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sake.
    And he was thirty-six, divorced and a workaholic. He had no business thinking about going on a date with her, kissing her, or any of the other naughty things he had in mind.
    The throbbing in his thigh increased, the pain sinking deeper into the abused muscles. His back was sore from having been hunched over his desk dealing with the pile of paperwork. He really should get out and get something to eat...
    “No, I better not. Not that the offer isn’t tempting.”
    Kim’s entire body appeared to deflate. “Okay, then. Maybe next time.”
    Blake was an asshole. A big, enormous, Scrooge-shaped asshole. Grinch green. “For sure next time.”
    “Well, don’t work too late. Will I see you tomorrow?” Kim finally stepped away, grabbing her coat and making a beeline to the door.
    “Sure. I’ll pop in.”
    Kim gave him a little wave before flipping the Closed sign and stepping out in to the night. As the door snicked shut, Blake swore he felt a candle of hope snuff itself out deep inside him.
    “No rest for the wicked. Or the horny.”
    Locking the door and turning all the front office lights off, he crept back into his office, sat behind his small desk and stared at the pile of papers.
    He’d had a golden opportunity to spend time with her outside of the office and he’d blown it. She’d been excited by the idea of having something to eat with him, so why didn’t he take advantage of it?
    “Because I’m too old for her. And an idiot.”
    And that was the truth.
    Blake grabbed the top file folder off the pile, opened it up and did his best to stop thinking about his favorite holiday elf and her sinfully tight yoga pants.

Chapter Three
    Kim had been tapping her Snoopy pen against the desk for the better part of the past five minutes. Her favorite beagle topped the cap, a present from Blake from the previous year. She’d cherished it, not just for the absolute cuteness of Snoopy sitting on his dog house, but because it was the first gift he’d given her that had been personal. Not a gift certificate to a spa, or a book store, but something that he knew she loved.
    None of which was saving the poor dog this morning.
    She wasn’t exactly nervous—because that would be absolutely insane—but she had more than her fair share of energy this morning. Even an extra fifteen minutes on the treadmill hadn’t helped quell the pulses that raced through her every time she thought about Blake and how she was convinced he was going to kiss her last night. Nor had the fifty squats she’d done, and she was definitely going to feel those tomorrow.
    She couldn’t for the life of her figure out what had stopped him from following through on his intended kiss. Or why he’d practically ignored her since his arrival an hour ago. It wasn’t as though she would have hit him, or gotten mad. God knows she’d been throwing off enough signals for him to have picked up on them by now. Stupid , irritating man.
    Her sexual frustration was taking its toll on her and had become apparent to those around her. Poor Kevin would have died of a heart attack if she’d pushed him any further during their workout session. Thankfully, he’d been a client of hers long enough to call her on it before things went too far and he threw his back out or got a hernia. Next session she’d totally have to buy him a smoothie booster as an apology. And maybe cut down on the pushups for him.
    Right now she had something more pressing on her mind—how to figure out a way to convince Blake he should take a chance on going on a date with her.
    Snoopy’s head bounced hard enough off the desk that the pen flew out of her grasp. He landed nose down by the edge, in danger of falling onto the floor. This is why you can’t have nice things. It wasn’t Snoopy’s fault she couldn’t convince Blake that there was nothing wrong with the two of them taking a chance on starting up a relationship. Picking it up, she ran her thumb along the back of Snoopy’s head,