Leo drummed the steering wheel. “Yeah?” he said, his voice strained.
I turned to him. “I just mean you only do hookups, so if Leo were so worried about me not getting into a relationship, he should probably push me toward someone like you, instead of the other way around.”
The light danced through Leo’s eyes. He was excited by the unfamiliar territory we’d begun to tiptoe through, and I realized I was, too, when a thrill shot up my spine.
“Yeah,” he finally answered. “I never thought of it that way.”
I leaned a little closer, and my heart started pounding. I wasn’t quite sure what I was doing, but it felt really, really good, and all of a sudden, I couldn’t stop flirting. “Too bad it can’t happen,” I said, dropping my voice into a soft tease.
Leo squeezed the steering wheel tightly, and I watched his fingers flex. His nervous energy uncoiled as he let out a breath. Out of nowhere, it struck me how much of an effect I was having on him.
Leo was turned on. Like, really turned on.
And maybe this was more than just a game.
Danger, danger, danger!
I grabbed the door handle as I practically choked on my heart. The movie theater butter had gone straight to my head, and now I was acting out in ways I totally didn’t intend or understand.
“I should go. Thanks again for the ride,” I said, heat burning my cheeks.
“Yeah, no problem. I’ll catch you later, River.”
I got out and all but slammed the door behind me. I stuck my hands in my pockets and took off toward the condo, not bothering to stop and look back.
Suddenly, I was standing on the edge of something very big, and if I took another step, I didn’t think even Kai would be capable of pulling me back.
Chapter Eleven
Leo
It was Friday,just a few minutes shy of six, when Meredith Bell called with her latest crisis.
Typical that she would wait until my weekend was about to start, but with a new scandal breaking on the gossip blogs and a major interview with her favorite magazine the next morning, at least the urgency made sense this time.
“Leo, you just have to figure this out for me. Like, what if they ask about the photos?”
I was glad she couldn’t see the frustrated scowl on my face. “We’ve got you covered, Meredith,” I said, broadcasting confidence I didn’t actually have. “They’re just photos of you on a jet ski. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Sure, she obviously had a bong hanging from her hand, and it turns out the jet ski was stolen from her father’s friend, a very conservative and very public evangelical figure. But by morning, I’d be able to figure something out.
“It was nearly five years ago,” I assured her.
“Can we just meet up? I always feel so much better when we meet up.”
“You’re always welcome at the office,” I offered, knowing she just wanted to drag me out to whatever club she was attending that night.
Meredith sighed. Even her sigh was musical, her breath lilting. “Okay. I’ll come by after dinner so you can give me the plan in person. Thanks, Leo!”
I stood, searching for an excuse, but came up flat. Meredith and Roger Hank were our two biggest clients at the moment, and with some recent hires around the office stretching our budget, I wasn’t about to shake the boat.
Or the jet ski, in this case.
“Sure, Meredith. Just let me know when you’re on the way.”
I took off my jacket and unbuttoned my collar. So much for going home and working from there.
A knock pulled my attention to the open door. River stood there holding a sheet of paper in his hand. “Can I interrupt?”
