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My balance flew. I flung out my arms, losing my grip on my bag, and released an unexpected squeal as my feet slipped out from under me.
“Ella!” the man called.
This only startled me all the more.
He knew my name?
Butt smarting from its impact with the ice, I winced and peered up to find Hawk Danielson offering me his hand.
Wait.
My mind did a double take. Hawk Danielson? He was here?Now?
My thoughts from earlier came rushing in. Much as I wanted to resurrect the barriers I’d had in place where he was concerned, they stayed out of sight.
He was here—and I was okay with it.
“I didn’t mean to scare you like that,” he said.
Instead of lookingapologetic, the rascal was laughing at me. Laughing!
The nerve.
I smacked his hand away. “What are you doing here?”
He grinned and offered his hand one more time. “I came to see you.”
This time, I accepted the gesture. His gloved hand met mine, and he hefted me to my feet with more strength than I expected. I lost my balance again and collided with his chest and the scent of his cologne.
He wore cologne this early in the morning?
I pushed him away. “You do know it’s four a.m., right?”
“That’s the idea. I wanted to catch you before you got to work.”
“Well, you succeeded.” How did he even know where I worked?
I brushed the snow from my pants, but it was too late. The cold had already seeped into the fabric of my jeans.
“I wasn’t sure I’d bump into you in the elevator again.”
I peered toward the door. One of my coworkers, Janice, stalked toward it, stopping to peer at me.
At least it wasn’t Pris or Charlotte. I gave a little wave.
“That still doesn’t explain what you’re doing here,” I said, making my way toward the door. Not only was it blasted cold out here, but I had to get to work.
We weren’t all billionaires.
Hawk stuffed his hands in his pockets, angled his head, and strolled with me. “I’m here toask you out.”
I stopped just before we reached the door and met his gaze.
He was shattering, dreamlike, and the corner of his mouth crooked upward. My heart gave a little flutter.
No self-consciousness. Of course not. He was probably used to getting whatever he wanted.
The irritation I’d been expecting since he arrived skewered through me. Maybe I’d been wrong. Maybe our moment yesterday had been a fluke.
