CHAPTER TWELVE    As soon as I acquiesced, Ezra rose from the chair he’d been sitting in. He held a hand down to me. I took his fingers and had to bite the inside of my lip at the thrill that raced through me when his warm touch made contact with mine. Not even glancing down at all the dust no doubt covering my slacks, I continued to gaze into Ezra’s blue-blue eyes as I brushed my knees clean.His smile widened as if he thought my antics were amusing. He kept staring into my eyes and holding my hand as he started toward the exit of Brick’s office.My stepbrother was still on the phone when we entered the hall. He paused talking, and dropped one end of the cell from his mouth so he could rubberneck, his shocked gaze darting from our clasped hands to our faces. I could only imagine how brightly my cheeks were glowing. It felt as if I were under a spell that made me unreasonably content.“Uh…” Brick said, his gaze narrowing on Ezra. “Where do yo

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN    I was still blue when I clocked out of work. It was the first time I actually got to use the JFI time clock to clock out, too. I should’ve been delighted about that alone. I was now a full-time employee at my father’s company. Woot-woot! It felt as if I’d already half reached my dreams. I could practically feel my father’s spirit grinning in pride. The sensation of that’s my girl seemed to shimmer through me as I left the office. I should’ve wanted to celebrate, rejoice.But my encounters with Ezra had left me more maudlin than festive. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d really hurt him. I knew talking to someone a total of maybe an hour and a half all together didn’t make us close or anything, but there’d been something between us, something that made me feel as if I’d always known him, as if my soul had seen his and said, oh, there you are.That was silly, I knew. But I still couldn’t shake the sense that I’d ruined ev

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN    I nodded. “Okay.”Talking sounded good.Figuring out the status of our relationship sounded even better.Squeezing Ezra’s hand, I looked up into his eyes. He nodded his approval, so I turned us down the sidewalk. Half a block later, I stopped and faced my building before drawing in a deep breath. “This is it.”He paused beside me, looking up at the crumbling brick walls and ancient cracked windows. Wincing at the big box window in the middle of the top floor that signaled my place, his expression morphed from dazed shock into horror. “You live here? This place looks like it should be condemned.”I rolled my eyes and hooked my arm through his. “Come on, it’s not that bad.” I encouraged him through the front door and grinned up at him, wiggling my eyebrows. “The elevator actually works now. Some mysterious, rich benefactor paid to get it fixed a couple months back. So, yay, we don’t have to walk four flights of stairs today

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN    I yelped my surprise, while across the room, Brick stood up from his chair, growling, “What the hell, man?”Another second passed, and then Ezra let go of my hair only to grasp my arm and help me back to my feet. “Sorry, sorry,” he gushed, his eyes full of contrite apology. “I just saw Elton walk by. I’m not sure what he was doing on the third floor. Are you okay? I can’t believe I just pushed you down without any warning. I’m such an ass.”Brick nudged him aside so he could get a look at me and check me over.I was fine. Totally fine, just surprised. To settle my nerves, I brushed at my knees and said to Ezra, “You think he was looking for me?”He didn’t have a chance to answer because Brick was too busy butting in. “Wait. We’re hiding from Elton now? Christopher Elton? Why?”I let out a sigh. Both men were a good head taller than me, and with them crowded so close, looking concerned, I felt a little overwhelmed. I took

  CHAPTER TWENTY    I almost expected Ezra to be waiting on me in my office when I arrived on Wednesday morning; I was that sure he’d choose us together than us apart. But I wasn’t disappointed—at least not too disappointed—when he was nowhere to be seen when I walked in. I still had faith he’d come through.Humming to myself, I booted up my computer, started the coffee, and then checked emails. I glanced over the portfolio we’d been working on yesterday, and scribbled down a few notes and ideas for revision before a yawning, grumbling Brick stumbled into the room.“Coffee,” he croaked.I hurried a mug to him, then stepped back so I could shake my head and whistle. “Wow, you look hungover.”“Not hungover,” he mumbled before sipping. After that first swallow, he sighed and closed his eyes as if relieved. “At least not hungover from alcohol.”“What else is there to be hungover from?” I asked, squinting, and suddenly feeling too naïve for my own