“She’s probably home by now,” Blake said dismissively. “I’m not sure. I put her in a cab.”

“You didn’t drive her home?” It pleased her more than it should to realize he hadn’t followed up his proposal with a sleepover.

It also pissed her off again. That exactly was her point about him and Jane—he wasn’t even into her enough to do the deed after he popped the question. If it had been her that he’d asked to marry, Andy would have been all over him. Like the brainless sex-obsessed woman she’d apparently become reduced to in his presence.

And that just made her sad. And destructive. Wanting to wallow in her pain, no—revel in her escape—she pursued the subject further. “You know, you don’t have to keep it in your pants anymore. You could bang her all you want and I won’t say a word.”

“Is that what you want? For me to be with Jane?”

“No.” It was out before she could stop it. She backpedaled fast. “I mean, what do I care? I quit, remember?”

He took a step toward her. “And the only reason you ever cared about that was because of your job?” His expression was more prodding than accusatory.

She swallowed back the lump in her throat. “Of course. Why else would I give a shit?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

They stared at each other in a standstill and it occurred to Andy that Blake might know. Was that possible? Did he somehow guess that she had a massive love boner for him, and if he did, why did he feel the need to expose it? Did he … care?

No, it was probably just because of his ego.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, breaking their eye contact. She couldn’t take much more without the rage dissolving into tears. “Blake, I don’t know what you’re insinuating, but I have a headache. Could you please just let this lie? Go meet Jane at her house and celebrate the occasion.”

“What occasion?” He looked truly confused.

“Don’t patronize me. I know, Blake.”

“Know what, Drea?”

“About the engagement.” Did he think he could hide it from her? And why did he want to? Goddammit, was he trying to get out of paying her find-a-bride bonus on top of everything else? “I saw the ring. I know you were going to propose. Are you trying to screw me on my bonus, Blake Donovan? Because if you—”

He cut her off with a finger pointed at her. “Hold on. You saw … the ring?”

“Yeah, I saw it. So stop trying to hide the truth and let’s talk about my payment. Because I know you proposed. Why did you think I quit?” If she was going to walk away with a broken heart and no referral, she’d better at least have money for groceries for a couple of months. And who was he kidding with this ridiculous late-night drop-in?

“Andy, stop talking about payment. I’m not trying to screw you out of anything. What the hell is it that you think you know about my proposal?”

“I know all of it. I’m not an idiot.” She sighed. A deep, heavy, frustrated I-can’t-believe-I’m-spelling-this-out sigh. “The ring came in while you were at your meetings. Sarah was already at lunch so I signed for the package. I was nosy. I looked. Add that to dinner reservations at Menton, it didn’t take much to put together that tonight was the night you’d pop the question.”

“Pop the…” Dawning settled over his features. “You thought I was going to propose to Jane?”

“Well, duh.”

There were exactly two seconds of silence before Blake began to laugh. Not a simple chuckle, either, but a deep, hearty laugh much like the night she’d shown up in her nightie on his doorstep. And just like then, she felt totally humiliated and utterly confused and goddamn pissed.

Fucking Blake.

Before she could find a new item to pelt him with—this time, preferably a very hard, very damaging object—his laughter ceased sharply. He met her eyes and advanced upon her, backing her up until she’d met the wall.

He caged her in, his body so close but not touching her anywhere. God, it was just like when he’d seduced her the night before. Heat rolled off him—sexual tension and emotional tension—it took everything she had not to choke him with his tie and then rip all his clothes off. Because it was the only thought that distracted her from how she still wanted him to do that to her. Why was he torturing her like this?

“Why are you mad at me?” His low, husky timbre fell over her like liquid sex.

“I…” She wasn’t sure anymore. Wasn’t even sure if she was still mad at him. Or if she was mad, maybe she could take it out on him in another way. Like with her body, with her hands. With her teeth. Maybe one last … maybe they could hate-do it?

“Is it because you have feelings…?” He didn’t add for me, but it was implied.

Andy shook her head but squeaked out a contradictory “Maybe.”

He settled his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, as if relishing her oh-so-tentative answer. When he opened them again, he said plainly, “I did not propose to Jane.”

Her breath hitched. “You didn’t?”

“No.” He circled his nose around hers once, then drew back to meet her gaze. “It would be a serious conflict of interest. Considering I’m completely in love with you.”

Andy swore her heart flipped in her chest. “Wh—what?”

He trailed his hands up her arms. “I love you, Andy. The ring was for you.”

“For me?” Now her heart was in her throat. She had to be hallucinating because there was no way that ring had been for her. Or dreaming. Maybe she was still asleep on the couch.

Except his hands on her body felt awfully real and the scent that she’d come to know as pure Blake pervaded the space between them, filled her with all of him. Not as full as she was fantasizing, but …

Her eyes fell to the floor as she tried to work through the fog that had settled around her. “But you went out with Jane tonight—”

“—to break up with her.”

“At the fanciest restaurant in town?”

“I thought you’d be impressed with my considerate letdown.” He took a step back. Not too far, but enough to give her a smidgeon of breathing room.

“Impressed?” He was still close enough for her to punch him in the shoulder. So she hit him twice. “It’s misleading! To her and to me.”

Blake rubbed at the place she’d struck him, but was otherwise a good sport about the infliction. “Jane was far from misled. She was well aware I had no feelings for her before I even told her. As for you—”

She opened her mouth to ask more about the highly interesting thing he’d just said about Jane, but he put a finger up to shush her. “I could have explained all of it to you, if you’d asked me about it instead of quitting and running off—”

“—like how you ran off this morning?” That hypocrisy had to be addressed. “I may have run off, but let it be clear you abandoned me first. At least I left a note.” She brushed past him, unable to stand his close proximity any longer. If he was going to play mind games with her, then she at least needed to have a fair shot at fighting back, and there was no fair shot when he was that near.

Blake spun around after her. “What are you talking about, Andy? I didn’t abandon you. And I did leave a note.”

“Where? There was no note. I know. I looked.”

“There was a note, Drea. It was by the bedside with the money—” He stopped as if realizing what must have happened.

At the same time, Andy remembered everything falling off the nightstand. Remembered the dog …

“Puppy,” they said in unison.

She couldn’t help smiling at that. Then she couldn’t stop smiling because Blake hadn’t abandoned her.

Blake ran a hand over his face. “No wonder you were mad. You thought I’d just left you.”

“Left me with a pair of twenties.”

“Oh, God … it was for a cab to get home. You must have thought…”

“Let’s not even go there.” All that heartache, and it had just been a misunderstanding. Luckily they’d sorted it out before she’d gone and done anything drastic. Well, anything more drastic. How different the day would have gone if not for the damn dog.