EXCERPT 2

The elevator doors had just started to close when a male hand stuck between them, activating their sensors so that the doors reopened.

Great. Really freaking fantastic.

A lesser woman would have groaned in dismay at the sight of the man in front of her.

Emma merely straightened her shoulders, ignoring Julie’s softly uttered “Oh, dear.”

It was him.

The man was gorgeous in the sort of way that made women stop and stare. The tall and lean athlete’s body was as impeccably dressed as ever in a trim, perfectly tailored black suit. No sign of a tie today, although there often was one.

His dark hair was perfectly styled, the clean-shaven face showing off a strong jaw and symmetrical lips.

And the eyes . . . green today, although they often could burn blue.

But Emma didn’t have to look at the man to know all of this.

She knew it all from her memories. Bad memories.

He didn’t falter at the sight of Emma and her low-cut cocktail dress and ugly wet bun.

In fact, he didn’t look at her at all.

Nothing—not surprise, not even acknowledgment—fluttered across his features at her presence.

The man was in control.

Always.

Julie shifted to the corner of the elevator to make room for him, and he nodded briefly at her before turning so that he and Emma were standing shoulder to shoulder.

The doors closed, and Emma lifted her eyes to the little screen that indicated the floor number.

He mimicked her posture, his eyes also focused on the spot where the L became 1, then 2 as they ascended.

“Emma,” he said politely, not looking at her.

“Cassidy.”

“You’re looking well.”

“And you,” she said, her tone smooth. Monotone.

“You didn’t get dressed up on my account, I hope.” His voice never lost its casual politeness.

She didn’t so much as glance at him. “Oh, do you not like it? I’ve been so hoping a fancy dress is all it would take for you to ask for my number.”

The elevator stopped on the seventh floor, and Emma and Cassidy stepped to the side so the man in the back corner could exit. In sync, they moved immediately back into their previous positions as the door closed.

They still had not looked at each other.

“You know, it’s a little bright for my taste,” he mused, as though they’d never been interrupted. “I like more subdued colors on a woman. Say . . . white. I always like to see a woman in a white dress. Do you own one?”

Julie cleared her throat, although Emma couldn’t tell if it was a warning or a laugh.

The elevator stopped at 12. Emma’s stop. Finally.

“Excuse me,” she murmured to Cassidy as she stepped off, her voice sugary sweet.

Julie followed her.

And much to Emma’s dismay, so did Cassidy.

“Wrong floor, Cassidy,” Julie said sweetly, with a pretty smile for the wretched man.

Traitor.

“Not today it’s not,” he replied.

“Ah,” Julie said. “Got a meeting with Camille?”

“I do.”

Camille Bishop was the editor in chief of Stiletto magazine, and Julie and Emma’s boss. Since Cassidy was the editor in chief of Oxford magazine, Stiletto’s brother publication, it wasn’t strange that he occasionally stopped by the twelfth floor.

Didn’t mean Emma had to like it.

“See you ladies around,” Cassidy said with a smile for Julie. Emma barely warranted a glance. “Oh, and Emma, just a friendly reminder that winter’s right around the corner. Careful you don’t catch a cold with that wet head.”

He moved away before Emma had a chance to respond. Or give him the finger. Not that she would have bothered.

Emma and Alex's story is a long and twisted one. Five years ago, she was a debutante marrying the man of her dreams. He was an injured ex-soccer player who broke her heart with a deal he made with her dad. The wedding never happened.

Now, Emma Sinclair and Alex Cassidy work in the same building for the same parent company. That's just awkward and not at the same time. Neither one of them wants to admit it bothers them. Still, it does.

Emma thinks he wanted her twin sister and not her. She cannot let him back in for fear she will get hurt again. The attraction is still there. The handsome man still makes her insides quiver.

Alex wants just for once for Emma to hear what he has to say - and to believe him. He never wanted anyone but her and the fact that they are both still single is telling. For a short time, he becomes her boss and tells her she must write about her ex-boyfriends for an issue in the magazine. Secretly, he wants information she is unwilling to share with him.

They share mutual friends, and those friends are getting married. It twists the knife a bit for both Emma and Alex. Their friends want them to get back together and are giving out not so subtle hints about it. Emma, as a writer for Stiletto magazine, she often talks about break-ups and heartache. She is what most would call an expert.

This is the 4th installment in Lauren Layne's Sex, Love, & Stiletto Series it tells the tale for Emma and Alex that we almost did not get. Only the fan response brought it to light. I loved this story and like all the others in this series it is an easy, sexy read. The characters are fun and the other characters from the series appear in this book and have plenty to say!