Renaissance: A Contemporary Erotic Romance (Iris Series Book 5) Read Online Free PDF

show of watching him leave, her eyebrows up in the stratosphere, then turned back to Tiffany.  “What the hell was that all about, Tiffany Daniels?  Are you holding out on us?” she asked. 
    “Oh, stop,” Tiffany said casually, waving her hand to wipe away Emily’s implication. “He asked me to go out for drinks before you got here.  He just wants to celebrate the completion of the project.”
    “Uh, huh,” Emily said.  “Are you gonna go?”
    “Probably.”  Tiffany sighed then gave Emily a direct look.  “But listen.  I wanted to tell you something.”
    “Okay.”  Emily’s brow tilted down.  “This sounds serious.  What is it?” 
    She took a deep breath, then said, “I’m going to call Drew.” 
    There.  She’d said it.  She’d put it out there and wasn’t taking it back.  She had finally decided to go after the man, fears be damned.
    “Um.  Okay.”  Emily cleared her throat.  “What does that mean, exactly?”
    Tiffany let out a sound of exasperation and laughed lightly.  “It means exactly what you think it means.  I’ve finally decided to make my intentions known.”  Tiffany crossed her arms with determination.
    “Well, shit,” Emily sighed, pressing her fingers to the bridge of her nose under her smart dark framed glasses. 
    Tiffany unfolded her arms and immediately grabbed her stomach which had just been hit with a bout of nervousness.  “What?  What happened?  Did something happen to him?”
    “Okay, look.  Just sit down for a sec so we can talk.”  Emily grabbed her arm and dragged her to a chair in the office area.  Once Tiffany was plopped down, Emily stood in front of her, wringing her hands.
    “Spit it out , Em.”
    “He’s seeing someone,” Emily blurted.
    Tiffany blinked as if she’d heard her wrong.  Then she blinked again.  “Huh?”
    “He’s seeing someone, Tiff,” she said sympathetically.
    Tiffany felt her stomach dip. “Since when?”
    “I talked to him at Jonathan and Ayanna’s engagement party when we were all together.  Right before Mike and I were leaving.”
    Tiffany let out a shaky breath and looked off to the side.  Shit.  Why didn’t I have the guts to talk to him about something other than the weather that night?  Shit and double shit.
    Emily continued.  “Truth be told, I think he’d rather be dating you,” she said dryly.  “But it’s some woman who works with him at the Medical Center.  She’s in the marketing department there.”
    Tiffany gulped and looked up at Emily.  “What did he say to you?  How did it come up?”
    Emily sighed.  “I asked him how things were going.  I think he knew I was referring to you.  He said, and I quote, ‘things are going the way they always go.’  He didn’t look happy about it, just resigned.”
    “Oh,” Tiffany groaned and leaned forward clutching her stomach.  “What the hell is wrong with me, Em?”  She could feel the tears beginning to prick her eyes.  “I waited too long.”
    Emily hunched down in front of her and put her hands on Tiffany’s knees.  “Hey.  He’s just seeing someone.  It’s not like he’s married or anything.  Maybe if you finally bite the bullet and let him know you’re interested, things can change.  And you can finally move past that douchebag of an ex.”  Emily shook Tiffany’s knee to get her attention.  “Call him,” she said when Tiffany looked at her, Tiffany’s eyes swimming with tears.
    Tiffany swiped furiously at her eyes, getting a hold of herself.  “What else did he say?”
    Emily finally sat down next to her.  “He kind of looked like he wasn’t sure if he should tell me about the woman he was seeing from the hospital.  I made a face once he told me but, well, I understood where he was coming from, you know?  And I told him I was happy for him. Sorry,” she mumbled.
    Tiffany grabbed Emily’s hand.  “He’s your friend too.  And you have nothing to be sorry for.  It’s my own stupid