"Okay. I am honestly excited for you to tell the world about us. I just wish I was showier." She shrugged and pulled from his hold before walking to the door.
"Showy? What does that even mean?" He turned, and she paused by the door, looking back.
"You know. Beautiful and model-like. These people are going to fall out of their chairs when they realize that you're a prince, marrying a common housewife." She shrugged and ignored the need to cry. She wasn't juvenile and she knew it. The problem was pushing her feelings aside as if his words were enough. "I'll check in later."
"Jamie. That's ridiculous. Get over here." He walked toward her, but she pulled the door open and forced herself to clear it up.
"Mr. Tanger, you're up next." She opened the door and ignored Alex as he stopped beside her.
"This conversation isn't over," he whispered through clenched teeth.
Jamie bit back the need to respond and closed the door behind the two men. She started to walk over to Kristen's desk in the far corner to lament over having to be the soon-to-be-Mrs. Reid, but stopped in her tracks.
Paul was leaning over her desk, laughing softly. The look on Kristen's pretty face said that she was enjoying his attention a little more than maybe was appropriate for the office.
Weren't she and Mark starting to talk about dating?
"Just come out for one drink. We'll have a good time. I promise." Paul moved back and slipped his hands into his pockets, smiling like a tomcat.
"I don't know. I really don't like the idea of dating anyone at work. It's kind of a policy I keep." Kristen stood up and shrugged.
Jamie turned and barreled into Mark, not seeing him there.
His strong hands gripped her shoulders. "Whoa. Watch it there, bulldozer." He smiled and released her before turning and glancing over at Paul and Kristen. His watched them for a minute before turning back to Jamie. "What's up with them?"
"No clue. Come on. Walk with me down to my office." She slipped her arm into his and turned, walking them down the hall. "Are you still trying to see her?"
"I was, kind of, I guess." He walked into her office and dropped down in the chair nearest the door. "I swear women are the biggest mystery in the universe. I'm glad I'm not married anymore, but dating is almost an equal hell. You guys say one thing and mean the other. We say what the hell we mean."
"Do you?" Jamie turned and put her hands on her hips. "If you told me that you thought I was beautiful... you'd mean it? Like you're totally, one-hundred-percent being honest that you think I'm beautiful."
"That or I'm trying to sleep with you." He shrugged. "What's your point?"
Jamie rolled her eyes and walked around to her chair, sitting down in it. "I don't have one, and if I did, you just proved it right. I’m a damn Cinderella. I need a drink."
Chapter 3
"What? Mark turned his attention to her. "Cinderella? I don't get it."
"Yeah, me either." She typed in her password and glanced over at him. "Can you grab me a copy of the paper from the bin downstairs? Would you mind? Alex mentioned something about the press b
eing here causing our stock price to rise. I want to document the occasion for him. You know he'll want to reflect on it later."
Mark stood. "Yeah, sure, but tell me something... was Paul hitting on Kristen?"
Alex's handsome younger brother ran his fingers over his chin and watched her closely. He was such a great guy from all she had seen. Why he couldn't find someone to complement his personality and love him the way he needed to be loved was beyond her.
"I think so." Jamie let out a sigh. "Are you and she dating, or was it just a few times out to dinner and that's it?"
"We're not dating, or I don't think we are." He chuckled sardonically. "Hell, I don't know. Like I said, dating is the freaking pits. I have no clue how to do this anymore."
"You'll figure it out. I think Kristen isn’t the one you'll be figuring it out with, though."
"I guess you're right." He walked to the door and paused. "It's these pants. They make me look bloated, right?"
The smirk on his handsome face left her lip turning up.
"It's all those donuts you eat in the morning." She turned back to her computer. "You look great. She's just not the one. You'll find her."