The Trouble with Sexy by Codi Gary Page B

into The Local Bean to get the coffee she’d missed that morning. Gracie saw her and gave her a guilty smile. “Hey sweets, just the girl I wanted to talk to.”
    Ryan raised her eyebrow. “I know we haven’t been friends that long, but I’ve seen your ‘I’ve done something bad’ look enough with Gemma to think maybe I should get my coffee before you say anything.”
    Gracie made her usual coffee with room for cream and handed it to her quickly. “So Gregg was in here this morning and he kind of told me what happened between you guys.”
    Ryan stiffened, irritated that Gregg would talk to Gracie about their quarrel. “He shouldn’t have done that.”
    Gracie shrugged. “Yeah well, I only got the edited guy version so I knew there was more to it. But I may have made a slight error in judgment.”
    Ryan smiled a little. “You? No.”
    Gracie glared. “You need to stop talking to Gemma. Anyway, it’s not that big of a deal, but I might have said that he should probably apologize quickly because you volunteered for the singles auction on Friday.”
    â€œYou told him what?” Ryan’s voice roared in the quiet coffee shop.
    Gracie looked sheepishly around. “I was just trying to speed things along so you guys could kiss and make up.”
    Ryan groaned. “The fight started because of a client Gregg thought showed too much interest in me. Then he suggested maybe I shouldn’t dress so provocatively at work.”
    Gracie gasped in outrage. “What an ass! That’s not even close to what he said happened.”
    Ryan raised her eyebrow. “Oh really?”
    â€œYeah, he said you two just had a misunderstanding and he was going to give you time to cool down.”
    Ryan’s eyes narrowed. “Oh I need time to cool down, do I?”
    â€œYeah, and that’s when I mentioned the singles thing. I was just trying to speed the makeup sex along.”
    Ryan groaned. “Gracie . . .”
    â€œOkay, okay, sorry. I’ll take your name off the list.”
    Then Ryan had an idea. A wonderful idea. “No don’t. I’ll do the auction.”
    Gracie’s jaw dropped. “Really? Are you sure?”
    Ryan grinned over her coffee cup. “Definitely. It’s for a good cause right?”
    A FTER TWO DAYS, Gregg was spitting mad. He’d shown up at Ryan’s house on Wednesday night with a handful of roses, hoping to catch her, but she wasn’t home. He’d debated over waiting for her, but it was too freaking cold outside. Plus, with the mood he was in, he’d probably have just made the situation worse.
    What had possessed her to do the singles auction after she told him she was still the same Ryan she’d always been? The old Ryan would never have volunteered for a singles auction, let alone when she wasn’t single.
    Technically she is single.
    The thought was like getting splashed with cold water. They hadn’t discussed feelings or whether their relationship was exclusive. Maybe she thought that he wasn’t serious. Wait, how could she not think he was serious? He’d met her parents, for God’s sake! And to avoid him like they were kids and he was just an irritating guy she wanted to blow off was beyond immature.
    He was waiting at her desk when she walked inside on Thursday, and she looked so amazing it made him grit his teeth with irritation. She’d swept her hair up in a clip, loose curls escaping around her face and neck. She wore her baggy black cardigan over a cobalt blue top with enough flesh showing to make him adjust his body in his chair. She walked right past him and headed back to hang up her purse in the closet.
    He stood up and followed her. “Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
    She turned and cocked her head. “Good morning Gregg.”
    Good morning? His eyes narrowed. “I called you several times.”
    She