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“Hi,” I said, like a nervous teenager. I straightened my spine. I had nothing to be nervous about.
“Hi.” His eyes roamed down my body, lingering on the bare skin below my crop top. When his gaze met mine again, a warmth spread across my chest and down the entire length of me.
“You didn’t say goodbye this morning,” he said.
I nodded. “I didn’t… but I left a note.”
He raised his eyebrow. “A note?” Then, after a pause, “Yes, I saw it. But I was sort of expecting something else.” He tilted his head.
“I’m not sure what you mean. What were you expecting? We’d agreed to just one night.”
“Yes, we did. And that is all you want? Just one night?”
I nodded. I didn’t trust any words that would leave my mouth at the moment.
He pushed off the wall. “I want to see you again,” he said, taking a step closer to me. I remained still, watching him as he walked slowly toward me until we stood only a few inches apart. Tilting my head up, I watched as his eyes assessed mine, pushing me to speak the words instead of hiding behind a nod. But I couldn’t get them out.
My eyes closed when his middle finger touched my temple, then slid down to my jaw.
Opening my eyes, I said, “That’s not a good idea.”
“Why not? It felt like one hell of an idea last night. Best fucking idea I’ve ever had.”
Why did my traitorous body jump at his words and his appreciative stare? His eyes creased and his lips turned up into a grin as though he heard my heart slamming against my chest.
Bending his head close to my ear, he whispered. “Are you saying one night was enough for you?”
Say it! Lie to him!
“Yes,” I whispered back.
His lips remained next to my ear, his breath fanned a strand of my hair and I shivered.
Lifting his head, he held my eyes. Challenging me to take back the words.
I didn’t.
After three thundering heartbeats, Ryan finally nodded and stepped aside, shoving his hands in his pockets again. “I’ll see you around, Laura.”
I straightened my crop top, mainly because I needed a few seconds to control my voice. “Goodbye, Ryan.”
I turned but couldn’t leave just yet. Not without saying the words he deserved. The ones I should have said earlier. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me for last night. The feeling is mutual.”
Conceited bastard. I shook my head and turned back around.
“I’m not thanking you for last night, Ryan.” I fought the urge to roll my eyes. It would surely diminish the sincerity of my gratitude. “I want to thank you for helping Sam. She told me the police officer dropped the charges. I don’t know how you managed that. But I appreciate it.”
“Well, being in several meetings with the mayor, I knew there’s a debate happening right now about changing the law on prostitution or at least lowering the penalties. So, I knew the right people to speak with to make this go away instead of putting more pressure on the city. The mayor’s got enough on his plate right now.”
“Then Sam was lucky she had the right lawyer on her side.”
“Maybe. Or lucky to have a friend willing to approach the cocky bastard.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. I’d just thought of him as one and he called me out on it. Funny how this man knew me so well in a short time.
Walk away, Laura.
