Dangerous Familiarity

Diane's pov

The problem with seeing someone every day was that eventually they stopped feeling like a disruption.

They started feeling normal.

And that terrified me.

It had been three weeks since the project began.

Three weeks of meetings.

Emails.

Conference calls.

Strategy sessions.

Three weeks of seeing Abe McCarthy almost every day.

And somehow that was becoming the problem.

Not because he was making my life difficult.

Quite the opposite.

He was making it easy.

Too easy.

"You're staring at your screen again."

I looked up from my laptop.

Sarah stood in my office doorway holding a cup of coffee.

"I'm working."

She snorted.

"You haven't typed anything in ten minutes."

I sighed.

"Am I that obvious?"

"Painfully."

Wonderful.

Sarah entered and sat across from me.

Her eyes narrowed immediately.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing."

"Diane."

I groaned.

"Why do people keep saying my name like that?"

"Because you're acting weird."

I looked away.

Because unfortunately she wasn't wrong.

Lately I'd been thinking about Abe more than I should.

Not romantically.

At least I didn't think so.

It was just...

Confusing.

Because every interaction with him contradicted the man I remembered.

The old Abe would've interrupted people during meetings.

The new Abe listened.

The old Abe would've taken credit for good ideas.

The new Abe openly praised his team.

The old Abe would've mocked someone for making a mistake.

The new Abe patiently helped them fix it.

It was unsettling.

Because people weren't supposed to change this much.

Were they?

"You know what your problem is?" Sarah asked.

I immediately regretted making eye contact.

"No."

"You're looking for proof."

"Proof of what?"

"That he's still the same guy."

I stared at her.

She sighed.

"You're waiting for him to screw up."

Maybe.

Okay definitely.

Because if Abe was still Abe, then everything made sense.

I could keep hating him.

Keep avoiding him.

Keep pretending the chapter was closed.

But if he really had changed...

That complicated everything.

Thankfully my phone rang before Sarah could continue interrogating me.

Unfortunately the caller ID made my stomach flip.

Abe.

Sarah noticed instantly.

The look she gave me said everything.

I rolled my eyes and answered.

"What?"

A deep chuckle sounded through the speaker.

"No hello?"

"What do you want?"

"Meeting room B."

"Why?"

"Because your presentation file is corrupted."

My stomach dropped.

"What?"

"The entire thing."

I sat up immediately.

"You're joking."

"I'm not."

"Damn it."

"I already fixed most of it."

I blinked.

"What?"

"Come down and see."

The line disconnected.

I stared at my phone.

Sarah was already watching me suspiciously.

"What happened?"

"The presentation."

"Bad?"

I grabbed my laptop.

"Apparently."

—

Meeting Room B was empty except for one person.

Abe.

Of course.

He sat alone at the conference table scrolling through something on his tablet.

My heart did the annoying thing again.

The stupid little flutter I refused to acknowledge.

I hated it.

"Tell me you saved the presentation."

Abe looked up.

A smile immediately appeared.

"There she is."

I pointed at him.

"Don't."

"What?"

"That."

His smile only widened.

"You're adorable when you're annoyed."

I narrowed my eyes.

"Abe."

"Okay, okay."

He turned his tablet toward me.

The presentation appeared on screen.

Completely repaired.

I stared.

"You fixed it?"

"Mostly."

I looked back at him.

"Why?"

His expression softened slightly.

"Because we need it."

I waited.

"That's it?"

One dark eyebrow rose.

"What answer are you expecting?"

I wasn't sure.

Honestly.

Part of me expected him to say something flirtatious.

Something manipulative.

Something that would remind me why I hated him.

Instead he simply shrugged.

"It would've been a pain to rebuild."

I blinked.

That was it.

No hidden agenda.

No leverage.

Just help.

The realization bothered me far more than it should have.

"Thank you."

For a second he looked genuinely surprised.

Then he smiled.

A real smile.

Not the charming one.

Not the teasing one.

A smaller one.

Softer.

And suddenly the room felt too warm.

I quickly focused on the presentation.

Anything else would've been dangerous.

For the next hour we worked together quietly.

Adjusting slides.

Reviewing data.

Fixing projections.

And against my better judgment...

I found myself enjoying it.

Again.

Just like college.

Back then we'd spend entire nights working side by side.

Arguing over ideas.

Competing with each other.

Making each other better.

We'd always been a good team.

That was part of the problem.

Maybe the biggest problem.

Because when things were good between us...

They were really good.

"Diane."

I looked up.

Abe was watching me.

Again.

"What?"

A strange smile touched his lips.

"You do that."

"Do what?"

"You scrunch your nose when you're concentrating."

My stomach immediately tightened.

I hadn't even realized I was doing it.

Apparently he remembered.

Of course he remembered.

For a moment neither of us spoke.

The air shifted.

Becoming heavier.

More intimate.

Dangerous.

Abe's voice softened.

"I used to think it was cute."

The words hit harder than they should have.

Because suddenly I remembered everything.

Studying together.

Falling asleep on his shoulder.

His hand finding mine beneath classroom desks.

The way he'd look at me like I was the only woman in the world.

My chest tightened painfully.

Because those memories weren't fake.

That was the hardest part.

The love had been real.

The hurt had been real too.

Both things could exist at once.

"Diane."

I stood abruptly.

"I should go."

His expression immediately changed.

The warmth disappeared.

Replaced by understanding.

As if he knew exactly what memory had crossed my mind.

"Diane—"

"No."

My voice came out sharper than intended.

I grabbed my laptop.

The distance between us suddenly felt necessary.

Vital.

Because for a few seconds there...

I'd forgotten.

Forgotten the jokes.

Forgotten the tears.

Forgotten all the reasons we ended.

And that scared me more than anything.

Abe slowly stood.

"I'm not trying to hurt you."

I looked away.

Maybe he wasn't.

Maybe that was the problem.

Because every day he became harder to hate.

And every day I found myself remembering the man I fell in love with instead of the man who broke my heart.

"I know," I whispered.

His eyes widened slightly.

The admission surprised both of us.

Before he could respond, I headed for the door.

"Diane."

I paused.

Not turning around.

"Yeah?"

For a long moment he said nothing.

Then finally—

"I missed you."

My breath caught.

The room became impossibly silent.

Every instinct told me to respond.

To say something.

Anything.

Instead I walked away.

Because if I stayed another second...

I wasn't sure what I might say.

And that thought followed me all the way home.

Like a ghost.

Like a memory.

Like a warning.