Prologue

Buffy Summers looked both ways, then slipped around the corner of the Giles' four-car garage. She flattened her body against the wall and moved cautiously, one infinitesimal step at a time. It was vital no one see her.

Liam "Angel" Giles' vehicle, a fancy sports car, was parked just outside the garage and in direct view of the house. She needed to be quick.

Squatting down by the side mirror, she withdrew a bright red tube of lipstick from her pocket, opened it and heavily outlined her lips. Taking a soft white rag from the pocket of her jeans, she wiped his mirror clean and then kissed it several times. The imprint of her mouth was left in bold red.

Buffy sighed with satisfaction as she carefully opened the door on the driver's side and crawled into the front seat. The mirror over the dash was next. Her heart was pounding hard and fast, but it wasn't entirely due to her fear of being discovered. Her heart rate tended to accelerate whenever she thought about Angel.

There wasn't a man in all of Sunnydale who could compete with Angel Giles. To think she'd lived next door to him all these years and hadn't noticed until recently what a hottie he was! As far as Buffy was concerned, he was the sexiest man in the universe.

Outlining her lips with a fresh coat of brilliant red, Buffy was about to kiss the interior mirror when the car door was flung open.

"So it is you."

Her heart sank. Slowly she looked over and her eyes connected with those of William "Spike" Giles, Angel's older brother.

"Hi," she said, pretending it wasn't the least bit weird for her to be sitting in Angel's car kissing the mirrors.

"You, luv, have been quite the mystery. Leaving Peaches love notes and calling at all hours of the night."

"Are you going to tell him it was me?" she asked with a sigh as she climbed out of the car.

"I don't know, pet," Spike replied thoughtfully. "What grade are you in now?"

"Eighth," she responded proudly. "I know Angel's a junior, but I was hoping he'd be willing to wait for me to grow up so we could get married."

"Married!?"

Spike made the word sound ludicrous, making Buffy flare up in anger.

"Just wait until you fall in love," she challenged. "Then you'll know."

"You aren't in love with Angel," Spike said gently. "You're too young to know about things like that. You're infatuated with him because he's older and-"

"I most certainly do love Angel," she interrupted, stuffing the lipstick tube in her pocket. She wasn't about to stand there and let him ridicule her. She might only be thirteen, but she had the heart of a mature woman and she'd made her decision. Someday she would marry Angel Giles, and nothing Spike could say would stand in her way.

"I'm sure that the poofter is flattered by your devotion," Spike said sarcastically.

"He should be. The man who marries me will see himself as the luckiest man in the world." Her words were fed by pure bravado.

Spike just laughed.

Buffy had been willing to overlook his earlier statements because they would be related one day, but this. This was absolutely unforgivable. Hands braced against her hips, she glared at her future brother-in-law.

"You may be a senior Spike, but you don't know a thing about love. When a woman makes up her mind about a man, nothing can change the way she feels. I'm going to marry Angel whether you like it or not. It's destiny."

"You sure about that, pet?"

"Duh!" she said confidently. "Just you wait. You'll see. I will become Buffy Anne Giles."

"Does Liam have a say in this?"

"Naturally."

"What if he doesn't want to marry you? What if he wants to marry some one else?"

"I, I don't know."

"And another thing you haven't thought of, pet." Spike continued.

"What's that?"

Spike smirked. "I just might wanna marry you myself."


Chapter 1

Ten years later.

Buffy Summers' time of reckoning had arrived. For the first time in eight years she was about to face the Giles brothers. Angel didn't concern her. She suspected he wouldn't even remember her antics. Then again, he might. No, Spike was who worried her most. He was the one who caught her red-handed. He was the one who'd mocked her and suggested her devotion to Angel was just a little crush. He was right. She sincerely hoped Spike would have the good grace not to dreg up the past.

Swallowing her dread, Buffy walked into the high-rise office building in the most prestigious part of downtown Sunnydale.

She was nervous. The last time she spent any time with either of the Giles brothers she'd been caught kissing rearview mirrors.

Looking back, she knew she'd been the comic relief to both families. Young love, however, refused to be denied. Risking her family's censure, Buffy sought after Angel all through high school. It wasn't until Riley Finn asked her to the graduation dance that she'd realized there were other fish in the sea.

Although Buffy let her infatuation with Angel die gracefully, neither set of parents had. Particularly, Rupert and Jenny Giles. They thought the way Buffy felt about Angel was "cute," and they mentioned it every now and again, renewing her embarrassment.

When Rupert or, as she referred to him as, Giles heard that Buffy had recently graduated from business college with a certificate as a legal assistant, he'd insisted she apply with the family firm. Since jobs were hard to come by, she'd decided to swallow her pride and face the two brothers.

"I have an appointment with William Giles," she said to the receptionist.

"Ms. Summers?" The blonde asked cheerfully.

"Yup that's me." Buffy replied with a smile.

"Have a seat and I'll tell him you're here."

"Thanks."

Buffy sat in one of the richly upholstered chairs and reached for a People magazine. She hadn't even scanned the magazine's contents page before the elder Giles brother appeared. She'd seen Spike often, from a distance, but this was the first time they'd spoken in months, possibly years.

"Hello, luv. It's good to see you again," Spike said, stepping forward.



"I think," Spike said casually, during the middle of Buffy's interview, "you're still infatuated with Peaches."

"Well, I think you don't know me at all," Buffy responded with an upraised eyebrow, trying to sound just as casual.

"You've had a crush on Liam for years."

"When I was in high school, yes, I had a huge crush on him, but that has nothing to do with me applying for this position, and even if I did, that is none of your business."

"So you do then?" Spike accused with a smirk.

"I got over it."

"He's changed, pet. He isn't the man you knew."

"Yea, mom mentioned that when I talked to her."

"Do you know why?" he asked.

Buffy shook her head.

"Well, then, I might as well tell you since you'll bloody well find out soon enough anyway. He was in love with some chit. It didn't work out. No one knows what happened, but he has been broodin' ever since."

"He must have loved her very much," Buffy said softly.

"Yea, but that has nothing to do with your employment," Spike said quickly changing the subject once again. "You'll be working directly with Angel. How soon can you start?"

Buffy smiled. "As soon as you want me to."

"Well then, I'll just give Ms. McClay a ring. She's Angel's secretary, and she'll show you the ropes."

Spike pushed down a button on his intercom. "Hey Ahn, call up Tara. Tell her to come to my office to show Buffy around."

"Sure thing, Spike. Don't get any ideas with her. She works here now." Anya's voice came over the speaker.

Spike had the decency to blush as he responded, "I have only good intentions for Little Buffy Summers." Buffy, who had been chuckling at Anya's statement, immediately bristled. "I'm not a little kid anymore. If I'm going to work for you and Angel, you both need to figure that out. I've grown up."

She stood up as a meek blonde woman walked in the room.

"Hi, Tara is it? I'm Buffy." She smiled warmly as she held out her hand.

Buffy's warmth put Tara at ease. She shook her hand saying, "Come on, I'll show you to our office."

They walked out of the room, but Buffy stopped at the doorway turning to face Spike, "Am I going to work for you, Mr. Giles?"

Spike smirked, checking her over. "Ok, pet, you've grown up. Got it."

Buffy turned and followed Tara out.

"You most certainly have," he said to himself as he leaned back in his chair.

"I heard that," Anya said over the speaker.



"I think you'll like the law library," Tara said as she led her down the hall.

The library was huge, with row upon row of thick dusty volumes. Long narrow tables with a number of chairs were scattered about the room. Buffy knew she'd be spending the majority of her research time here and was pleased by how pleasant it was. She noticed the faint scent of lemon oil and smiled as she saw various types of potted plants set here and there, including a speckled broad-leaved ivy that stretched across the top of one large bookcase.

"This is very nice."

"Mr. Giles has worked hard to make sure our work environment is pleasing to the eye," Tara responded.

"Spike's like that," Buffy murmured.

"I was talking about the younger Mr. Giles," came the surprised response.

"Oh, yea, of course," Buffy said quickly.



By the end of the first day, Buffy felt as though she'd put in a forty-hour week. Tara felt it was her duty to keep Buffy occupied with a multitude tasks which included taking lunch orders, organizing file cabinets and hand-delivering messages throughout the office.

Just when she was about to think she wouldn't even lay eyes on Angel her first day, he breezed into the office, stopping abruptly when he saw her.

"Betty," he whispered as though he'd stumbled upon a treasure chest. His eyes suffused with delight. "What are you doing here?"

"It's Buffy," she corrected him, refusing to be offended by his failure to remember her name. "I'm here because I'm working for you now."

"William hired Ms. Summers as your new legal assistant," Tara informed him.

Angel stepped forward, gripping Buffy's hand in his own. "This must be Christmas in July! Why else would Will present me with such a rare gift."

"Christmas in July," Buffy repeated, having a difficult time not laughing. What she'd heard about Angel was true, she decided. He was a huge flirt, but she knew he wasn't serious.

"There, there are a few matters here that n-need your attention," Tara said meekly with a stutter Buffy hadn't heard before.

"I'll be with you in a few minutes," Angel said, not taking his eyes off Buffy.

"Just, please, don't leave before these letters are signed, Mr. Giles."

"Tara, please call me Angel."

"Have you been working on the brief for the Chase Corporation?" Tara asked, following him into his office.

"The Chase Corporation," Angel repeated as if he'd never heard the name before. "It's not due anytime soon is it?"

"It's due first thing Friday morning, Angel," she responded a hint of panic in her voice.

"I'll have it ready by then. What day is this anyway?"

"Angel, you've got to start coming into the office before closing time!" Tara's anger masking any nervousness she felt around her boss.

"Sweetheart, I always get the job done. The brief will be done on time, don't worry," he said as he ushered his secretary out of the door. He paused when his gaze fell on Buffy and he winked. Then the door closed and Angel disappeared.

Tara shook her head and glanced toward Buffy. "Angel's been going through some rough times lately," she explained.

"How long has he been without a legal assistant?"

"Quite a while now. He didn't seem to think he'd need one. Spike's cut his work load and, well, things just. things just haven't been the same around here for quite a while."

Buffy was leaving for the day when she happened upon Spike. He was laughing with Anya about something. He looked amazing, and she wondered briefly why he hadn't married. Tagged onto that thought came another, one that took her by surprise. She realized she was happy Spike hadn't married.

"Hello, luv. How was you're first day?" he asked when he saw her.

"Oh, it was great."

"Tara isn't working you too hard?"

"Tara? No, she's a sweetheart."

"Yeah, she's a bit shy, but you get used to it."

"Thank you for giving me a chance," she said conversationally.

Spike's smile was rueful. "You may not be thanking me later. That wanker is a bloody handful, but if there is someone who could get him back on track, it's you."

"Me?" she asked, confused.

Spike broke eye contact and looked away. "Everybody needs to feel worshipped now and then, don't you think?"

"Um." Buffy didn't know what to say. Clearly, Spike hadn't hired her because of her high test scores at Sunnydale U.





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