“Like?”
“I don’t know. Forget I said it.”
“It’s hard to do that. Give me an example.”
His eyes drifted over her as they sat in the car.
She wore jean shorts that hit mid-thigh when she was walking, but sitting now, they rode up just a little higher. The muscles in her legs that had been taut and smooth when they ran side by side were relaxed now, loose and unguarded.
That’s how he wanted her to feel.
But he wasn’t sure she ever fully did.
Her mint-green T-shirt was soft and wide, brushing the waistband of her shorts. For someone with a body that strong, she never showed it off... except for that one night.
Even then, she hadn’t dressed to impress. Maybe that was part of what drew him in.
He could still picture her sitting at the bar that night. Black cropped pants hugging her legs, the thin straps of her sandals wrapping her ankles, one leg crossed over the other. The purple silk top tucked neatly into her waistband, flowing just enough to tease a hint of what was beneath.
She wasn’ttryingto turn heads.
She just did.
The way her light brown hair was tousled with loose curls as if someone had run their fingers through holding on for a deep kiss.
Her hazel eyes darker at the bar, assessing his actions with his words before she spoke her own.
There was a quiet confidence about her. Something that came from inside, something she didn’t need to advertise.
That was who he thought she was.
Lately, he realized that some of that confidence had been a front.
But every so often, he’d catch glimpses of the woman from that night. The spark, the humor, the soft ease behind her eyes, and he couldn’t help himself.
He wanted to pry those cracks open again.
To see her let go.
To find the woman who’d all but beckoned him with her presence even though he’d promised himself that he’d put it in the past.
Seemed to him she couldn’t do it as easily as she boasted either.
Maybe they could come to terms of sorts. A little arrangement.
“It’s hard to pinpoint one,” she said. “Blair likes to sell you.”
“Sell me? How?” he croaked out. That was the last thing he needed.
That his soon-to-be-old assistant was pimping him out to his new one.
Would Nora think he hit on women all the time?
“You should see your face right now,” she said, pointing. “You’re almost appalled. It’s not bad.”
“Thank God. But it might be in my mind. What’s she’s saying?”
“Nothing to get her in trouble and now I wish I hadn’t said anything.”
