AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He smiled because he could understand her relatives’ interest. Gwen was smart, pretty, and working in an important job. He glanced at her. He’d meant what he’d said to be a compliment so why was she fiddling with her seatbelt?
Gwen was a mystery he wanted very much to solve.
7
Gwen checked behind them at the other cars as Will pulled into his parking garage near Central Park. “I don’t think we were followed, not by a hulking, black sports utility.”
He drove them up to his parking spot and turned off the motor. She didn’t look over at him as he expected, still sitting with her hands clutched tightly in her lap. He cracked open his door. “You okay?”
“Sure.” She sagged against the seat. “Are we taking a taxi or walking from here?”
“It’s late, let’s see if we can get a taxi.” He went to her side, took the empty to-go containers from her, and tossed them in a trash receptacle on the way to the elevator.
“That’s good.” She still didn’t make eye contact.
Was it him? Or simply that she didn’t make a practice of going home with guys. He didn’t know if she did, but he suspected she didn’t. Either way, he would have to do what he could to keep things low-key.
* * *
Outside the garage, they took a taxicab over to Broadway and up into his neighborhood.
Will lived on the twentieth floor of a new building. A subtle glow from the ceiling molding lit their path down a hall from the elevator. He pressed his thumb against a pad near his doorbell, and his apartment door unlatched. Will held the panel open. “Welcome to my humble abode.”
The foyer, painted a muted gray, contained a black lacquered console and a tree stand. She smoothed her palm over the granite kitchen counter and dropped her tote on the floor beside the microfiber sectional, heading for the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room. The night skyline of skyscrapers across the river rose like a glittering curtain. “There’s nothing humble about this view.”
Will came to stand beside her. She studied his honed profile. He posed an intriguing puzzle she’d love to unravel—navy intelligence, marine engineer, two married sisters. Maybe, someday.
Uncle Tim liked him, and he wouldn’t have told her if he didn’t trust Will. She liked him, too, more than she should considering they’d only met. He was handsome, sure, but there was something else, something that drew her like metal to a magnet. But she couldn’t get involved.
Not yet. Supervising the research lab for the next few weeks would need her complete focus. She knew from the past that a new relationship with a guy, any guy, would distract her.
Will caught her watching him. He raised his auburn brows. “What?”
Had she been quiet too long? She shrugged with a smile. “Just taking in the scenery.”
“Is that so?” His voice teased, and his gaze seemed to sparkle.
A flutter sprang to life in her tummy. Oh yes, they could easily move this acquaintance to the next level. “More or less.” She surveyed the open plan of his apartment. “This is nice place.”
“I can tell what you’re thinking.”
“What am I thinking?” He thought he could read her mind, did he? Not good, when she was trying so hard not to notice how being around him made her feel so feminine, so…so…desirable.
“That I’m loaded, but I was broke when I finished my degree.” His deep, rich voice rolled over her like a soothing wave lapping a shore. “I was lucky, too. The mother of one of my classmates is a realtor and she got me into the lottery for the last apartment in the building, which had been reduced.”
“You made a nice buy.” Upper Westside building with a doorman, beautiful finishes in common areas, floor to ceiling windows. No wonder he protected this place with the latest technology. She should suggest security like this to her boss for their research lab.
In the street below a yellow taxi traveled up the street. In a few more blocks the cab would pass the university and her lab on campus. Had she seen the T-shirt guy at the school? Maybe in the union at lunchtime? If only she could figure out where, and that place made sense, she’d feel less threatened.
Will returned to the kitchen and switched on the lights. “Are you hungry?”
“I finished my sandwich on the way home.” She joined him there. “Remember?”
“Definitely. The smell of bacon was driving me crazy, even though I’d already had plenty.” He smiled.
She was again struck by his physical attractiveness. Not that she’d ever be likely to forget, but she couldn’t get used to being around a knockout guy who wasn’t fixated on his looks to the exclusion of other positive traits. To her, Will’s poise and kindness were much more appealing.
He opened the fridge. “I have cheese and deli meats in the fridge, if you want more.”
