Monday morning hit like a brick wall.
Aria arrived at the office armed with a double-shot latte and every intention of pretending that almost-kiss on the rooftop never happened. It was a fluke. A champagne-fueled momentary lapse in judgment. Nothing more.
She could totally be professional. Totally.
Until she saw Ethan.
And worse — her.
Tall. Blonde. Legs for days. Laughing at something Ethan said as she draped a hand on his arm like she'd done it a hundred times before.
Aria's stomach did a weird little flip. Not that she cared. She didn't. Obviously.
But she might've crushed her coffee cup a little harder than necessary.
"Ohh, someone's testy," Gwen whispered, appearing at her side. "Jealous, Lane?"
"Of what?" Aria scoffed, too quickly. "That Ethan's got a rich socialite Barbie in his fan club? Please."
Gwen raised an eyebrow. "Mhm. You keep telling yourself that."
Aria shoved past her and into the meeting room where the rest of the team was gathering.
As fate (or cruel office politics) would have it, they ended up seated next to each other.
Ethan glanced over, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes. "Morning."
Aria gave him her brightest fake smile. "I see you've upgraded your arm candy."
He blinked, then smirked. "Jealous?"
"Of what?" she scoffed, heat rising in her cheeks. "As if."
Ethan chuckled under his breath. "Relax, Lane. That's Harper—my cousin."
Aria froze. "Wait… cousin?"
"Yeah. She's in town for a charity thing."
"Oh."
Silence.
"Not that it matters," Aria added, still flustered.
Ethan leaned in, his grin borderline smug. "It really bothered you, huh?"
"Did not."
"Liar."
"Jackass."
Mr. Lawson cleared his throat at the head of the table. "Glad to see you two are your usual… spirited selves. Now, onto business."
They both straightened, avoiding eye contact for the rest of the meeting.
Until lunch, when Gwen cornered Aria again.
"Okay," she whispered. "Here's the thing. Lawson's hosting a networking dinner Thursday, and he told me it's 'plus one encouraged.' Which means…"
"No way," Aria said immediately.
"Come on! This is your chance. You can either let Ethan parade in with another date and look smug all night, or you can one-up him."
"I'm not bringing a fake date to one-up Ethan."
Gwen smirked. "Who said fake?"
But the idea stuck.
By the end of the day, Aria was desperate enough to text Ethan.
Aria: Networking dinner Thursday. Plus-ones. Truce date? Strictly professional. Don't get ideas.
The reply came almost instantly.
Ethan: Aww, Lane, you asking me out?
Aria: Die in a fire, Cole.
Ethan: Pick you up at 7.
Aria stared at her screen, a giddy, irritated, completely unprofessional thrill shooting through her.
This was a terrible idea.
And she was absolutely doing it....