zane and I worked everything out.”
Except they hadn’t discussed their kiss. Maybe they could both pretend it never happened?
