Our Sweet Destiny (Sweet with Heat Page 22
He laughed, and several eyes turned in their direction.
Riley cringed. She must have looked like an excited child seeing Santa for the first time.
“I’m sorry,” she said, frantically patting down Josh’s suit sleeve. “I just…I’m so sorry.” Ugh, I’m an idiot.
“That’s the kind of reaction I’d hoped for,” he said.
She let out a relieved sigh as a tall, auburn-haired woman appeared at Josh’s side and locked her green eyes on Riley, then drew them down her dress, over her curvy figure, all the way to her heels.
“This must be Riley Banks?” She extended a pencil-thin arm in Riley’s direction. “Claudia Raven, head design assistant.”
Claudia’s forced smile and threatening gaze reminded Riley of Cruella De Vil. There was no mistaking the way she pressed her right shoulder into Josh’s back. Riley thought she saw him flinch, but his eyes never wavered from her, his smile never faltered, and she realized that she must have been projecting her own bodily response onto him. Every ounce of Riley’s cognitive thought screamed, Run! Run far and fast. She wanted to flee from the awful woman who, by the look in her evil eyes, already hated her. The woman who silently staked claim to Josh. Instead, Riley forced a smile and took her hand in a firm grip.
“I’m honored to be working with you,” she said, and tucked away any lingering thoughts about Josh. She needed a career, not a Fatal Attraction situation.
JOSH STIFLED A flinch at the feel of Claudia against him. She’d made no bones about being open to sleeping her way to the top, and while at first he’d found her innuendos comical, recently he’d begun to loathe them. But she was a dedicated worker and had been with JBD for five years, the last two as the head design assistant. She hadn’t slept her way to that position. Josh had better scruples than that, even if to an outsider Claudia might appear to be the “right” kind of woman for him. He couldn’t deny that she was attractive, intelligent, and she knew the design business inside and out. But Josh had seen the other side of Claudia—the manipulative, competitive-to-the-point-of-nasty side—and those were qualities that Josh was not looking for in a lover. As the niece of one of his oldest supporters, Josh felt trapped by loyalty to keep her on staff.
He was impressed by Riley’s steely, though professional, reserve. He doubted that Claudia or anyone else could tell that her smile was forced. They couldn’t know that the way her lips pulled tightly at the corners was different from the casual, natural smile Riley usually possessed. And they wouldn’t notice the underlying discomfort in her hazel eyes, the discomfort that Josh recognized and longed to soothe.
He couldn’t seem to remove his hand from her back. The feel of her curves beneath his palm were refreshing. The women he’d dated were usually pencil thin. Going out to dinner equated to watching skeletons graze on leafy greens, with fake smiles plastered on their artificially plumped lips and dollar signs in their eyes. Then again, Josh’s dates had primarily been setups from business colleagues who believed he needed to date the “right” women for his social status. Over the past year or so, he’d become disenchanted with those expectations, and he’d taken to dating fewer and fewer of them, but that was a thought for another time.
“I can take her from here,” Claudia said, pushing between them.
Josh reluctantly removed his hand. He looked into Riley’s eyes again, remembering how he’d been drawn to her when they were teens. The way her eyes had always been like windows to her emotions. Even back then he’d known when she was happy or sad, angry or bored. He had an urge to put his arm around her and soothe away the worry that lay there, but just behind that worry, he saw excitement mounting, and he knew she’d fare just fine—at least he hoped she would.
“Riley, I’m glad you’re here.” Josh ignored the narrowing of Claudia’s eyes and the iciness that surrounded her like a cloak. “If you need anything, just let Claudia know. She’ll take good care of you. Right, Claudia?” He took pleasure in nudging Claudia out of her villainous stare.
“Thanks, Josh. I appreciate everything. I won’t let you down,” Riley said.
“Shall we?” Claudia grabbed her arm and dragged her away.
Josh headed for his office, thinking about Riley. Her designs were really good—fresh and stylistic in a way that was different from the typical New York trends. He’d have brought her on as a junior designer if he hadn’t believed that she needed to first learn the down-and-dirty side of the business. Claudia’s designs, on the other hand, left much to be desired, as did her people skills, but as head design assistant, he knew she was the cream of the crop. Organized, efficient, dedicated, and never missed a deadline. Claudia kept the staff in line, even if a little heavy-handedly. He hoped she’d put away her claws long enough to teach Riley the ins and outs of the fashion world.
If not, he thought, I just might have to do it myself.
To continue reading, buy Unraveling the Truth About Love
More Books By Addison Cole
Sweet with Heat Big-Family Romance Collection
Sweet with Heat: Weston Bradens
A Love So Sweet
Our Sweet Destiny
Unraveling the Truth About Love
The Art of Loving Lacy
Promise of a New Beginning
And Then There Was Us
Sweet with Heat: Seaside Summers
Read, Write, Love at Seaside
Dreaming at Seaside
Hearts at Seaside
Sunsets at Seaside
Secrets at Seaside
Nights at Seaside
Embraced at Seaside
Seized by Love at Seaside
Lovers at Seaside
Whispers at Seaside
Sweet with Heat: Bayside Summers
(Includes future publications)
Sweet Love at Bayside
Sweet Passions at Bayside
Sweet Heat at Bayside
Sweet Escape at Bayside
Stand Alone Women’s Fiction Novels
by Melissa Foster (Addison Cole’s steamy alter ego)
Chasing Amanda (mystery/suspense)
Come Back to Me (mystery/suspense)
Have No Shame (historical fiction/romance)
Megan’s Way (literary fiction)
Traces of Kara (psychological thriller)
Where Petals Fall (suspense)
Acknowledgments
A hearty thank-you to Shanyn Silinski and Justinn Harrison, who were incredible resources for all things ranch and horse related. Even though much of what we discussed did not make it to the page, it all helped me to define and refine Rex and Jade’s world.
Hugs of appreciation to my generous bloggers, authors, friends and fans across social media, and readers for continuing to support my efforts, and to my always encouraging fans—y’all are awesome!
Behind every strong woman is a group of female friends handing them chocolate and wine, and I’d like to thank several of them; Amy, Stacy, Tasha, Lisa 1, Lisa 2, Christy, Sharon, and Elizabeth—sisters at heart forever, gals! I love you all and thank you.
Loads of gratitude go to my editorial team, Kristen Weber and Penina Lopez, and to my proofreaders, Elaini Caruso, Juliette Hill, Justinn Harrison, Lynn Mullan, and Marlene Engel. Thank you for helping my work shine.
And, of course, thank you to my husband and family for your understanding, encouragement, and support. You amaze me on a daily basis, and I adore you.
Meet Addison
Addison Cole is the sweet-romance pen name of New York Times and USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Melissa Foster. Addison enjoys writing humorous, and deeply emotional, contemporary romance without explicit sex scenes or harsh language. Addison spends her summers on Cape Cod, where she dreams up wonderful love stories in her house overlooking Cape Cod Bay.
Visit Addison on her website or chat with her on social media. Addison enjoys discussing her books with book clubs and reader groups and welcomes an invitation to your event.
www.AddisonCole.com
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