Three days. That’s how long it’s been since I last spoke to my attorney, and yet I know so much about her already.
She likes to run in the morning at six, around the park, and she stops at a juice bar to get one of those green smoothies before walking back to her apartment. She’s out of her apartment by seven thirty and makes a stop at a café to grab a coffee and a pastry. Her office is a thirty-minute drive from her apartment and she spends the rest of the day in there. Way too much time. Occasionally, she leaves when she has court, but then she goes right back to that office.
Is she thinking of me?
I’ve found myself wondering if she’s obsessing over me as much as I am over her. I haven’t been able to do much but focus on her, and I’m helpless to do anything about it.
“Trigger?”
I briefly glance at my wristwatch before turning around to face the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen as she steps out of her apartment building. And she’s right on schedule. A creature of habit who is always out her door by seven thirty.
“Good morning, Miss Halloway,” I say, slowly running my gaze over her body and taking in her outfit for the day. Christ, she looks so damn sexy in her navy-blue pencil skirt, a silk blouse in a soft blush pink, and nude heels. It’s not too different from what she wears to the office, but I notice she put in a little more effort today and I can’t help but wonder if she did it for me.
“Uh, what are you doing here?”
I lift my gaze back to hers and notice with pleasure the pink spots on her cheeks. “We have an appointment today,” I say, sliding my hands into my pockets so I don’t reach out and touch her. “Don’t tell me you forgot about that.”
“I didn’t. I couldn’t… I mean, no, of course not.” The blush pink in her cheeks turns a shade deeper. “The office. We were supposed to meet up at the office.”
“Right, but you forgot to give me the address, so I wasn’t sure how to get there.”
“Saint has the address.”
“He’s a busy man,” I challenge. “Hard to catch the man when he’s always running around cleaning up the messes we leave behind. You don’t mind if I follow you to the office, do you?”
“No, I…” Her voice trails off as she looks past me to the bike I left parked at the curb. “Wait, you rode from the clubhouse, right? My office is on the opposite side of the city. Since my apartment is perfectly in the middle, let’s just have the meeting here instead of making you ride to all the way to my office and back.”
It wouldn’t be much of a ride, but I don’t correct her. “Sure, if you’re okay with that.”
She nods and starts heading back into her building, leaving me no choice but to follow. I allow myself the pleasure of openly watching her, shamelessly observing the way her ass moves in that skirt. I resist the urge to touch her, swat her perfect butt just to see it jiggle. I’m saved when someone calls out to her as we approach the elevator.
“Maeve!”
I tear my eyes from my lawyer’s ass and look up to find some guy with badly cut hair and a goatee waving at Maeve. He has a smalldog on a leash, a chihuahua that yelps loudly as we approach. The man ignores the noise as he turns to beam at my woman.
Maeve smiles politely. “Hi there, Dennis. How’s it going?”
“Good, I’ve been meaning to thank you for helping me figure out the parking ticket thing,” he says with a grin and eyes that sparkle with his attraction for her. “I don’t know what I would have done without you. So, how about I take out for a meal and—”
He stops when he spots me, and I make no effort to hide the scowl on my face or the threat written in my eyes. Silently, I make clear the hell he’ll face if he takes another step closer to her. He pales instantly and his eyes shift to Maeve and then back to me. He must connect the dots and realize that he’s no match for me, and he takes a step back.
“Dennis?” Maeve asks.
“Right, I mean, uh, just wanted to thank you for the legal advice. If you need anything…” His eyes shift back to mine for a brief second before he quickly looks away. “Just let me know.”
“Sure, what are neighbors for?”
When the elevator doors open, I follow Maeve in, stepping right in front of her and shielding her from the view of goatee man. He visibly swallows and tugs at the leash to stop his dog from following us in. My eyes stay on his until the door closes and locks him out. Only then do I turn around to look at Maeve.
“Your neighbors seem nice,” I say as we glide up. “They must love having a lawyer live so close.”
“Not as much as they love the chef a floor up. What’s legal advice compared to the dinner party Mrs. Leonard hosts every couple of weeks? Nothing beats her homemade lasagna. I don’t know how she does it.”
“And your neighbor Dennis, what does he do?”
“Oh him?” she says in a dismissive tone that lets me know the man hasn’t left much of an impression on her, not like she has on him. “He works in finance or insurance, I don’t remember which. He’s a nice guy but his dog scares me a little.”
“How come?”
