PLAY WITH ME

"I really don't want your apology, Tim" Chloe said. "I would prefer you didn’t treat me like some unwanted stranger you can’t wait to be rid of." There was a throb of irritation in her voice. "I don't treat you like a stranger. Things are just different now." Timothy replied. "Oh please" replied Chloe. "All you did in there was frown whenever my name was mentioned. And let's not even talk about the cold manner in which you have spoken to me since I arrived. You look like this is the last place you want to be just because I'm here. Am I really that vile?" Timothy said nothing. Instead he gritted his teeth and shoved his hands into his pocket. Even in her anger, Chloe noticed him... Every inch of him... And his smell. She could pick out his unique scent. Rough. Masculine and mouthwateringly sexy. It made no sense to her, but she was attuned to his every nuance. The man she had called her best friend until a dizzying series of events dissolved the title like sugar in hot water stared at her dispassionately. It was a good thing they were outside and she hoped that he couldn't see the hurt and disappointment on her face. The look wasn't just in his eyes. It seeped through every shrug, every curl of lips she had once thought were the most perfectly created set of lips on earth. She looked deeper, pathetically desperate to find something else. Something more. A reminder of those times when they would talk to each other for hours, and resume conversations the moment they saw one another again. But clearly the Tim she knew had been replaced by a harder, edgier version of a Timothy Kavell - Packard. He was hard and edgy and cynical to start off with. If she had known that he hated her this much, she wouldn't have agreed to his parents offer to have dinner with them. She had agreed because a stupid part of her had hoped that somehow, they would fix things and be friends again... And she was just beginning to see how wrong she had been.... __________________ Chloe Gilbert finally lands her agency's most wanted account with Packard Enterprises. Her boss is happy and proud of her. Her career is finally moving in the right direction, and she has every reason to be happy. But she wants one more thing... She wants her best friend back, but Timothy Kavell Packard can't seem to get over the fact that she had walked away from their relationship years ago. He was right. They weren’t the same people they were back then. But he was very much a man. And she was a woman with needs and feelings. What exactly did she want from Timothy? Friendship or sex? Maybe she should just settle for one over the other since they were going to be working together. But her heart lurched wildly as it accepted the truth. .... She wanted both.