Two days later I’m in my office, files spread out over my desk, when my cell rings. It’s Dax. Yesterday he sent me a very beautiful flower arrangement. I’ve never been much of a hearts and flowers girl, but the gerbera daisies in vibrant colors are particularly lovely, and coming from him they mean something special. Which is a problem. I’m more invested than I ever meant to be, and now not only do we have to try to hide this from Emme, I’m also supposed to convince him to work at Whitman. My head’s a mess over this.

I pick up my phone and put some cheer in my voice. “Good morning, Mr. Hughes. How may I help you?”

“Are you at your desk right now? Can you check your email?”

“Yes, and yes. Why? Is there a problem?”

“No problem, this could actually be the opposite of a problem. I’ll wait until you open the email before I ask more questions.”

“Personal or professional?”

“Personal.”

I grab my home laptop from my bag and access my emails, pulling up the one he forwarded. “This is about the alumni conference.” Our law school is hosting a two-day conference featuring panels, speeches, and workshops led by some of the top lawyers to graduate from their program. I was offered an opportunity to lead a panel, but wasn’t sure I could commit to it, or even wanted to.

“Are you going?”

I have to stop chewing on the end of my pen in order to answer. “I reserved a spot, but I wasn’t sure if it made sense to attend. Why? Are you?”

“I’m speaking on a panel on Saturday.”

“Oh.” So much for seeing him this weekend. “Do you need me to watch Emme?”

He laughs. “No, Kailyn. I’ve made arrangements with one of her friends to have a sleepover.”

“Have you talked to the parents? Will they be there? Does she know them well?”

“Yes, yes, and yes. She’s been friends with Marnie since first grade and they’ve had plenty of sleepovers, so she’ll be in good hands for the weekend.”

“Well, that’s good news.” I’m a little bummed that he’s going to be away all weekend. Maybe he’ll have an evening free this week or something.

“Kailyn?”

“Yes?” I rearrange my mugs on my desk—the old and the new one with the chip. I think it’s going to be my favorite now, because of the memory associated with the shopping trip and the events that followed.

“I have a hotel room booked for Friday and Saturday night.” At my silence he presses on. “We could spend the entire weekend together. No pretending we’re going for a walk, no hiding”— his voice drops—“and we can have lazy morning sex. What do you say? Are you in?”

I squeeze my thighs together. “Yes. I’m in.”

His voice is smooth silk. “Are you thinking about lazy morning sex, Kailyn?”

“No.” I’m sure lazy morning sex will be nice, but I’m looking forward to experiencing his other talents again.

He chuckles. “I think you’re lying.”

I smooth out my skirt, my body already responding to the endless possibilities that will come with an entire weekend together, uninterrupted by time constraints or the presence of a teenager. But I play it off as coy. “And why would you think that?”

“Because you’re suddenly all breathy.”

I can feel my face heating up. “I am not.”

“You definitely are.”

“It has nothing to do with lazy morning anything.”

“Oh no? What does it have to do with, then?”

I check to make sure I have privacy before I drop my voice to a whisper. “That very talented tongue you have.”

“Oh, really? Should I assume you’re not referencing my stellar conversation skills?”

“You assume correctly, although I do appreciate your ability to keep me entertained, mind and body.” My cheeks grow hot at the thought of having his head between my thighs again.

“Did you like it when I made you come with my mouth?”

I throw his words back at him. “You’re good at reading people, aren’t you? What do you think?”

“I think you liked it a lot. I might even go so far as to say you love my mouth on you.”

“Is that right, Mr. Hughes?”

“It is. I enjoyed the taste of you very much, Miss Flowers, and I’m very much looking forward to repeating that experience multiple times.”

“We should probably schedule that in, just to be sure you have enough time between panels to make that happen.”

He laughs. “I’ll get on that right away. Well, now that I’m highly uncomfortable and can’t leave my desk without embarrassing myself, I should probably get back to work.”

It’s my turn to chuckle. “I hope you have a productive day, and it’s not too hard.”

“Interested in a quick lunch date?”

“Enticing, but I have meetings all day.”

“That’s unfortunate.” Dax is silent for a moment, and his voice drops low. “Kailyn?”

“Yes, Dax.”

“Pack all your fun panties for me, please.”

I laugh. “Of course.”

“Have a nice day, Miss Flowers.”

“You, too, Mr. Hughes.”

I end the call and exhale a long breath, considering all the ways in which I plan to enjoy this uninterrupted two-day span. But first I need to run it by Beverly as it means missing part of Friday. Something I should’ve done before I said yes to Dax, but I can’t see her saying no.

I collect myself and review how I’m going to pitch this in my head on my way to Beverly’s office. She’s poring over documents when I knock.

“Kailyn, come on in.” She motions to the chair across from her desk.

I take a seat. “I have a request I need to run by you.”

“Oh?” She folds her hands in front of her. “Is everything okay?”

“Oh yes, fine. There’s an alumni conference this Friday and Saturday. As you know, Daxton and I were in the same class, and he’s attending as one of the speakers. I thought it might be a good idea for me to go as well. It could give me an opportunity to revisit the possibility of switching firms in a less formal environment.” I’m laying the bullshit on thick, but the payoff will feel oh so good.

Beverly smiles. “That’s a fantastic idea. How are things with his sister? What’s happening with the aunt?”

“His sister is great, no more issues at school, so that’s good news. The aunt is still pushing her angle.” Linda has emailed me several times regarding the folder of information she passed over at the school all those weeks ago. I looked through it right away, but there was nothing that couldn’t be found in a simple Google search. Most of the documents were gossip site articles about some of Daxton’s unfortunate choices during his progression from teen heartthrob to top lawyer. There isn’t anything particularly condemning in the past couple of years, but I see the picture she’s trying to paint.

“That’s perfect. Will Daxton be at the conference on Friday, or is he just attending Saturday?”

“He’ll be there both days.”

“Then I want you there, too.”

“Great. I’ll make sure to take care of everything before the end of the day on Thursday.”

“Excellent. I look forward to hearing about the progress you make over the weekend. Do you think he’ll want a gym membership? He’s definitely in good shape. Maybe see what other perks might help pull him our way.”

“Of course.” I rise as Beverly turns her attention back to the papers on her desk.

“Kailyn?”

I pause halfway to the door. “Yes?”

“I can’t wait to be able to make you a partner.”

“Me, too.” The excitement fades as I make my way back down the hall to my office. Dax coming over to Whitman would be so much better for him and obviously it means good things for my career, but the ramifications sit heavy with me. It feels like my gains no longer outweigh the potential losses.

Making partner isn’t what I’m thinking about on Friday morning when I double-check my overnight bag for all my fun panties packed, and of course a selection of sexy ones.

Dax picks me up at ten. The drive to the hotel doesn’t take long since it’s during the day and traffic isn’t terrible, but he’s secured early check-in and a room on the penthouse floor, away from the conference goers so we have privacy.

As soon as we get to the room, we’re a flurry of groping hands and busy mouths. It’s nothing like the last time we had sex. After five days of messages back and forth discussing all the things we can’t wait to do to each other, Dax is hell-bent on making every single one of those things happen in the first hour.

I’m a limp noodle by the time he finally comes—dear lord that man has incredible stamina. He rolls onto his back and arranges me so I’m lying on top of him, my chin resting on his chest. He sweeps my hair away from my face. “Do you know what’s sexy?”

I reach across the bed and pick up the pair of hot-pink cheekies with YOLO written on the butt in huge block letters. “These?”

“They are pretty awesome, but no.”

“Just wait until you see the other ones.”