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They broke apart, both panting hard. “See you soon.” Her voice came out all husky, brazen.
“I can’t wait.”
That look. Like no other woman would ever grab his attention. Like his sole focus was on her alone. Could she really be this lucky? She’d given up on the possibility, but could she have finally snagged the man of her dreams?
With great hesitation, she slung her bag over her shoulder and exited the car. Only a few more hours and she’d see him again. How had she coped before he’d barged back into her life, like a staunch strapping knight on a sleek white horse, shattering her routine everyday existence?
Sage caught the lift to her floor and beelined to her office. She reviewed her client load and noticed Mallory Perdita on the list. An unexpected surprise.
What had changed? Maybe she wanted more information on her husband’s death. Maybe she wanted to serve Sage with legal papers. Maybe she wanted to ruin her however she could.
Intrigued, Sage wanted to speak to the woman to gauge whether she took the number-one suspect spot. Miles’ recent outburst currently had him in the lead.
Once her first client arrived, she got into the groove and the morning flew. By twelve-fifteen p.m. she finished her notes, freshened up in the ladies’ room and went to meet Alexander.
The automatic doors opened to reveal him standing on the footpath with a panty-blitzing smile. Sage slowed her walking pace, trying to look calm and cool and collected.
Alexander strode into her space, whisked her into his arms and hugged her so hard, she struggled to breathe.
He planted a hot, dizzying, too-brief kiss on her lips and settled her feet on the pavement, keeping his hands possessively on her hips. “I’ve missed you.”
She pressed her palms to his chest, the stretchy black T-shirt conforming to his every muscle—and he had plenty. She couldn’t wait to get him alone again and explore every single one with her tongue. “I missed you, too.”
“Come on. I know you don’t have much time.” He released her, held her hand and intertwined their fingers. And it felt good, right, natural, like they’d been a couple for years rather than hours.
He’d booked them a great little booth seat in a hidden-away alcove, giving them some much-needed privacy.
They ordered almost immediately and got absorbed in conversation. Alexander had just confirmed he’d installed her new security system when the waiter returned with their pizzas. “Buon appetito!” he said and left them to themselves.
They kissed while their food cooled, then dug in, eating in comfortable, easy silence.
Alexander mopped his mouth with a napkin and scrunched it onto his empty plate. “If you need to get going, go. I’ll sort out the bill and come get you later.”
“Thank you.” She grabbed his face and slammed her mouth to his in an I-don’t-want-to-leave-but-I-have-to kiss. “See you soon.”
“Count on it.”
Sage rushed out of the café and onto the street. She watched for traffic, still half mesmerized, waited until it looked clear-ish and ran across the road. Midway, a car came out of nowhere, heading straight for her.
With a burst of adrenaline, she sprinted the remaining distance and threw herself onto the sidewalk at the entrance of her office building. She gripped the footpath, labored breaths scraping along her airways, her lungs aching, constricted.
Grateful, thankful, relieved. Her heart slowly eased its way back into a steady rhythm.
“Baby?” Strong, capable arms lifted her up and hauled her against a brawny, hard body. “You okay?”
Alexander. She clung onto him like an activated steel trap, never happier to see anyone.
His iron grasp reinforced his concern. Hers, too. No way was that an accident. Someone had tried to hurt her. He knew it as well. She could tell by the way he held her, the way he refused to let her go, like he thought his arms were the safest place. And she believed maybe they were.
“I’m fine.” Kind of.
“Did you see the driver?”
“No. Just a silver-colored car about to barrel into me.”
“It’s okay. I’ve got you. We’ll work it out.”
She liked the ‘we’. She’d worried he’d go all super-protective and confine her to a need-to-know bubble. She loved that he didn’t, that he remained inclusive and chose not to shut her out ‘for her own good’, like a true, trusting, cohesive partnership.
