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Thankfully Mandy’s smug grin was hidden behind her glass when Jake stepped up to their little group.

“Ladies.” Jake’s deep, smooth voice rippled through Mia. Her skin tingled and her hair stood on end, as if to beg for his attention. She shifted her stance to adjust for the moistness she felt gathering in her nether regions as soon as Mandy mentioned Jake’s name.

“Jake,” Mandy said politely.

“Are those stiff accountants you hang out with behaving over there?” Robin asked.

Jake chuckled and looked over his shoulder in the direction he had come from. “For now.” He stepped closer to their little group and whispered, “Don’t tell anyone, but that’s the real party crowd. They’re just waiting for Patterson to leave so they can bust out their moves.”

Almost as one, Robin and Mandy leaned to the right so they could look around Jake’s broad shoulders. Jake and Mia shared a grin. When Robin turned back, it was clear she wasn’t sure what to believe.

“Are you serious?” Robin asked Jake.

“Very. Give those guys a little beer and a few wild women and you’d better watch out.”

Robin was looking more interested by the second.

Mandy elbowed Robin. “What do you think about going and introducing ourselves to some of Jake’s friends?”

“Works for me,” Robin said with a grin.

“You two aren’t really going over there, are you?” Mia asked in disbelief. 

“Sure.” “Why not?” they said at the same time.

Mia looked at Jake for help, but he simply pasted an innocent expression on his face. Mia shrugged and said, “Whatever. Have fun, I guess.”

“Thanks for the inside scoop, Jake,” Robin said with a wink. “See you two kids later,” Mandy added with a lift of her glass.

“And off they go,” Mia mumbled as she watched her traitorous friends weave their way across the room, leaving her alone with Jake. She turned and looked up into his eyes. Even though the lights were too low to see the exact shade, she knew they were the color of well-worn denim. “I hope you’re aware of what you unleashed on your pals.”

She considered the man standing before her. He was tall with broad, strong-looking shoulders. She knew he played ball with some of the guys in the office because she’d often heard them talking about the games over coffee in the break room. The way his shirts fit indicated he worked out. Add that to his classic blond hair and blue eyes and he was definitely drool-worthy, as Mandy would say.

The biggest question in Mia’s mind was whether or not he would ever see her as anything but an analyst with more opinions than boobs. Thankfully she had the data to back those opinions up.

“They may thank me in the morning,” Jake said with a twinkle in his eye.

“They might,” she conceded.

He stepped closer to Mia. Close enough that she could feel the warmth of his body radiating to her already flushed skin.

“Besides,” he lowered his voice and held Mia’s gaze, “it served its purpose.”

“What purpose is that?”

“To get you to myself.”