Free Never Letting Go by Suzanne Graham Page A

been her best friend—ever since meeting on Leila’s first day of work at the nonprofit research organization. They’d bonded immediately with a common interest in science and technology, as well as shared addictions to chocolate and Thai food. Being two of only a few females in a male-dominated field made their friendship even more precious to Leila.
    She couldn’t lose her best friend over these feelings, not when she was unprepared to follow through on them. She would just have to leave this dressing room and act as if nothing had happened and hope Ree would do the same.
    * * * *
    Ree stood on the edge of the dance floor, watching Leila swirl with her partner among the multi-colored-gowned women and tuxedoed men. She sipped from her vodka and cranberry, wishing it were more vodka than cranberry. Coming tonight as a single really wasn’t one of her best ideas because now she had to stand here and watch Leila dancing with Patrick, which really sucked.
    She’d nearly believed Leila felt a connection the other day in the changing room, but now, she realized it was just wishful thinking. Thank God, Leila hadn’t acted weirded-out when she’d returned to the front of the store, but Ree could no longer deny that she was in love with her best friend. What a crappy place to be when Leila didn’t feel the same.
    What would it take for her to get over this? Living with this unrequited love was killing her. Her chest ached, and she was dangerously close to tears much of the time. That was really not cool when she worked around a bunch of geeky men with minimal social skills.
    Dealing with crying females was way out of their league, and it certainly didn’t lend any cred to her place in the lab. It was hard enough to get the men to concede that her rightful place was amongst them—that her brain was just as big as theirs. She couldn’t help it if she looked more like a blonde ditz than an accomplished Advanced Analytics Analyst, and she refused to downplay her looks. She shouldn’t have to camouflage herself with frumpy clothes and no makeup to fit in at work.
    The fact that Leila didn’t try to diminish her good looks either was one of the reasons Ree had been so drawn to her when Leila had first started working at Ablis. The woman was stunning with her Spanish and Indian ancestry. Her black hair was silky smooth, her eyes dark and seductive, and her lips perpetually quirked in a wicked little smile. There was no apology in her attitude for having the complete package—beauty and brains.
    The dance finally ended, and Leila appeared in front of Ree.
    “I need to powder my nose. Come with me?” Leila grabbed Ree’s hand before she could offer a protest and tugged her towards the ladies’ room on the other side of the ballroom.
    As she walked alongside Leila, Ree’s senses seemed on full alert as she absorbed the feel of Leila’s soft, warm hand in hers and her flowery scent, amplified from her dancing.
    To distract herself from the tempting display of Leila’s smooth, bare shoulders, Ree spoke. “Are you and Patrick enjoying yourselves?”
    Leila trained her deep brown eyes on Ree. “He seems to be.”
    Ree blinked to sever the pull she felt towards her best friend. “And you?”
    Leila shrugged and turned her head away from Ree. “I’m thinking maybe I should have come solo…like you did.”
    Ree wished she could see the expression on Leila’s face. Was there more to her comment or was Ree reading something into it that wasn’t there?
    They walked the remainder of the way to the bathroom in silence. Slightly taller with a longer reach, Ree reached out and held the door open for Leila, who walked ahead of her with a slight nod of her head.
    After using the facilities, the two of them stood side-by-side at the sinks washing their hands. Ree glanced around and found them strangely alone. “They must have started the presentation.”
    “It was nice planning to give us a dance break between dinner and the