Loving the Best Man (Friends & Lovers Book 2) by Jaye Diane

was parked in front of the four car garage, which was fully occupied. They quietly walked to her car and she unlocked it.
    “Are you coming over tonight?” He asked. “Or should I come to your place?”
    “Either one is fine with me.” She felt like they were being watched but when she looked at the windows of the house, all of the curtains were closed.
    “I wanted to ask you something,” He said, taking her hand and kissing it. “I know it’s short notice but I wanted to know if you’d like to come to my office Christmas party with me. It’s on Tuesday.”
    “Uh…” She pulled her hand away, suddenly feeling awkward. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
    “Hmm.” His face was expressionless.
    “It’s nothing personal, Lincoln. I just don’t think-”
    “No need to explain,” He cut her off briskly. “I get it.”
    She tried to meet his eyes but he looked down at his watch.
    “I’m sorry,” She felt forced to say. Just a minute ago he’d looked so warm and friendly and now his face had lost all it’s animation.
    “Don’t worry about it,” He said, a half of a smile crossing his face. “I’ll be over your place in a little while.”
    She nodded and stood still when he leaned down. She licked her lips, anticipating his kiss, but he only kissed her cheek. Disappointed, she got in her car and looked at the house again. The curtains were definitely moving. They had witnesses.
    She waved and drove away, feeling like she’d made a serious mistake but not knowing how it could have gone any differently. They had an agreement. And there were rules to follow, even if they hadn’t spelt them out. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings but she didn’t want them to fool themselves into thinking that their association was something it wasn’t.
    It took her awhile to find a parking spot. She ended up parked two blocks away and shivered against the biting cold as she walked down the street. Her feet were freezing as she entered her building and she wondered if she had time to have a hot shower before Lincoln arrived.
    She stumbled when she reached her apartment. Scrawled across the door in red spray paint was the word BITCH written in uppercase letters. She was at once upset and angry, her heart doing a mean gallop within her chest. With trembling hands she took out her phone and took a picture of the nasty message.
    Across the hall, she heard a door open. She turned to see Mrs. Jordan, who lived there with her small granddaughter, frowning. She had very dark, wrinkled skin and a headful of gray hair.
    “Are you alright?” The older woman asked, looking back into her apartment before gently closing the door and walking over.
    “Yeah, I’m good,” Emerald murmured, though her entire body felt tense enough to snap. “Did you hear anything earlier today? Or see somebody over here?”
    “No,” Mrs. Jordan replied solemnly. “Janet is sick; girl got that flu. I was taking care of her all day and she just kept carrying on… She’s finally sleep.”
    “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” Emerald murmured, distracted. “I hope she feels better soon.”
    “Thank you, puddin’,” Mrs. Jordan said and touched Emerald’s arm. “This probably was those Jenkins boys. You know they been tagging up the whole building.”
    Emerald nodded in agreement although she knew very well what was going on. Instead of making Marley back off, her visit had had the opposite effect and now he was trying to up his game.
    “Emerald?”
    She turned around to see Lincoln standing at the top of the stairwell. He rushed over. Mrs. Jordan eyed him blatantly, staring him up and down. If Emerald wasn’t so pissed off, she might have laughed.
    “Who did this?” Lincoln demanded, staring at her door. “Are you okay?”
    “I’m fine,” Emerald said, trying to remain calm. “This was like this when I got here.”
    “Is this your boyfriend?” Mrs. Jordan grinned at him.
    “We should call the police,” Lincoln said,