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More heat rushed through Sadie at the thought of hot sex with Ethan. But then, she’d been feeling that rush for five years. Was Gina right? Should she take advantage of her “resigned but still with him” situation? She really wanted to. Even if her future wouldn’t include the man she’d loved for so long...the present could be pretty great.
“Good,” Gina said. “You’re thinking about it. And from what I can see, you like the idea. But don’t think too long,” she warned. “Sometimes you think yourself right out of doing what you want to do.”
Sadie fell back against the couch. “It’s really annoying that you know me so well.”
“That’s so sweet.”
Sadie laughed just as a baby’s wail drifted through the monitor sitting on the coffee table. Gina sighed. “Playtime’s over. You sure you don’t want to stay here tonight and go rescue Ethan in the morning? Mike’s shift won’t be over for two more days and I could use the company.”
“Tempting,” Sadie said, “but Ethan offered me another twenty-five thousand if I made it back before Emma woke up.”
Gina’s laugh rolled out loud and hard. “The man’s really desperate, isn’t he? Okay, fine. But once you’re really out of a job, your nephews would love to spend some time with you.”
“Disneyland trip on me,” Sadie promised, then leaned in to give Gina a hug. “Then I’ll camp out here with you when Mike’s on shift.”
“Good, that sounds great.”
“Thanks,” Sadie said. “Seriously.”
“I didn’t do much.”
“You married my dumb brother just because you knew I needed a sister,” Sadie teased.
“Yeah, that’s why I did it. And the hot sex, of course.”
“Well, naturally.”
* * *
If she hadn’t been so damn efficient, Sadie could have been on the road toward Ethan’s house. Instead, she was stopping by the office to pick up the file on the Donatello acquisition. Since the meeting had been postponed until tomorrow, she and Ethan could go over the basics again tonight.
Joe let her in the front door and she headed straight for the elevators. Time was ticking. She’d stayed too long with Gina, but it had felt good to have her sister-in-law back her up. Of course, no surprise there. Gina had been after Sadie to quit her job for the last two years so she could have a life outside the office.
And Gina was right. Sadie knew it, even though she didn’t like it. Stepping off the elevator, Sadie looked around the place that had pretty much been her world for the last five years. It wasn’t the first time she’d been in the building long after everyone else had left for the day. She couldn’t count how many times she and Ethan had worked late, just the two of them in the quiet.
This time, it felt different to her. Not only because she was here alone, but because now she knew she wouldn’t be here much longer. In another month or so, she’d be gone from her job, this office, Ethan’s life. She felt a small pang of regret at that thought, but leaving was really her only choice if she wanted more for herself than a good-paying job.
She started walking toward Ethan’s office. The lights were dim, cubicles quiet and the air still smelled of the day’s coffee. It was empty, of course, but for the memories that crowded around her. “It’s going to be weird to not come here every day,” she whispered, and shivered a little as her voice dissolved in the silence.
Sadie shook off the thought and her own mixed feelings as she opened Ethan’s office door and said, “Gabe? What’re you doing here?”
Startled, Gabriel jumped, then laughed shortly. “God, you scared the hell out of me.”
The woman with him was pretty, with long black hair and big brown eyes. As Sadie watched, she moved in closer to Gabe, standing beside the bank of wide windows. “Hi,” she said. “I’m Pam. Pam Cassini.”
“Right, sorry.” Gabe shook his head and dropped one arm around Pam’s shoulders. “Seriously, Sadie, you move so quietly I didn’t hear you coming in. What’re you doing here?”
