Just Home for the Holidays - Deborah Cooke Page 0,36

lobby, two women passed him, apparently leaving after their yoga class. “Too bad,” one said, checking him out.

“Damn shame,” said the other and they laughed together.

“What’s she got that we don’t have?” The first one blew Hunter a kiss, which confused him completely. He watched them go, wondering what he’d missed.

Then he had a bad feeling.

Meesha.

He strode to the office, only to find it empty. Jax wasn’t in, but he was less interested in another shift now.

Meesha’s laptop computer was on, although the screensaver was on the display. Her pink headset was there as well as the cable for her phone and a take-out cup of coffee that was still steaming. Obviously, she was in. He found her facing down the display of the club’s social media in the corridor outside the office.

Before he could ask, she smiled at him.

“I should have figured you’d find a way,” she said, pulling out one ear bud and scolding him with one shaking finger. “You are a devious beast, Hunter Tate. Never met a rule you couldn’t bend, have you?”

His suspicion had been right, then. Heart sinking, he went to look at the screen. There was a picture of himself and Chloe arriving at the function the previous night on the shipping board, then another of him dipping her for a kiss on the dance floor. They were good pictures, sharp and well-composed, and both of them looked as if they were having a blast.

“Eyes only for each other,” Meesha mused then dug her elbow into his ribs. “It must be love.”

The member comments were scrolling in a sidebar, filled with speculation about how long ‘it had been going on’ and whether there would be wedding bells. Hunter didn’t feel good about that.

In fact, he felt his panic rising.

Chloe would be furious. This didn’t fit with her plans in any way, and he knew she didn’t like surprises.

She’d be livid, and it would be his fault. Even though they didn’t have a future together, even though they were done, he didn’t want to piss her off or hurt her.

Then there was rule nine. She had to have added it for a reason.

Was Ty a stickler for office romance? Hunter shoved a hand through his hair. The only thing she loved was her job—if she lost it because of him, that would bite the wall.

Or did Chloe just like to keep her personal life private? That would be like her.

“I really can’t complain, though,” Meesha continued, oblivious to his distress. “Check out the engagement numbers. The members are loving this. It’s like their Christmas bonus.”

It did seem that everyone in the club was fascinated with the prospect of Hunter and Chloe getting together. Hunter watched, his stomach sinking, as the feed sped by even faster, with more members commenting and engaging.

“That old F5F magic,” Meesha said with a shake of her head. “I’ve got to get me some of that.”

“But it was a fake date,” Hunter protested. “It wasn’t real. It was a one-off.”

“Tell that to them.”

“Maybe you should.”

“Not a chance. This is pure gold.” She slanted a glance at him, looking playful. I get it. You’re worried that the news will cramp your style.” Meesha pointed to a comment, speculating whether love was the reason Hunter hadn’t been at the dance club lately.

“You’ve got to stop this,” Hunter said. “They’re taking it the wrong way.”

“They have every right to speculate. This is the shipping board,” Meesha said sternly. “It’s all about perceiving hidden relationships and speculating on them. That’s the whole point.”

“But Chloe has rules...”

Meesha laughed. “Then she shouldn’t have gone out with you. Anyone else would have known better.” She shook her head. “And she sure shouldn’t have kissed you like that in public. It was inevitable that someone would see it. The first pictures came from the society pages at the paper this morning, so I didn’t start it.” She widened her eyes. “Maybe this was part of Chloe’s plan.”

No. That couldn’t be it.

Meesha pulled out her phone. “Hey, did you get the invite from Cassie? She and Reid are doing a brunch tomorrow here for everyone who’s working the holidays.”

“I haven’t checked my phone,” Hunter said, still watching the feed with horrified fascination. What was he going to do? Should he tell Chloe or let her find out herself?

There were no good answers, as far as he could see.

“You’ll find out there what the partners think of hot office romances,” Meesha noted. “It wouldn’t be very festive if you both