"Last time I checked, my balls are still very much in my possession." Dorian reached for his belt buckle. "Would you like proof?"

"You spent half the meeting today with a hard-on the size of the Eiffel Tower. It wasn�t difficult to tell where your mind had wandered."

"Piss off," he said, but there wasn�t any ire behind it. Dorian blew out a breath and loosened his tie, knowing damn well Aiden could spot his lies a hundred miles away. "I can�t stop thinking about her."

"That�s precisely the problem." Aiden rose from the chair, crossing to the other side of the office and rifling through the file cabinet. He slammed one drawer, then opened another. "This is a critical time for us, and here you are, allowing yourself to be distracted by�"

"What in the bloody hell are you looking for?"

"The lemon biscuits, you daft, obsessed bastard."

"First of all�obsessed? Hardly a fair assessment. Secondly, you ate all the biscuits, and you left crumbs all over my desk. And lastly�" He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "She isn�t returning my calls. How have I already managed to fuck this up?"

Aiden slammed the last drawer. "So you�re bloody well in love with her, then?"

"What?" The L-word electrified his blood, his heart damn near seizing. "I never said�"

"If you won�t listen to me as your very concerned friend, listen to me as your business partner. We need to focus on this merger. Never mind Lucien�s concerns about our financials�if you don�t get yourself sorted out, we�ll lose the deal on account of your inability to pull your head out of her very beautiful, very firm�"

"I�m handling it."

"You�re not. You were sitting at that meeting, daydreaming about your wedding when you should�ve been reassuring the investigators about our capabilities."

"For fuck�s sake, I�m not going to propose to the woman. I just want to spend time with her."

"You were picking out china patterns." Aiden shook his head. "Just so we�re clear, I�m not wearing a colored cummerbund to your wedding. Classic black, or I�m staying home."

"Are you quite through?"

"You�re obsessing, and it�s clouding your judgment."

"I don�t need judgment. I need a plan." Dorian hit the intercom for Veronica.

"Brilliant!" Aiden resumed his spot in Dorian�s chair, leaning back and propping his feet on the desk. "I�ll be over here, popping the popcorn, watching your life implode."

Veronica strolled into the office, her eyes bright and eager. "Ready for lunch? I was thinking we could try the new Thai place on�"

"Never mind lunch," Dorian said. "I need to ask you a question. If you were a woman�"

"Seriously?" She popped her hands on her hips, glaring at him.

"Off to a stellar start, mate," Aiden said. "You really know how to make a girl feel special."

Dorian shook his head, flustered. "What I mean to say is� If you were a woman who�d just started seeing someone new, and that someone wanted you to know he cared�not in an overwhelming way, but�"

"Big gesture," Veronica said with a confident nod. "That�s the way to do it."

"Gesture. You mean, like a gift?" JrNovels.com