understood his reasons for wanting Katie to be so careful.
“I know, and I love him for it.” Katie sighed. “The morning sickness is done, so I feel great.” She put all but two of the croissants in the case. “I’m just hungry all the time. Can I interest you in a coffee-and-croissant break? They’re chocolate.”
“How did you know I need chocolate?”
“Everyone needs chocolate.” Katie set the remaining pastries on a plate, then poured Emily a cup of coffee and handed it to her. “You look like you’ve been through the job search gauntlet today.” She got the attention of one of the women working the counter and mouthed “Five minutes.” There was a line forming at the cash register so the worker gave her a harried nod. “Let’s go to the kitchen. More privacy.”
“You’re swamped right now. I’m fine.”
“Never too swamped for a snack,” Katie answered and picked up the plate. She led Emily through a heavy swinging door into the commercial kitchen. “I’m going to sit on a stool while you take my picture and text it to Noah. You’re the witness that I’m not working too hard.”
Emily snapped the photo, sent it to her brother and then pulled off a piece of the flaky dough. “Fresh from the oven?” she asked as she popped the bite into her mouth. She climbed onto a stool next to Katie, trailing her fingers across the cool stainless steel counter.
“The best kind.”
“If my brother becomes too much of a pain, I’ll marry you,” Emily said when she finished chewing. The croissant melted in her mouth, buttery and soft with the perfect amount of chocolate in the middle.
“Don’t distract me with flattery,” Katie answered but moaned as she took a bite. “What happened today?”
“No one feels a burning desire to hire the woman who publicly ridiculed the town on her way out.”
Katie made a face. “It was a well-known fact that you had no plans to stay in Crimson any longer than necessary.”
“Or maybe I got drunk one night and announced to a bar full of locals that I was too good to waste away in this...”
“Hellhole mountain slum, I think you called it.”
“Right. Classy.”
“And endearing,” Katie agreed, clearly having trouble keeping a straight face.
“I’m stupid.” Emily pressed her forehead to the smooth stainless steel, let it soothe the massive headache she could feel starting behind her eyes.
“You can make this better,” Katie said, placing a hand on Emily’s back. “Crimson has a long history of forgiving mistakes.”
“And an even longer one of punishing people for them.” She tipped her head to the side. “Look at how hard Jase has worked to make amends for trouble he didn’t even cause.”
“But people love him.”
“Because he’s perfect.”
“Why are you so hard on him, Em?”
Emily shook her head, unable to put into words her odd and tumbling emotions around Jase.
“You could work for him,” Katie said with a laugh.
“For Jase?” Emily asked, lifting her head. “What do you mean?”
“I’m joking,” Katie said quickly. “From what I can tell it bothers you to be in the same room with him.”
“That’s not exactly true.” Emily had really liked Jase kissing her. It had been easy to lose herself in the gentle pressure of his mouth. His hands cradling her face made her feel cherished. She’d wanted to plaster herself against him and forget she was alone, at least for a few minutes. She was definitely bothered by Jase, but not in the way Katie believed. “Is he hiring for his campaign?”
“No,” Katie answered slowly, as if reluctant to share what she knew. “His secretary retired a few months ago.”
“The one with the litter of puppies?”
“How did you know about that?”
Emily ignored the question. “Why hasn’t he hired someone?”
“He won’t say, but as far as I know he hasn’t even interviewed anyone for the position.” Katie took another bite of pastry. “There are plenty of people who would love to work with him.”
“Plenty of single women,” Emily clarified.
“He’s pretty hot,” Katie said, her smile returning. “Not as handsome as Noah, of course. He makes me—”
“I’m working on being a good friend.” Emily held up a hand. “But I draw the line on listening to you ruminate on the hotness of my brother.” She hopped off her stool and took a final drink of coffee. “Break’s over, friend. I just got a tip on a job opening.” She picked up the plate and walked it over to the sink.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“Clearing my plate?”
“Asking Jase for a job.”
Emily straightened her suit jacket and smiled, pretending the nervous butterflies zipping through her belly didn’t exist. “I’m not sure, but when has that ever stopped me?”
She gave Katie a short hug. “Thanks for listening. You’re a pro at this whole supportive girlfriend thing.”
Katie returned her smile. “Good luck, Em.”
“I’ve got this,” Emily answered with more confidence than she felt. But bluffing was second nature to her, so she squared her shoulders and marched out of the bakery to get herself a job.
Jase reached for the file folder on the far side of his desk just as he heard Emily call his name. His hand jerked, knocking over the cup of leftover coffee that sat on another stack of papers, dark liquid spilling across the messy top of his desk.
“Damn,” he muttered, grabbing the old towel he’d stuffed under the credenza behind him. This wasn’t the first time most of his work papers had been dyed coffee brown. The mug had been half-empty so this cleanup wasn’t the worst he’d seen. He quickly wiped up the spill, then moved the wet files to the row of cabinets shoved along the far wall.
By the time he turned around, Emily stood inside the door to his office. Her blue gaze surveyed the disorder of his office before flicking back to him. “Is it always this bad?”
He kicked the dirty towel out of sight behind his desk. “I’ve got things under control. It only looks like chaos.”
She arched a brow. “Right.”
Jase hadn’t seen Emily since
