“It is a big deal.”
“You, uh, have a wife upstairs who’s probably looking for you, and I have a bed that’s missing me. So, if your confidence is boosted and you’re good to go, I’m going to go too.”
Coy pushes the button to go up. “My ego has been restored. Thank you.”
“I’d say it was my pleasure, but I’d rather not start my day off by lying.” I tap him on the shoulder as I head toward the exit. “If you need me … call Oliver.”
Coy’s laughter follows me through the automatic doors.
Something else follows me—a memory from long ago. It was spurred by the scent that lingers on my clothes, the same one from that night in college.
The one I try to forget.
The one I’m never fully able to forget.
I climb in my Mercedes and turn on the radio. As Ray LaMontagne begins to sing, my mind struggles to adjust. So, I make a conscious decision—just this one time—to let it fall to the one thing, the one person who I know will distract me: Dara.
In the darkness of the car, alone in the middle of the night, I let myself smile while I think of the little spitfire I’ll see in just a few hours.
TEN
DARA
“Hi, Eliza,” I say as I enter Mason Architecture. The door sweeps closed behind me.
The front office smells like leather. The walls are cream with a deep, almost tobacco-colored trim that matches the overhead beams. It’s very masculine and clean … and drab. The only liveliness comes from a fig tree in the corner and Eliza—and even she looks too scared to breathe too loud.
She looks up at me with big blue eyes. “Hi, Miss Alden.”
“Oh, please. Call me Dara.” I sit in one of the chairs near the tree. “I’m early. I know. I made it a point not to be late.”
Relief washes over Eliza’s face. It piques my curiosity.
“So, Eliza,” I say, getting comfortable. “How are you this morning?”
She types furiously on her computer while trying to watch me from the corner of her eye.
“Don’t let me bother you,” I say, feeling bad for distracting her. “I’m just chatty today.”
“It’s okay. It’s … nice, actually.” She lets her gaze linger on the computer before facing me. “I’m normally chatty too, but …”
Her voice drifts off.
“Wade isn’t a chatty kind of guy, huh?” I ask.
She grins. “I would say that’s accurate.”
“I’m trying to loosen him up. He’s resisting, as I’m sure you can imagine, but I don’t give up too easily.”
“I—”
Her response is cut short by the opening and closing of an office door. I think we both hold our breath until Wade comes into sight.
I blow out a breath mostly to hide the fuck that comes out on a heated whisper.
He stops in the doorway and takes in both me and Eliza. Both of us just stare back at him.
Fitted black pants are capped off with black shoes. A lightweight sweater stretches over his chest and shoulders, giving me another view of the body I saw in the T-shirt at the park.
Whether he’s been running his hands through his hair this morning or if he styled it to look precisely like that—I don’t know. But I love it. The contrast of the playful hair, nerdy glasses, and sophisticated attire lights me on fire.
I think it does Eliza too because a dollop of drool glistens in the corner of her mouth.
“Ladies …” He makes a face as if to say, “What are you looking at?”
I spring to my feet. “Good morning, Wade. Are you ready for our adventure?”
He’s not. The scowl laced with a wariness says that all too well.
I laugh. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
He slides his attention from me to Eliza. “I’ll be gone for an hour, maybe a little more. If anything comes up that you’re unsure about, call Shaye at Mason Limited, and she’ll help.”
“Yes, sir.”
He gives her a look I can’t read and ushers me toward the door.
The sun is bright despite the cool temperature. A breeze whips through the parking lot as we step onto the pavement.
“Do you want to take one car or two?” he asks blandly. “There are benefits to both, I suppose.”
“I get to pick. That’s fun. I expected a more here’s-what-we’re-doing thing from you.”
He holds a paper cup in his hand and scans the lot. Then he sighs.
“What?” I ask.
“The delivery truck next door has blocked me in.”
“Great,” I say. “I’ll drive.”
“When I said one car or two, I meant that I’ll drive or we’ll drive separately.” He takes a sip of his drink as he turns to me. “I’ll go see if they’ll move so we can go.”
I scoff at him. “I will drive.”
He’s not convinced. His thick eyebrows give his eyes a darker vibe. It might scare a mere mortal. I, on the other hand, am stronger than that. As long as he doesn’t lick his lips or something.