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Harper leans over the desk, reading the lines of the draft. Then she turns to look at her. Their faces are just a few centimeters apart.
“I’ve been thinking about this ever since we were in Chicago,” Harper confesses. “Even before that, actually.”
“Oh, really?” Victoria asks, lowering her gaze to her ex-wife’s full lips.
“Yes.”
Victoria’s heart skips a beat.
“Harper…”
“This isn’t going to help us focus,” Harper murmurs, though she makes no move to step back.
“Well, you could step away,” Victoria teases, wrapping an arm around her waist and gently pulling her close.
The kiss begins as a slow spark, a sweet brush of lips seeking to confirm that everything they’ve experienced hasn’t been a dream. But as soon as Harper opens her mouth with a soft moan, Victoria pulls her close with fierce possessiveness, deepening the kiss, feeling the heat of her tongue and that intoxicating scent that drives her wild. Harper’s hands sink into Victoria’s neatly styled hair, ruffling it mercilessly, until…
The office door swings wide open without warning.
“We have a problem!” Solange announces, nearly out of breath.
Victoria pulls her hands away at lightning speed, and Harper steps back, her face flushing.
Solange freezes in the doorway. Her eyes dart from Victoria—flawless, but with her lipstick slightly smudged at the corner of her mouth—to Harper—with her hair tousled and her breath coming in gasps—and then to the messy desk.
“Well…” Solange says, drawing out the vowel with a smile she tries unsuccessfully to suppress. “I see the work is getting pretty… intense.”
“Didn’t they teach you to knock before coming in, Solange?” Harper asks.
“Usually, yes,” Solange replies, savoring the moment, “but Julian’s on edge, and I figured that preventing a bloodbath on set took priority. Although, judging by the scene, I might have interrupted something vital for the magazine.”
Victoria clears her throat, even though her ears are burning.
“What happened?”
“Thomas Marlowe is having a meltdown. As usual,” Solange announces. “And we’re having problems with part of the crew.”
Harper tosses her head back and lets out a sigh.
“Well, we’ll have to go fix it,” she says, turning to look at Victoria.
“Let’s go.”
As Solange steps forward to clear a path for them onto the set, Harper takes Victoria’s hand just before they walk through the office door. Victoria turns toward her, and her ex-wife gestures with her eyes toward the office they’ve just left behind.
“Don’t back down on the proposal,” she whispers in her ear.
Victoria looks her in the eyes, feeling a sincere, radiant smile spread across her face.
“I’d never even think of it,” she replies, and then looks straight ahead. “Now let’s save this photo shoot.”
Harper lets go of her hand with a mischievous wink, and together they cross the set, ready to show the world that they can conquer anything together.
Chapter 22
Harper arrives at Velvet & Silk’s headquarters with two giant cups of coffee in her left hand, her purse precariously balanced on her right shoulder, and her head on the verge of exploding. She’s been up all night, reviewing projections for potential international growth.
She’s barely slept three miserable hours on her couch. But she doesn’t really care, because energy is coursing through her veins in a powerful rush. Over the last few hours, what started as a crazy idea has turned into a pretty solid proposal. She and Victoria have dissected the magazine’s structure and drafted a co-management plan that’s not only feasible but will have the board of directors in tears of joy.
