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“Or putting us to the test to see which one of us cracks first,” Victoria adds. “If she finds out what just happened here… if she finds out we slept together in the office, she’ll have a massive weapon to manipulate us however she pleases. Or to fire us both.”

Harper looks her in the eyes, and for the first time all night, a wild, playful spark crosses her face.

“Well, she’s going to be disappointed.”

Victoria smiles, fascinated by Harper’s attitude, and steals a nibble from her lower lip.

“So what’s the plan, Brooks?”

“The plan is to be flawless. At work, we’ll be the most brilliant and coordinated professionals Velvet & Silk has ever seen. We’ll give them the best issue of the decade. And whatever happens when the lights go out… stays between this office, you, and me. No labels, no pressure, and without that harpy Eleanor suspecting a thing.”

Victoria feels a shiver run down her spine. The prospect of sharing such a delicious and dangerous secret with Harper awakens in her an uncontrollable desire to lose her mind all over again.

“That sounds like a brilliant plan,” Victoria whispers, wrapping her arms around her waist and pulling her down to claim her mouth in a hungry kiss. “But right now, I suggest you shut up and go back to using my body as a blanket.”

“At your service,” Harper says with a smile against her lips, surrendering once more to their passion.

Chapter 15

Harper discovers that Liam Vance is still an irresistible liar and manipulator at exactly 7:17 p.m. on Friday, when the door to his Williamsburg loft swings open and the person standing on the other side isn’t him, but Victoria.

For three seconds, neither of them is able to speak.

Harper stands frozen on the landing with a bottle of reserve Barolo in her right hand, her purse slung over her shoulder, and the uncomfortable certainty that she’s walked headfirst into a delightfully executed trap. Victoria, for her part, grips the doorknob with an expression that borders on comical.

She’s wearing high-waisted black pants with a flawless drape, paired with a cream-colored fine-knit sweater, the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Her hair, usually pulled back at the Velvet & Silk office, falls loose down her back. She’s a far cry from the woman who sends shivers down the spines of the design department. Harper feels an instant flutter in her stomach. Fantastic. It hasn’t even been forty-eight hours since their encounter on the office carpet, and her body is already reacting to Victoria in casual clothes as if she were gazing upon a goddess.

“Hi,” Harper says.

Victoria blinks twice, as if trying to figure out whether the woman standing before her is real or a mirage.

“What are you doing here? My brother promised me a quiet dinner so we could talk about his work.”

Harper holds up the bottle of red wine with a feigned look of innocence.

“Well, he sold me on the idea that he was organizing an impromptu get-together with friends.”

“I’m going to kill him,” Victoria mutters under her breath.

From the back of the loft comes a male voice that’s far too cheerful and completely without remorse:

“If that’s Harper, tell her to come in and open the Barolo! And I’ve made her favorite sauce!”

Victoria closes her eyes and takes a deep breath through her nose in a desperate attempt to muster some patience. Harper can’t help but burst out laughing, enjoying the scene.

“I think your brother has already claimed his first victim,” Harper remarks.

“You have no idea how much I hate him right now.”

“That’s a lie. You adore him. Just like you’re happy to see me,” Harper adds, winking at her.

Harper steps across the threshold, ignoring the overwhelming urge she suddenly feels to kiss her.

Liam’s loft is a marvel of huge industrial windows overlooking the lights of Brooklyn. There are shelves crammed with comic books, plants that have survived neglect, and a pine table long enough to feed a regiment.

Harper turns to Victoria, her heart still racing.

Before she can speak, Liam emerges from the kitchen with a dish towel draped over his shoulder and a wooden spoon in hand, smiling from ear to ear.