Chapter 1
The air was crisp as Jamie walked out of the house for a morning jog. Alex seemed to be out the door before she would even dream of getting up, which was fine by her. She figured six am mornings were okay now. It used to be easier, and earlier, but back then she didn’t have someone keeping her up late… in a good way. She giggled. Life certainly wasn’t rough, nor was she complaining one little bit.
Getting an hour to herself was a great start to the day. Plus, she really wasn’t all by herself.
"This works good, doesn't it, buddy?" She tugged on Jake's leash and pulled him from the warmth of the house as he whined in protest.
The cute little brown ball of fur Alex had given her for Christmas had grown quite a bit and was starting to look more like a dog than a puppy.
"Come on, Jake. I don't have time for this. I'm meeting with Uncle Mark this morning. Yes, I am. Come on, boy." Jamie reached down and scratched his ears as he pulled back toward the house.
With a groan, she turned around and let him back in before closing the door and jogging off the front porch. She would have to take her jog alone. Her four-legged partner had called in sick and was most likely looking for something to tear up while she was out. The cute little thing had torn up more of their shoes than she cared to think about.
"Damn good thing you're so cute," she mumbled and turned left out of the driveway. Avoiding the snow was impossible, but she was bundled up tight, and rather enjoyed the exhilaration that the cold brought with it. She could have gone down to the gym and run on a treadmill, but she was dressed for cold. It seemed silly to go back in and change. She was tough; she could handle a little freezing weather.
Alex didn't expect her in the office until nine today, so she could take an extra-long time on her run as long as her fingers and toes didn't protest too much.
Mark was moving into her old apartment over the next week, which would mean she was officially living with Alex. He had given her a key to the house, but this, somehow, made it feel more certified.
A smile touched her mouth at the thought of taking another step with him. The next, after moving in, had to be a ring. She chuckled at how stupid she had felt at Christmas when she’d expected to get a ring from him, and before that when he had given her a box with a key to the house. Why was she so desperate for the ring? She should be happy with where they were now.
He was a slow-moving man when it came to commitment.
"That's probably why his company is doing so well. He's got to be sure of the risk before he takes it." She waved to the guy across the road, who lifted his hand in the air.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out, but didn't stop running. "Hey, baby. What's up?" She glanced behind her to check for cars before moving across the road.
"Are you headed this way yet?" His voice sounded pinched, which would mean only one thing. He was stressed.
Great. "No. I’m just out running, but I can turn around if you need me to." She turned and jogged in place as a thick cloud formed in front of her mouth. It was below freezing.
"Did you take Jake with you?"
"No, but I tried. He wouldn't budge from the house. It’s too cold for him." She forced a laugh.
A sigh came through the phone. "Jamie. Half the reason I got you the dog was so that you would have someo
ne to protect you while you're out."
She laughed and pressed her fingers to her lips. "He's a puppy. He's going to cuddle someone to death on my behalf. Whereas I appreciate that, and love him and you to the moon and back, he's not going to protect me."
Alex chuckled, softening the call a million times. "Alright. You win this one. Come in when you can. My brother texted and said that you wanted to meet with him, but you didn't say a time. He's headed up here now. You know I don't have time to deal—"
"I'm on my way. Send him to grab a coffee and throw him in my office. Paul’s in my office, getting a few things done. He and Mark will love each other. Stop stressing. You're a butt when you stress." She started back to the house, lamenting internally for not getting any exercise in the last week or so.
"I thought you liked my butt."
A smile tugged at her lips. The sexy man on the other end of the line had the ability to lift her mood with very little effort.
"I do like your butt, but not when you act like one." She crossed the road and jogged up to the house. "I'm going to go get naked in your shower and run your soap all over myself. See you soon."
"Tease," he groaned, and she hung up before walking into the house. Alex hated it when she left the door unlocked, but her runs weren't that far from the house, and it seemed a pain to have her keys jumping around her wrist, seeing as how her yoga pants didn't have pockets.
She walked to the bedroom, stopping only to pet Jake for a minute and berate him lovingly for not being the scary dog that his 'daddy' expected him to be.
He flopped over onto his back, expecting a long scratch. Jamie chuckled and walked into the bedroom, breathing deeply and taking in the delicious scent of her man.
"Mm mm... I love you." She got in the shower, washed up quickly, and dressed in her favorite grey skirt and light-blue top. Her heels were high, and her hair down and straightened. Alex knew that her saying that she was 'on her way' meant that she would be there in an hour or so. He was getting used to her ways, which was flattering, but almost a little scary. More disturbing was the fact that she was spending more and more time on her appearance and herself, something she used to never do or care about.
The TV buzzed in the background, the news story catching her attention as she stood poised to turn it off. Robberies in their area had spiked by twenty percent since Christmas. The police were looking into it, but all homeowners were advised to lock up and keep their security systems armed twenty-four hours a day.
"Scary." She walked out into the living room and looked around, never having really used the security system on the house. After texting Alex, and waiting for ten minutes for the password, she decided to lock up everything and just go to the office. If he wanted her to run back out to the house and set the alarm, then she would. He probably had access to it with his phone anyway.
The drive to the office went smoothly and she parked in her newly-assigned parking spot beside Alex’s in the garage. She headed up the elevator to the top floor, where her office was.
Gina greeted her with a warm smile as she stood from her desk and stretched. "Hey, girl. Must be nice to sleep in every morning, unless you're doing that running thing again. You're not, right?"
"I am." Jamie stopped in front of the desk and shifted her bag on her shoulder. "I hated it when I first started, but now it's almost like making sure I get a little bit of 'me' time in my day."
"I get that, but I'd rather have 'me' drinking time than 'me' running time. One takes so much less energy, and you still usually end up sweaty and getting some exercise." Gina wagged her eyebrows playfully.