Still in Love With Her (Book 5: A Steamy Malibu Second-Chance Romance)

Enemies-to-lovers meets second chances in Malibu. Maggie & Vince’s fiery love story sizzles in Book 5 of the Steamy Destinations Romance Series.

I haven’t seen Vince since my cousin Curtis’s wedding, which was nearly a month ago. I’ve been in New York and London, working like a mad woman to boost the ratings for two new shows that have been added to Prime D TV’s Sizzling Summer lineup. I’ve held viewings on Mondays, Thursdays, and Sundays. I’ve pulled consecutive all-nighters interpreting empirical data and writing reports. I’ve worked with teams to produce crawls, commercials, and press boxes. I’ve been pulled in so many directions that my head has been bobbling all over the place. I hardly consumed anything other than protein bars and Colombian coffee. When I had a moment of downtime, I tried to call Vince, but he didn’t answer his phone. However yesterday, I received a jaw dropping email from him that said, “other than work, which you care more about than me, I think we should go our separate ways.”
That’s why I hitched a ride to L.A. on Jack’s jet early this morning. Vince is leading the state-of-the-company meeting today, so I know he’ll be in Conference Room 11 at ten a.m. As soon as I arrive, I take a cab to Vince’s house in Malibu. The Range Rover Vince bought me for my thirtieth birthday is parked in the garage. I can hardly believe I hit the big 3-0. Two years ago, I never thought I’d be standing in my shoes, successful at life and, I hope, at love.
I go inside to get the car keys off the hook. The curtains are open because Vince likes a lot of light in the house. The floors and furniture are so shiny that I could eat breakfast off them. The faint scent of his cologne is in the air.
“Vince!” I call three times. I’m positive he’s already left. He’s a consummate early bird.
I stop at the Starbucks on Pacific Coast Highway and grab a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich. I finish both with time to spare while braving the stop-and-go traffic all the way to the company’s mirror-glass building on Avenue of the Stars in Century City.
Darren, the valet, opens my door and says “Maggie’s back in town.”
“In the flesh,” I reply and wink.
“Are you still taking names and kicking ass?”
“I never stop,” I say as I gallop toward the glass doors.
The elevators are always crowded in the mornings, and today is no exception. I carve out a space for myself and read my emails on my cell phone.
“Good morning, Mags,” a deep voice whispers in my ear.
I jump and turn to face Robert Tango’s trademark smirk. “Morning,” I say in a lackluster tone.
He’s behind me. I’m pretty sure a woman in a blue suit was standing in that spot when I got in. He must’ve maneuvered his way over to me. His hands are on my hips, and now my ass is against his cock, which is getting firmer by the second. I look at the woman next to me to see if she notices Robert getting off on my ass. She’s not paying attention. No one else is either.
“You’re a pleasant surprise, Mags,” Robert says.
“Do you know what’s going on with Vince?” I ask.
“What’s going on with Vince?”
I jab him in the ribs with my elbow. “Stop that,” I whisper.
He chuckles. “Stop what?”
He’s always screwing with my head.
“You know what.” I shift my hips forward.
The doors slide open, and four people exit. I step away from Robert and glance at his package.
He puts his mouth close to my ear. “You’re the one who pushed your ass against me.”
I snort. “In your dreams.”
He chuckles. I think he’s delighted to get a reaction out of me. I have to stop feeding into his bullshit.
“Don’t you ever wonder?”
“Wonder about what?” I ask, although I know exactly what he’s talking about.
“Fun doing what?”
“You and me and how much fun we could have,” he says.
Robert flexes his eyebrows. He’s wearing a royal-blue silk shirt and nice-fitting navy slacks. He always looks scrumptious. Once or twice, or ten times or more, I’ve admired how attractive he is. However, I have no intentions of hooking up with Robert Tango. First, I love Vince. Second, Robert’s a scoundrel who’s banged almost every attractive woman in this company. I’m surprised there haven’t been any sexual harassment complaints. I’m sure they’ll come rolling in like an avalanche sooner rather than later.
“No,” I reply.
He smirks. “You should. Not too many men know their way around a woman’s body the way I do.”
“That’s because you’re a scoundrel.” I spin on my heels and walk away. I can’t do this anymore. Robert has given me my first headache of the day.
He keeps up with me. “I still need to meet with you today.”
“About what?”
“Sizzling Summer.”
I roll my eyes. “Sizzling Summer? When did you start having anything to do with real work?”
“I want to talk to you specifically about Hanna’s show.”
I scoff. “I told you the show was going to flop before it premiered, but you were fucking Hannah, so you blew me off. My opinion hasn’t changed. I can’t improve audience reception because the show stinks. Cancel it.”
“Damn it, Maggie, we’re meeting today. What time are you available?”
I stop in front of my office. “I don’t know. Call Mavis, and she’ll pencil you in.”
He snorts cynically. “Pencil me in?”
I glance across the maze of cubicles at Vince’s office. There stands Vince, facing a woman I’ve never seen. She has a lot of copper-colored hair cascading down her back and is wearing a very tight dress that extends past her knees. She’s very thin. I can’t see her face, but the fact that she’s standing so close to him gives me a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.
“Who’s that?” I ask Robert.
Vincent’s gaze meets mine. I smile, but he looks shocked to see me. I look away from Vince to face Robert’s smug smile.