Chapter 1

The last person I expect to see when I arrive at the Marshall Ad Agency for a job interview is my old high school sweetheart.

It’s been a good eight years since graduation and the last magical summer we shared before heading off to different colleges…and different lives. Since then, I haven’t thought of Meredith Marshall in forever, or so it seems.

So I’m more than a little surprised when she steps into the lobby to collect me for my interview. “Lara Bennett,” she purrs, smiling. It’s that same seductive smile I fell for all those years ago. She extends a hand to shake mine. “I was hoping it was you.”

I rise from my seat and take her hand in both of mine. “Oh my God, Meredith!” Screw the handshake; I pull her into a quick hug. For one breathless minute, I tingle all over as she presses her body against mine, awakening memories I thought long buried. Into her hair, I murmur, “It’s so good to see you again. How have you been?”

“Oh, you know.” She steps back and takes a good look at me. “Mmm, honey. You still look good.”

Of course I do—I’m here for a job interview, after all. I’m wearing a black on green A-line dress that ends a good two inches above my knees. It’s sleeveless, with a plunging neckline and princess seams. My hair is freshly trimmed into a boyish pixie cut and dyed a deep auburn, every strand perfectly in place above flawless makeup I spent too long on this morning. I look fierce, and I know it.

With a laugh, I tell her, “You don’t look all that bad yourself.”

It’s the truth. The blond curls she used to tease back in the day have been brushed out and straightened, tamed into a sleek, chin-length bob. Thin black lines circle her gray-green eyes; no more girly blue eyeshadow for her. Her lips are every bit as plump and kissable as I remember. She looks so grown up now in a light blue pants suit that screams professional

Lord, how I loved the girl this woman used to be!

Though we haven’t seen each other in years, it feels as if no time at all has passed. Part of me wants to lean in close to claim a quick kiss. Or slip an arm through hers and take a stroll around the block, catching up on gossip and giggling like school girls all over again. Suddenly I’m sixteen and invincible, heady in love and hungry to show her just how much.

But I have to remind myself we aren’t girlfriends anymore. Hell, we don’t even know each other now. We no longer talk throughout the day, or exchange notes in the hall between classes, or cling so tightly to each other whenever we’re alone. And we’re notalone,I remind myself, glancing over at the receptionist behind the desk, who studiously ignores us. You’re here for a job, remember that. Keep this professional.

“So what is it do you do here?” I ask, keeping one hand on her arm as if afraid to let her go.

Meredith flashes me that sexy smile again. “Oh, I don’t know…I’m sort of the boss.”

I gasp. “You’re thatMarshall! I didn’t even think!”

“You mean you applied for the job without researching the company?” Meredith shakes her head, teasing. “Really, hon. In this day and age. You didn’t even Google it?”

“I looked it up,” I assure her. “I mean, I know what it is you guys do here. I just didn’t realize you were the one whose name was on the door.”

She gives me an indulgent look, then threads her arm through mine. “Yeah, yeah. What do you say we go back to my office and chat? I’m sure we’re distracting Nicholas here.”

The young man behind the reception desk grins without looking up from his computer. “No, ma’am. I’m in the zone.”

Meredith rolls her eyes. “Which is code for he’s playing around on Facebook instead of working.”

“Actually, I’m on Twitter,” he says. “Don’t worry, it’s the company account.”

“That’s what he wants me to think,” Meredith tells me in a stage whisper. I laugh as she steers me past the desk and back the way she came. “Hold my calls, will you? Lara and I have some catching up to do.”

* * * *

I first met Meredith when we were both in the fifth grade, though we didn’t become friends then. At the time her mother was in the military and stationed at Fort Lee. But they only lived in Clarksville for a year before they relocated to Hopewell when her father got a job at the ethanol plant. Four years later, her mother retired from the army and they bought a home, moving back to Clarksville for the schools.