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‘Without me around there’s no one to set you straight when you need it.’
‘You say that as if you know me well enough to know what I need.’ She shook her head. ‘You don’t know me, Daniel. You’re afraid to get to know me.’
‘Really,’ he said dryly.
‘Yes, really, because if you did you might have to admit you were wrong about me and we both know you don’t like to admit you’re wrong about anything.’ She glanced up and down the hall as if searching for eavesdroppers before lowering her voice. ‘Worse still, you might discover you like me. And we can’t have that, can we?’
Rocking forward, he lowered his voice to the same level. ‘I don’t think there’s any danger of that.’
Jo searched his too-blue eyes, suddenly questioning if he even remembered how the war between them began. Looking back, she realized she didn’t; what was it that made him so much more difficult to get along with than every other member of his family? Everyone got to a point where they started to try and make sense of their life. She was at peace with a lot of the things she couldn’t change. But since Daniel was the only person she’d ever been immature around in her entire life, she couldn’t help but wonder why. Apparently he wasn’t the only one in need of a good night’s rest.
She rolled her eyes at the momentary weakness. ‘Whatever you tell yourself to help you sleep at night.’
‘I sleep just fine,’ he said tightly. ‘You don’t need to worry about me.’
‘I wasn’t—’
‘Just do us both a favour and stay out of my business. If you don’t, I might start poking my nose into yours.’
‘I have nothing to hide,’ she lied. ‘Do you?’
‘Don’t push me, babe.’
She managed to stop the words or what? leaving her lips, but it wasn’t solely the need to strive for maturity. There was something else going on; she could feel it. It was more than the chill in his gaze, more than the rigid set of his shoulders or the unmistakable edge of warning in his deep voice. What was it?
As if he could read the question in her eyes, Daniel frowned and turned his profile to her. A muscle tensed on his jaw, suggesting he was grinding his teeth together. But even if she had the right to ask what was wrong, before she had the chance, he turned away. When she ended up staring at his door again, she blinked and shook her head.
Well, Day One had been great.
She couldn’t wait for Day Two.
CHAPTER TWO
‘Is it just me or does coffee taste better when they make those little love hearts in the foam? It’s funny the things that can make a difference in how we feel.’
JORJA DAWSON had breasts. Considering he was a man and she was a woman, part of Daniel’s brain had to have always known that. Fortunately, in the past, they had never been pressed against his chest in a way that made them difficult to ignore.
It was the kind of intel he could have done without.
Judging by the way the tips of those breasts were beaded against the material of her tight-fitting top before she hid them beneath folded arms, the spark of sexual awareness had been mutual. She should just be thankful he had an honourable streak. If she ever found out he’d been as aware of her as she was of him, she would have a brand-new weapon at her disposal. One that, were she foolish enough to use it, would leave him no choice but to launch a counterattack with heavy artillery until she offered her unconditional surrender.
In terms of fallout, it would be similar to pulling the pin on a grenade he couldn’t toss to a safe distance.
Number two on his list: sister’s best friend.
Since every guy on the planet who didn’t have long-term plans knew to avoid that minefield, it wouldn’t matter if she wore nothing but lacy underwear to go with the shoes he would have been happy for her to wear to bed. She could have pole-danced for him and he would still resist the urge to kiss her.
‘Whatever you tell yourself to help you sleep at night.’
When the echoed words led directly to the memory of the unspoken questions in her eyes, he pushed his body harder in the last block of a five mile run. She’d hit a nerve but there was no way she could know he wasn’t sleeping. Or that he was sick of waking up bathed in a cold sweat, his throat raw from yelling. It had to stop before he did something stupid in work again or was forced to look for another apartment. He would damn well make it stop.
But distracting himself from the problem with thoughts of Jorja Dawson’s breasts wasn’t the way to go about it.
Slowing his pace to a walk, he shouldered his way into a busy coffee shop and pushed back the hood on his sweatshirt. After placing his order, he looked around while he waited for it to arrive, his gaze discovering a woman sitting alone by the windows. It was exactly what he needed: another woman.
Questioning if he was forming a fetish, he started his assessment with her shoes—a pair of simple black patent heels with open toes—before he moved up the legs crossed elegantly beneath the table to a fitted skirt that hugged her like a second skin. Nice. Continuing upwards, he was rewarded with a glimpse of curved breast between the lapels of a crisp white blouse as she turned in her seat. Then his gaze took in the smooth twist of dark hair at the nape of her neck in the kind of up-do that begged to be unpinned so she could shake her hair loose. She was even wearing a pair of small, rectangular-framed reading glasses to complete the fantasy.
But when she turned again, he shook his head. Used to be a time he was better at sensing the presence of the enemy.
She looked up at him when he stopped for a paper napkin at the condiment station beside her. ‘Are you kidding me?’
‘I can’t buy a cup of coffee now?’
‘You can buy it somewhere else.’
‘This is the closest coffee shop.’
‘You can have the one two blocks down. This one is mine.’ She returned her attention to her computer screen. ‘It’s my work space every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning.’
‘I must have missed the notice on the door,’ Daniel said as he pulled out the chair facing her and sat down. He smirked when she scowled at him. ‘Good morning.’
After an attempt to continue what she was doing while he looked through the window at the steady build of people headed to their offices, she sighed. ‘You’re going to be here every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, aren’t you?’
‘Not a morning person, I take it.’
‘This is your plan?’ She arched a brow when he looked at her. ‘You’re going to be there every time I turn around until you wear me down and I move? Wow … that’s …’
‘Effective?’
‘I was going to say adolescent. I can’t tell you how reassuring it is to know the city is in the hands of such a mature example of the New York Police Department.’
When her fingers began to move across the keyboard again, Daniel realized he didn’t have the faintest idea what she did for a living. He wondered why. Hadn’t needed to know was the simple answer. Though it did kind of beg the question of why it was he needed to know now.
Know your enemy and know yourself and you could fight a hundred battles, as the saying went. With that in mind he took a short breath. ‘So what is it you do anyway?’
She didn’t look up from the screen. ‘It’s the first time you’ve been tempted to ask that question?’
‘I don’t have a newspaper to pass the time.’
‘They’re on a stand by the door.’
‘It’s an internet thing, isn’t it?’
Long lashes lifted behind her glasses. ‘Meaning?’
‘You’re one of those people who reports their every move every five minutes so the universe can know how much time they spend doing laundry.’
‘Yes, that’s the only thing people use the internet for these days.’ She reached for her coffee. ‘It’s because working online isn’t a physical job, right? Anyone who isn’t lifting heavy objects or doing something with their hands instantly earns a low ranking on your Neanderthal scale of the survival of the fittest.’
‘You might want to slow down on the caffeine intake. I think you’re close to the legal limit already.’
Setting the cup down, she breathed deep and went back to work. ‘I write a blog.’
‘You can earn a living doing that?’
‘Among other things,’ she replied.
‘What’s it about?’
‘Don’t you have somewhere you need to be?’
‘Nope.’
‘Fine, then. I can play the “get to know me better” game until you get bored and leave. It shouldn’t take long with your attention span.’ Lifting her coffee again, she leaned back in her chair and looked him straight in the eye. ‘I work for a fashion magazine and as part of my job I write a daily blog on the latest trends and the kind of things twenty-something women might find interesting.’
‘You’re as deep as a shallow puddle, aren’t you?’
‘Not everything is about the meaning of life. Sometimes it’s more about living it. For some people that means finding joy in the little things.’
‘Like spending money on the kind of clothes that will put them in debt?’
‘Like wearing things that make them feel good.’ She shrugged a narrow shoulder. ‘I assume it’s how someone like you feels when they wear their uniform of choice.’
‘I don’t wear a uniform as a fashion statement.’
‘You’re saying you don’t feel good when you wear it?’
‘It’s a matter of pride in what I do.’
‘And doesn’t that make you feel good about yourself?’
She was smart, but that he’d known. Trouble was she wasn’t entirely right. ‘It’s not as simple as that.’
When her head tilted at an obviously curious angle, he lounged back in his chair. Since she’d given him the opening with the topic of conversation, he openly checked her out. ‘I take it the librarian look is in vogue now.’
‘It’s better than the mugger ensemble you’re wearing.’
Lowering his chin, he ran a large palm over the faded U.S.M.C. lettering on his chest. ‘I’ve had this since basic training. It has sentimental value.’
‘Wouldn’t that suggest you have a heart?’
‘Bit difficult to walk around without one.’
‘As difficult as it is to survive without sleep?’
Daniel stared at her without blinking.
‘Thin walls …’ she said in a soft tone that smacked too much of sympathy for his liking before she shrugged. ‘Try falling asleep without the television on, you might get more benefit from the traditional eight hours—especially if you’re watching something with that much yelling in it. What was it—horror flick of the week?’
‘You’re worried about me again? That’s sweet.’ Feeling sick to his stomach at how close he’d been to humiliation, he got to his feet. ‘Now I know you spend your nights with a glass pressed to the wall I’ll try and find something on the nature channel with whale song in it.’ When his trip to the door was halted by the brush of cool fingers against his hand, he looked down at her. ‘What?’
Dropping her arm, she avoided his gaze and shook her head. ‘Forget it.’
‘You got something to say, spit it out.’ He checked his watch. ‘I have an appointment with my boss in an hour.’
The statement lifted her chin again. ‘Because of what happened yesterday?’
‘Hardly the first time I’ve had my ass hauled across the coals for breaking the rules.’
‘You saved a man’s life.’ She shrugged her shoulders and looked away. ‘I’m sure that counts for something.’
She was reassuring him?
‘Not that you don’t deserve it for doing something so asinine,’ she added. ‘You could have placed other members of your team in danger.’
That was more like it. It was also pretty much exactly what he expected to have yelled at him in an hour. ‘We all do what we gotta do when the situation calls for it.’ He lowered his voice. ‘You should know that better than most.’
She looked up at him from the corner of her eye. ‘And there you go thinking you know me again.’
‘Did it ever occur to you that you don’t make it easy for people to do that?’
‘People who want to make an effort.’
‘And how many tests do they have to pass before you talk to them like they have an IQ higher than a rock?’
‘Stupid is as stupid does,’ she replied with a smile.
‘I take it back. If you’re quoting Forrest Gump at me you obviously need more caffeine.’ He placed an apologetic look on his face. ‘I’d get you some before I leave but I’m not allowed to buy coffee here.’
‘You’re the most irritating person I’ve ever met.’
‘See you later, babe.’ ‘Not if I see you first.’
‘Still rusty.’
He shook his head. ‘Keep practising.’
‘How’s the challenge coming along?’
‘Hmm?’ Jo blinked at her erstwhile roomie, a second night of interrupted sleep catching up with her.
He must have moved his bed after the conversation in the coffee shop. The yelling had been further away but, like the first time, when it came it was torture. She doubted anyone could hear a human being in that much pain and not feel the effect of it emotionally.
‘The challenge the magazine gave you?’ Jess prompted. ‘The one where you wear outfits from the centre pages to discover if different images change how people see you? I’m assuming that’s why you look like a French onion seller today. Not that the beret doesn’t work for you.’
Yes, she liked the beret. It was the kind of thing she’d have chosen herself, especially when it had a little touch of France to it. But since she wasn’t supposed to wear anything the magazine hadn’t chosen for her …
Lowering her chin, she idly rearranged the crumbs on her plate with the prongs of her fork. Wasn’t as if he would tell her what had caused the nightmare if she asked him, was it? That part of not pushing the subject she got. Where it began to get weird started with the fact she hadn’t felt the need to talk it through with his sister. His family cared about him. If he was struggling with something that happened when he was overseas they would want to help in any way possible. Not that he would make it easy. Trouble was she couldn’t forget how the colour drained from his face when he’d thought she knew.
