My legs are burning by the time I reach the decaying iron stairway behind the building, pulling down on a ladder and getting a face full of rust for my troubles.
Second floor, the third set of windows along.
Surprised the fire escape holds my own weight, I try the kitchen window, which slides up easily.
Squeezing through I make my way straight to the front door, preparing myself for the worst.
For a second I think I’m in the wrong apartment. I scan every corner of the tiny place, even check the bathroom.
Then I hear it. That same, snuffled breathing, followed by a few scratches on the door from this side.
Her baby.
The four legged kind, with fur and a wet nose.
I’ve never been so relieved in my life. Not just because there’s no real baby trapped inside.
For a second I actually thought someone else had gotten to Phoebe before me. If she had a child, that would prove I’m too late to claim her in that way, as my own.
I hope to god I’m wrong about her having a boyfriend or husband too because I want what’s mine and Max Bear doesn’t like sharing.
I scoop up the pooch, who seems glad to see me and I notice the yellow envelope it’s been sitting on,
Probably her mail, which I pick up and pocket before opening the door’s many locks to let Phoebe back into her apartment.
She flushes with what could be embarrassment when I open the door, but she needn’t worry.
It’s my own mistake for assuming her ‘baby’ was the conventional, furless, and two legged kind.
Chapter Three
Phoebe
I have a million questions. A few I managed to ask the older man over the phone, like ‘Three Bears Locksmiths?’, what kind of a name is that.
But seeing his son, the younger ‘Bear’ from the trio his dad mentioned, I only have one real question once he tells me who he really is.
Is that what I think it is in your pants?
At first, I think he might be whoever’s stalking me. Maybe come back with another message or worse. That’s just how paranoid I’m getting lately.
I’m instantly at odds with that idea. No man this ruggedly handsome, this smartly dressed and smelling so good could stalk anyone without them knowing.
If a scent like his lingered in my hallway, I’d be the one doing the stalking.
No. He’s here for something else and thank the lord that something is me.
He introduces himself as the locksmith, tells me he’s come to help.
For the first time in a long time, I feel small next to someone too.
Max Bear fills the hallway almost as well as he fills his dark-colored suit.
It’s a snug fit on his six foot six frame, but the obviously custom tailored suit shows his chiseled body underneath while keeping a definite crisp and professional look.
One glance and I can tell he’d own any room he walked into. His dark, piercing eyes shift from brooding to playful to something else in an instant.
That same instant I feel something inside me shaking loose. Like he’s just reached inside me with his eyes and flicked a magic switch that lights up the whole world now that I know he’s in it.
But I can’t just go to jelly like this, not falling for the whole ‘at first sight’ thing.
As if an older, stunningly handsome guy like this would go for a short, thickly curved girl like me anyway.
He’s perfect. Too perfect.
I mean, there’s literally not one thing I could fault.
Watching his chiseled jaw flex as he scans my curves, I feel self-conscious enough to cover my chest, only because I feel my nipples ready to explode through the thin fabric.
Of all the times to be caught outside without a bra on.
It’s so damned hot in here all of a sudden, but I’m actually shivering.
Casually brushing a huge hand through his thick dark hair, I catch a flash of gold on his wrist.
Real gold.
His lips slowly curl with satisfaction as he makes a deep, low sound.
It’s a wild, primal sound but it definitely serves a purpose.
A sound that I feel travels through the air, under the floorboards, and deep inside me.
It’s the sound of a man who knows what he wants, but more importantly. A man who also knows just how to get it.
Which brings me back to that question, the doubt that’s plagued me my whole adult life: Could a man actually like what he sees when he looks at me?
Any man, let alone this man. The most perfect man alive as far as I can tell.
There’s little time to consider it all though, as soon as he hears Trixie on the other side of the door, he’s racing to the rescue.
I kind of forget to mention that my ‘baby’ locked inside is a tiny dog, but hey. It’s a story that’s worked for me so far today, it’s brought me face to face with Max Bear.