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She slapped her hand to her chest. “Wonderful. I think I’m in love.”
“So fast?”
“I’m kidding… but if Dan keeps this up, I will be soon enough.”
I grin wickedly. “Suppose he sucks in bed?”
“Not the with way he uses his tongue. What did you do?”
“I took Blackie for a walk and met Oliver Fox in the park.”
Sadie raised her eyebrows and sat down next to me. “Doesn’t it seem interesting how you keep bumping into him?”
My best friend loved conspiracy theories. I thought nothing of my chance meetings with Oliver Fox. It was just coincidence.
“Not really. He works in the same building as me and he probably lives around here. Look at these apartments. This is an expensive area. He might even own a penthouse. In fact, I’m sure he does.”
“Maybe it’s karma. You’re attracted to each other so you keep meeting up.”
“I doubt that. It’s more like coincidence.”
“Suit yourself. I’m going to change,” she said.
Sadie rose from the couch as I paged through the magazine I was reading. We spent the rest of the day hanging out on the terrace and sipping glasses of chilled white wine before we ordered food from the full-service kitchen for residents.
Sadie got the black truffle-topped burger she’d been craving, and I ordered an endive salad with broiled salmon. Blackie slept with me on my bed, and I woke up early so I could take him out and feed him before I left for work.
I didn’t see Oliver Fox for the entire week and when I did, I wasn’t paying attention. I was texting on my phone and bumped into him as I walked through the lobby for lunch, knocking me off balance. Oliver reached out to grab me before I ended up on my ass. His strong hands remained wrapped around my biceps until I stopped swaying.
"Are you all right?" His voice tinged with concern.
I should ask you that. I'm very sorry." My apology hung in the air, heavy with regret.
"You can make it up to me." His words, laced with a hint of challenge, ignited a spark of curiosity within me.
I frowned, my mind racing to catch up. "How?"
"Have lunch with me." His casual confidence in his proposal caught me off guard.
I stared at him in disbelief, my mind struggling to process his unexpected request. "Excuse me?"
"Lunch, the meal in between breakfast and dinner. Have it with me." His explanation bordered on the absurd, yet his persistence was undeniably charming.
"I'm not sure." Doubt gnawed at the edges of my resolve, uncertainty clouding my thoughts.
Stupid brain, engage already.
"When will you be sure?" Laced with gentle insistence, his question pushed me to confront my hesitations.
"Yes." The word tumbled from my lips before I could stop it, my decision made in a moment of reckless abandon.
"Miss Stewart, you're not making sense. Are you injured?" His concern, palpable in his brow furrow, drew me back to reality.
"I mean, yes, I'll have lunch with you. I only get forty-five minutes, so I can't go far." My clarification came with a rush of embarrassment, my cheeks flushing with color.
"We can eat in my office upstairs. What would you like?" His practicality, starkly contrasting my scattered thoughts, grounded me in the moment.
"I'm not sure." My uncertainty echoed in the space between us, a reminder of the chaos swirling within.
