Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

M ay 13 th

Sometimes, when life gets in the way and things are moving fast, it’s best to just hang on and know the ride will end soon. Other times, it’s best to jam a stick in the spokes and send life spiraling into chaos. Life F-ed with you, you F with it.

“Not now, Jack,” Paige said, practically running by her boss’s office on the way to the elevator. Jack was doing that super sexy lean thing in the doorway and Paige was starting to wonder why she wasn’t throwing her virginity at her boss.

“Paige!” Kendrick yelled, running after her with her bookworm tote bag. “You were so busy looking over the media for Mimi’s book launch that you forgot your bag for book club.”

Well, that was the one thing that could get Paige to stop. Especially since she was heading to book club right now. She’d missed last week’s meeting, and while she’d seen Leah for Mimi’s media campaign, her best friend had always been with Noah and there’d been no time to chat. She was not going to miss tonight. A girl needed time with her besties and it had been weeks since they’d been together. Life was spinning them all around but in the best possible way.

“Paige!” Miriam called out as she walked briskly down the hall. “The manuscript you wanted to review tonight. My notes are typed up and attached to the back. You can look at them before, during, or after you read.”

Jack raised an eyebrow. “Is this too much for you, Miss Turner? You seem flustered.” The way he said flustered had everyone turning to look at him since it practically dripped in sexual innuendo, but Jack’s face showed nothing more than his ever-present look of serious annoyance.

“It’s not too much. In fact, my team is thriving. We have one serious contender for the next book to be published under your main line. And we passed two others onto the imprint. However, I do have an appointment. Have a good night!”

Take that, life. She was the master of her world. Well, until she ran out of the lobby, shoved through the revolving doors, and smacked right into a hard wall of a chest.

“Assaulting a police officer, Jailbird?”

Max had grabbed her by the arms to steady her, even as her tote bag swung and hit him in the thigh. Max’s lips tightened for just a second, but that was the only reaction to being run into and almost taking a book to the balls.

“Max! What are you doing here?” Paige looked around. “I don’t see a drug bust, prostitutes, or a dead body.”

“Haha. I came to return this,” he said holding up Sale . “I called up to your office and Kendrick said you had just run for the elevator so I waited for you here.”

“Thank you for returning my book baby,” Paige said, anxious to get her hands on her favorite book. She’d missed it, as strange as that sounded.

“This is not a book baby. This is a full grown, kinky book woman.” Max held it out but didn’t hand it over.

“Max, I’m late for book club.” Paige made a swipe for the book, but he held it up out of reach.

“Get in. We’ll have pre-book club before I drop you off. I can’t have you running down the streets of New York assaulting people with books.” Max opened the door to his car and she looked at the overcrowded sidewalks.

“Okay, but if we get stuck in traffic, I expect you to use your siren.”

Max chuckled but closed the door behind her as she buckled her seatbelt. “I have to say, I was surprised by the way the author could put the main character in such a position yet still maintain her power. She wasn’t a weak heroine.”

“Oh,” Paige said, blinking. “You actually want to talk about the book. Okay, yes. I also liked the way the hero was dominant yet alpha enough to respect the heroine. Some books don’t do that. The heroine is weak and the hero takes advantage. Or worse, the heroine is strong, but the hero breaks her to his will. I thought Sale did a great job balancing the dominant alpha hero with the strong heroine. Mutual respect is very sexy.”

“I agree. Also, I now completely understand what was going on when we met. It was a stupid thing to do but I understand it,” Max told her as he moved in and out of traffic.

“Stupid?!”

“I could have been a serial killer or a rapist, Paige. You’re lucky all I did was put you in cuffs.” Paige’s face blushed. She could feel the heat rising because she wasn’t thinking of the arrest. She was thinking of Max putting her in cuffs for sex play. Max shifted in his seat and cleared his throat. “Any other books you’re trying out?”

Paige swallowed hard. She looked over at Max and zeroed in on the handcuffs at his waist.

“Paige?”

“What? Oh books. No,” she said with a frown. “I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time to think about my love life. I hardly had time to read the book for book club.”

“What is this week’s read?” Max asked.

“ Fire of the Heart . It’s a romantic suspense about a fireman who rescues a woman from a fire, only to find out the fire was set by her ex in an attempt to kill her. Do you want to read it?”

“Read it? I live that every day,” Max said with a frown. “What’s another of your favorite books?”

“I’m a sucker for Regency romances. My current favorite is The Wallflower and the Duke . Of course, my love for the genre all started with Mr. Darcy and Captain Wentworth.”

“Jane Austen. I read her books in college.”

“And?”

“And it was pretty ballsy for a woman during that time to write those. They’re so relatable. It’s no wonder they’ve spanned time and are still popular reads. The conflict the men feel when they find a woman they love, but maybe she’s not up to family expectations, or the timing’s just not right, or maybe she’s just not ready. The way her heroes long for the heroines, that torture of wanting her, but not having her, waiting to see if she’ll ever realize he’s the one for her is all too real. It’s something men still relate to today.”

Paige looked at Max. His hand tightened on this wheel, his knuckles turning white. Her heart was pounding because she felt what he said to her core.

“Here you go. Enjoy book club. I’ll pick up The Wallflower and the Duke for the next time I take you in, Jailbird. ”

Max got out of the car and raced around to open her door while she was busy grabbing bags. Max held out his hand to help her from the seat. His hand closed around hers, heating her in more places than her hand, but then it was gone. “Max,” she said softly when he dropped her hand.

“Have fun tonight. I’ve got to get going. I have to meet someone.”

“Of course,” Paige said, feeling the butterflies in her stomach die a quick death. Sierra. Of course, he had a date with her. “Thanks for the ride.”

Paige stared as Max sped away. When she turned to the café, she saw three faces plastered to the window and shook her head at her friends.

She hadn’t even stepped all the way inside when they pounced.

“What was that?” Leah asked.

“So freaking hot,” Eli said as he fanned himself.

“Did you see how rigid he was when you touched him?” Amelia asked. “His eyes were burning.”

Paige frowned and dropped onto the sofa. “He is going to see his girlfriend.”

All three faces frowned back at her.

“That can’t be right,” Leah protested.

“It is. We all remember Sierra from Valentine’s Day. They were also at the gala together the other month. It is what it is. Besides, I’m too busy at work to even think about dating.”

“Maybe for dating, but not for your resolution. Your resolution said nothing about dating,” Eli pointed out.

“You need to get laid,” Leah said bluntly. “It’ll take the edge off and help with stress.”

Paige closed her eyes and the heavenly smell of chocolate, coffee, and whipped cream reached her nose. She opened her eyes and saw the mocha Felix was holding out for her .

“You’re a saint,” Paige said, taking her drink and inhaling deeply.

Felix gave her a kind smile before placing a quick kiss on Amelia’s lips and heading back to work. At least now, all eyes were off of Paige.

“PDA?!” Eli squealed and Paige saw Felix grin behind the counter.

“We’re official now,” Amelia said with the purest, happiest smile Paige had ever seen on her friend.

“Well, she’s clearly winning at our resolution,” Leah said, but with a huge smile on her face.

“And we couldn’t be happier for you,” Eli said before they all attacked Amelia with hugs.

“You would be too if you gave Noah any indication that you would accept him if he asked you out,” Paige pointed out. She really liked Noah, especially after working with him for the past month. “He’s a good guy.”

This was an argument they’d had before. Leah wouldn’t open her eyes to what was right in front of her.

“I’m taking a page from the Paige Turner book of life—I’m focusing on my career. I’ve officially been promoted and will start my new job on Monday. I am not going to let anyone think I got it because I was banging Noah.” Leah looked serious about it, and that was actually a change. She’d always liked her job but hadn’t seen it as her career until Noah. Noah saw the good in her work and encouraged her and now she was thriving.

“Well, being more serious about your work and setting aside the hookup apps is winning in the resolution game too,” Paige said, giving her a wink. “I’m so proud of Leah,” she told her friends. “She’s amazing at her job and has given Mimi the absolute best media ahead of her book release this August.”

Leah blushed, and for someone who was such an extrovert, she didn’t like it when the attention was focused on her. So Paige moved it to Eli who thrived under the attention. “How is your resolution going?” Paige asked Eli.

“Good. I’ve given up my playboy ways and have been busy rehabbing my image. I talked to Kenneth the other day and suggested a romance book with a violinist in it.” Eli smiled a little nervously. “We’ll see if he takes the recommendation or not, but I’m not hiding who I really am anymore. That leaves you, Paige.”

“Queen of the work resolution, failure of the personal life resolution,” Leah pointed out.

“Have you even been trying to find anyone?” Amelia asked.

Paige shook her head. “No. After the debacle that was Fleet Week, I have been focusing on nothing but work. Now, let’s get down to business.” Paige pulled out the firefighter book. “What do you all think?”

Her three friends shared a smile and then all turned to Paige. “We think it’s a great idea for your next virginity trope.”

Paige’s eyes went big. “Wait, what?”

“There’s a fire station about three blocks away,” Leah pointed out. “Maybe you need to break a heel in front of the station and need to borrow their phone to get a ride to work?”

“Wouldn’t I use my cell phone?” Paige asked.

“Girl, you leave that thing at home or turn it off and tell them it ran out of battery.” Eli rolled his eyes at her. Then it was on.

Paige sat back as the whole plan was laid out on how she could catch the attention of some firefighters. Paige frowned as they plotted. Max was with Sierra. Jack was complicated. Fraser was . . . well, she wasn’t sure. Especially after he saw her with Patrick at the gala. There wasn’t anything holding her back. Why was she suddenly worried when she’d done way worse than ask to make a call? She’d tried to sell her virginity and tried to have a furry orgy. Walking into a firehouse should be a piece of cake.

“Okay. I’ll do it.”