“Ah shit.” And then he met my eyes. “My keys are upstairs.”
Warnings drilled into me since I’d turned about thirteen made me wary. Good girls didn’t go home with men they just met.
“It’s okay. I can call for an Uber. It’s a long drive anyway.” I slid my purse off my shoulder and started digging around for my phone. This day had to end sometime, might as well be now… before I did something really stupid.
I nearly laughed out loud at that thought. Today my middle name might as well be stupid. Holly Stupid Mercer.
“Why don’t you come up? Have a cup of coffee or something and then I’ll run you home?” He’d dug both hands into his pockets now and was kind of rocking on his heels again. When he glanced up at me from under thick black lashes I felt that magnetism all over again. If I didn’t know he was a professional ball player I’d almost think he looked vulnerable.
“Just coffee? And to talk?” I bit my lip and waited for him to laugh at me. I didn’t want him to expect anything more.
Instead he took hold of my wrist again. “Just Coffee.” He winked as he dragged me toward the elevators.
“And to talk?” I confirmed.
“And to talk.”
When we steppedinside, without thinking, I nearly pushed the button for Star’s apartment. I’d been in this elevator, geesh, probably at least a thousand times before. He pushed the number thirty-three and leaned back against the metal railing. After a second or two, he tugged at my wrist, pulling me closer to him.
I had no problem with that. Every inch of my skin screamed to be close to him.
“I’m sorry about the Senator.” He took my other hand and straightened both his arms downward, drawing me closer still. “You really think you’ll lose your job?”
I glanced up at him. Suddenly I felt shy about meeting his eyes. Did everyone react to them this way or was it just me?
Probably every woman in Colorado…
“Probably.” I shrugged. “But I’ll live. There’s more important things that a job, you know?” Except my brother would kill me. And my mom and dad would worry about me some more. When you disappoint the people you love most in the world, it tears you apart inside. I didn’t want to dwell on all that.
He wasn’t shy about meeting my gaze. I couldn’t help it. “Really, no contacts?”
He tilted his head and laughed, still holding my hands. Our bodies nearly touched. If I leaned forward the tiniest bit…. “Nope.”
And now somehow my eyes were trapped by his. We just stood there in that elevator, staring into one another’s eyes. So corny, I know! I’d never experienced anything like it before.
When the bell pinged and the doors swung open I jumped. If anybody looked inside right now I felt like they’d be infringing on a very intimate moment.
Except we weren’t doing anything.
Hunter turned me around and ushered me into the hallway. This floor wasn’t quite as fancy as Star’s. No artwork on the walls, no plush carpeting. But it still felt expensive.
“Have you lived here long?” I thought most athletes bought big homes in Cherry Hills, one of Denver’s most elite communities.
“Since March.” I leased it at the end of spring training.
Last March.
I hated thinking about last March.
“So, you aren’t from Colorado?” I wanted to know more about him. He seemed to just see himself as a baseball player but I wanted to know the other stuff.
“Actually, I am. I grew up in Littleton, went to college in Boulder.”
“You did?” I smiled. “Me too. I mean, I grew up in Morrison but I got my undergraduate degree from University of Colorado too. How old are you?” I wondered if we’d been there at the same time.
Not that it mattered. CU was huge.
“Twenty-nine. How old are you?”
