She had left her long blond hair loose, and it hung down her back in waves. She had been surprised to catch more than one man staring at her as she made her way through the parking garage. When she heard a whistle from behind, she sped up, trying to reach the safety of the building. She was almost to the door when she heard male laughter then a familiar voice. “Ava Stone, what a vision you are this morning.”
Whirling around, she gasped in relief when she saw the admiring eyes of Mark DeSanto. Mark’s company, the DeSanto Group, had been a partner in some projects with Brant and Ava’s previous company. Through them, Mark was now working on some projects with Jason and Danvers International. One night, after one too many drinks, she had found herself back at Mark’s home. Things had been fine until he had playfully held her arms above her head as he’d kissed her. Ava had completely freaked out then. She had had some small panic attacks before, but that one had been epic. Poor Mark had been on the verge of dialing 911 before finally handing her a bag to breathe in. Afterward, she had explained some of her past trauma and he had understood. Mark didn’t do girlfriends, but in that moment, he had decided to make an allowance for having a woman as strictly a friend. He was a great man but seemed to have just as many issues with intimacy as she did. He didn’t talk about his past, but Ava had a feeling there was a story there.
Thanks to their odd friendship of sorts, she felt herself relax. When you freak out while trying to have sex with someone, there isn’t a lot left that you can do to embarrass yourself in front of him. In a weird way, it had made friendship between a man and woman almost pressure free. “Mark, I didn’t know you were back in town.”
Mark curled an arm around her waist before dropping a kiss on her cheek. Still holding on to her, he pulled back slightly, running his gaze along her from head to toe. “Wow, look at you, my beauty. I was sitting in my car when I saw you walk by. I was obsessed with watching your hips sway before I realized it was you.”
Ava felt her cheeks color slightly at his words. She knew him well enough to know that he actually meant he was staring at her ass and thinking about picking her up before he recognized her and knew it was futile. “Er . . . thanks . . . I think. So, where have you been?” she asked as they stepped into the lobby.
With a wolfish grin, he said, “Ah, you know . . . around. Enough about me, though. Whatever has happened to my little dove? You’ve turned into something far more exotic since I’ve been away, and I’m intrigued.” Before she could answer, the lobby doors opened near them, and she saw Mac striding in. She almost swallowed her tongue when his gaze immediately went to her before passing by and then coming abruptly back. If she had wanted his attention today, she had it. His mouth thinned as he took in the arm that Mark still had curved casually around her waist. She could almost see the internal debate raging within him before he walked over to them.
“Ava, DeSanto.”
Without dropping his arm, Mark extended his other hand, saying, “Mac, good to see you again, buddy.” Ava knew that Mark had joined her brothers and Mac for drinks on several occasions. Mark didn’t seem the type to ever forget a name or a face, and he made no reaction to the frown Mac was directing his way as he returned the handshake. With a devious curl of his lips, Mark pointed to her, then back to Mac. “I was just telling Ava that she looked beautiful today. Just like a ripe, juicy peach, wouldn’t you agree?”
Almost as if on cue, Ava saw the tic in Mac’s jaw. She’d heard of a nervous tic, but apparently Mac had an angry one. She’d never noticed it before, but he’d also never seemed as angry around her in the past as he was now. She only hoped that was a good sign.
“She always looks beautiful,” Mac said gruffly. Mark looked strangely pleased with Mac’s answer for some reason that she couldn’t fathom. He knew a lot of the history there, so maybe he had decided to try his hand at matchmaker as well. That probably wasn’t a great idea, as she already had help from Dominic. She didn’t want to go from looking desirable to other men to just downright slutty. Her mind had drifted for a moment when Mac jerked her back to the present by asking, “Can I talk to you for a minute, Avie?”
Mark took the cue, giving her arm a brief squeeze before saying, “I have an early meeting with Jason. Ava, let’s have lunch one day this week, okay?” She nodded in agreement before he walked toward the elevators. The receptionist looked thrilled when he said hello as he passed. Mark was a handsome man and the expensive suit that he wore only added to his allure.
“If you’re finished staring, we can grab a coffee on the way up.” She turned to Mac in surprise, noting that he looked miffed. He pointed toward the cafeteria before asking, “Is he why you’re dressed up today?”
She stopped in her tracks and turned to face him. “Of course not. I didn’t even know he was back.”
He looked doubtful for a moment before saying, “For Dominic, then?”
Now he was just starting to annoy her. So maybe her sudden association with Dominic looked a little suspicious. Did he really think that she would profess to have feelings for him yesterday while chasing after every other man in sight? Somehow she had thought that after years of friendship, his opinion of her might be a little higher than that. She stepped right up in his face, with only a few inches separating them, and said through gritted teeth, “Did you maybe think, for even a minute, that I wore this dress today for you? So maybe you would think I look pretty?”
Suddenly, Gage appeared over Mac’s shoulder holding a steaming cup of coffee and a donut. He gave her a sexy grin before freezing in place. “Holy shit, Ava?”
Ava wanted to laugh at the look of shock on Gage’s face. Then she had a sobering thought. She must look rather bad every day in her usual attire for the men around her to be so amazed by her appearance today. “Good morning, Gage.”
The other man took a bite of his donut while continuing to look at her in fascination. “Honey, you look hot as the fires of—”
Before he could finish his sentence, Mac turned to glower at him. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”
Gage wiggled his eyebrows, saying, “No, actually I don’t, but you might want to consider it.” At Mac’s look of inquiry, Gage added, “Your girlfriend is in the cafeteria. Things look a little intense between you and your BFF here, so just a suggestion.” He took the last bite of his donut and wiped his hands down his thighs before stepping forward to extend his arm to Ava. “How would you like to make my day and let me escort you to your floor?”