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“Hi, Alexa, this is Patty. I hoped you’d be available so I didn’t have to leave a message, but I’ll just say it straight out. I got the mail today and there was an overdue rent notice.”
Fabulous. Having her new designer see yet another overdue notice was not good. God, she’d thought she’d paid enough last month to make a dent in the amount she was behind. And she’d pay more just as soon as the money from the sale of her house arrived.
“I like you a lot and I enjoy my job, but I was offered a position at Value Hardware and I took it. I hope you understand. I wish you all the best—”
Alexa clicked off. After checking the other message and determining that it was her father who’d called with the guilt trip this time rather than her mother—he’d fretted ever since she’d announced she was moving into the “rat trap” above Divine—she tossed her phone aside.
Her dad could worry about the nonexistent rats and Patty could show up or not in the morning. It didn’t really matter.
She was fucked.
She’d believed, wrongly it seemed, that her house closing would be the lowlight of her month. Maybe even year. Then she’d experienced some sparks with a guy who hadn’t been able to get out of her place fast enough. He probably thought she was just one shade above destitute and therefore too much trouble.
Not that Dillon’s opinion mattered. They didn’t know each other. It wasn’t as if she was looking for a boyfriend, just a lover. Someone to hold her for a little while, to remind her she was a woman.
Now this.
Clearly the universe intended to make sure she got its message. And that message was: you suck.
Swallowing hard, she reached for her wine and downed the cup in a few sips. She looked around her apartment, still in a state of disarray, boxes and suitcases everywhere, and jumped to her feet. Uh-uh. She couldn’t stay locked up in here tonight, staring at the silver streaks of rain just beginning to slip down the windows. If she didn’t get some air and some perspective, she’d lose what was left of her mind.
She went into the bathroom and freshened her makeup, though she had no idea where she was going to go. Hitting a bar sounded about as appealing as staying home. Nellie and Jake were probably halfway through a welcome home celebration. Double ick.
Occasionally on nice nights after work, she’d escape upstairs to the roof, just to check out the sunset. It was so quiet up there, and the expansive view somehow helped put her chaotic mind at ease. But she hadn’t been up there in
months—no sunset could soothe what ailed her now—and it was raining. Still, even sitting out in a nice, warm rain was better than sweating to death in her stiflingly hot apartment. Anything was.
She glanced down at her simple black sleeveless sheath dress. Yeah, that wouldn’t work. Good thing she’d bought a pair of shorts for moving. Since she’d moved into Dante’s Inferno, she had a feeling she’d be buying more.
Five minutes later, after changing into her cutoff shorts and a tight tank top she usually wore to bed, she retied her braid and grabbed her purse. The sound of the rain was now a steady patter, much heavier than it had been even a few minutes ago.
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Then again, did she have any better ones?
She followed the bend in the hallway to the roof access point she’d discovered about a year earlier when she’d first explored the building. Her insatiable curiosity had led her to the partially open door, held open with a doorstop to provide additional airflow to the top floor on a sweltering summer day. Unsurprisingly the door was cracked again, held open with that same heavy doorstop. Rain spattered through the opening.
Nerves crawled up her spine. Was someone up there? She glanced down at her unrestrained chest. Should she have worn a bra?
Screw it. This was a safe building. She’d worked in it for years with no problems. Despite her father’s concerns about rats, there was nothing to fear, animal or human.
Right.
She toed aside the doorstop and stepped onto the narrow staircase. Her gaze swung to the top of the stairs as someone stepped into the space, blocking the remaining light.
The door behind her swung shut.
Chapter Three
“Who’s up there?”
From the top of the stairs, Dillon didn’t speak. He’d seen Alexa’s face in the flash of light from the hallway, but up on the roof it was pretty damn dark, hence her confusion.
He didn’t have any, though. She’d been on his mind all frigging day, and seeing her again when he’d finally started to focus on work —all right, not really—really pissed him off.
Other, less discriminating parts of him weren’t quite so irritated.
What was she doing up here? And why hadn’t he noticed her car pull up? He’d passed her in the parking lot when he’d come back with her part, and he’d decided to wait around for a couple hours to see if she returned rather than letting himself in her place to fix it. It wasn’t as if he didn’t have plenty of work to take care of in the building.
But after almost two hours laying flooring, he’d been desperate for some fresh air. Plus the heat meant the potted trees would need some water, so he’d filled his watering can and come upstairs. About five minutes before it started to rain.
