Casey was in the twilight zone. Up was down, down was up, and inside was out. While she came here to be up front with him and tell him that her heart was elsewhere, it turned out that he hadn’t even thought of her that way. And though she never regretted any of her nights with Nate and where those lessons had taken them, she couldn’t help but feel like a stupid idiot for having misread Grant so badly.

However, she had no intention of revealing that her man radar was this faulty. Better that they have a good laugh about it than he take her for the fool that she was.

She forced out a laugh, hoping it sounded legitimate. “Grant, you have nothing to apologize for. I’ve looked at you as a solid and dependable business partner and I couldn’t be more thrilled that everything is all set for launch. As for being a flirt, who isn’t every now and then?” she said, in the best flirty voice that she could muster in that moment, hoping it covered up all the embarrassment she felt inside at having been so far off the mark with him.

He mimed wiping his brow. “Whew. I’m just glad we’re all good.”

“We are all good,” she said, flashing the biggest, brightest smile she could. “Now, let’s talk about how things are going to work as we rollout in a month,” she said and they focused on business for the rest of the time until she said goodbye and walked away from Speakeasy, weaving through the evening crowds in midtown, keeping her chin held high, until she finally let a few stupid tears fall. She should be happy. This was what she wanted. A clean break from any complications, and the chance to move forward with Nate, having taken care of the Grant Abbot problem.

But Grant Abbot had never truly been a problem, and once again Casey was left feeling like she had no clue what a man wanted from her.

What if she had it all wrong with Nate too?

She stopped in her tracks, grabbing onto the doorframe of an apartment building to steady herself as her heart plummeted. If she had misread the situation with Grant that badly, was she misreading things with Nate? He hadn’t said how he felt about her.

Just like Grant had never said it either.

Sure, she knew Nate enjoyed the sex, but had he ever remotely suggested he wanted more with her? The same kind of more that she wanted? The sidewalk swayed beneath her, and her stomach roiled with the answer—no.

He hadn’t breathed a word about more.

She was about to put her heart on the line, but she’d learned that she had a bad habit of reading men completely wrong. As she resumed her pace, walking through a sea of New Yorkers, she had no faith in her own instincts anymore.

The trouble was the one person she wanted to turn to for comfort was her best friend. The same person she had fallen for.