She started to close the door on Alex without another word, but he stopped it with his palm. “I thought I’d sit in on this one.”
“Nope,” she said, trying to shut the door again. “There is literally no chance of that.”
“Emma,” he said, his voice cajoling and maybe a little condescending. “I haven’t been getting progress reports on your stories like I have from everyone else.”
She glanced at Jason, who’d had the good sense to let himself into the living room instead of eavesdropping.
Emma turned so she could face Alex head-on, stepping forward so they were face-to-face. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Supervising my employee.”
“Don’t be an ass, Cassidy. You said if I wrote this idiotic story you’d stay out of my business.”
“If all your ex-boyfriends are as dull as this one, there won’t be a story,” he whispered back.
“Don’t worry, they’re not all dull,” she shot back. “In fact, there’s a real asshole in the bunch, and I’m still debating whether he’s worth mentioning—”
He put his hand on her waist to move her aside as he stepped into her apartment, ignoring both her sharp intake of breath at the contact and his own unexplainable urge to keep his hand on her waist. To pull her closer.
Alex dropped his hand, clenching his fist in reaction, and moved past her, focusing his attention on Jason. “What can we get you to drink?” he asked in a man-in-charge voice that had Emma bristling behind him.
“Water would be great,” Jason said.
Jason’s relationship with Emma must have been a hell of a lot more peaceful than Alex’s if the man wanted water. He moved to the fridge like he owned the place, pulling out a Brita water filter and searching around until he found a glass.
“You’re sure this is all you’re having?” Alex asked as he poured. “I’m going to have a glass of red.”
“Are you now?” Emma said, both hands on hips. She was wearing a berry-colored dress that was high necked and long sleeved and would have been unsexy as hell if it didn’t hug her body in all the right places.
“Some wine would be great,” Jason said, his voice slightly relieved.
Emma gave Alex one last glare before going to a small wine rack next to the dining table and pulling out a bottle.
She shoved it at Alex’s chest before giving Jason a soft, sweet smile that Alex couldn’t remember seeing from her…ever.
“Jace. I’ve barely had a chance to say hello! How have you been?”
She walked toward her ex with open arms, and Alex stabbed the corkscrew into the top of the bottle with more force than necessary as the two exchanged a long hug. That lingered.
Emma gestured for him to take a seat in one of the chairs, and she sat on the couch across from Jason, crossing her legs. Alex didn’t think he was imagining the way Jason’s gaze latched on to Emma’s slim calf.
Asshole.
He poured three glasses, and carried them all into the living room, where he set Jason’s on the table in front of him before holding one out to Emma. Forcing her to take it—to touch his hand.
She was smart, though, and used two fingers to take the glass at the top, avoiding his touch altogether.
Emma probably had the right idea, avoiding their touch, but Alex was still simmering with the same angry restlessness that had been bugging him all day. So to punish her—to punish them both—he deliberately sat beside her on the couch. Just close enough that her arm had to brush his when she set her wineglass down to reach for her notebook.
She shifted away from him under the guise of crossing her legs to the other side, and Cassidy almost smiled as he took a sip of the wine.
Simper and smile all you want for Jason, honey. I bet he doesn’t make your body hum like this.
“So how does this work?” Jason asked, seemingly oblivious to the undercurrents between Alex and Emma.