Been There Done That (Leffersbee #1) - Hope Ellis Page 0,87

lost pets, and advertised work sites for day laborers.

“It hasn’t changed.” He gave a short bark of harsh laughter. “None of it. Seems like nothing changed around here.”

I eyed the board, unsure of how to proceed. “I’m not sure if that’s exactly true. But I’m hardly qualified to judge. I’ve been back a while.”

He turned in a slow circle, taking in the arteries of hallways branching off the main corridor. “It feels the same. Looks the same. It’s like stepping back in time.”

Observing the rigid set of his massive shoulders, I sought to bring levity to the moment. “Oh, so you’re saying you remember dropping a whole plate of brisket on this very spot when we were in middle school?”

The tension around his eyes relaxed. He advanced toward me, only stopping when he was so close I had to crane my neck up to see past his whisker-covered jaw. A knowing smile sat on his lips as he captured an escaped curl at my temple, sliding it slowly through his fingers. I didn’t want to back away. I wanted to step forward, into him, to rest my breasts against the solid wall of his chest.

I was a smart woman. A thinking woman. A take-no-shit woman.

And my hormones were betraying me in the fight for my dignity.

We who are about to die salute you.

“Are you referring to the incident in which a certain person jostled my arm and knocked said plate to the floor?”

He was so close. Greedily, I inhaled clean skin, expensive musk.

I shook my head, swallowed back a smile. “That’s not how I recall it.”

“Of course that isn’t how you recall it.” His hand released the curl. His arm dropped, but those green eyes stayed on my mine. “We had a lot of firsts in this building, didn’t we?”

My heart tripped into a dangerous rhythm. I looked away.

“We did.”

Oh Lord.

Celeste Solange Leffersbee, you will stop your slobbering right now.

He smirked down at me as if he knew exactly what Celeste was up to.

Was I breathing fast?

“Which one of these rooms did you fall in? Opened up a whole gash on your chin. Didn’t someone pass out from the sight of all the blood?”

I grinned, releasing a pent-up breath as I took a single, life-preserving step backwards.

Away from temptation.

Celeste whimpered.

“Thirteen stitches, thank you very much. The guitar player propped up the bass player.” I lifted my chin, proudly showed off the scar underneath. “Men. So weak.”

“God, you were a menace then.” Pure appreciation shone in those wicked eyes. “You’re even worse now.”

“I do what I can. I like to keep people on their toes.”

He closed the space between us. I jumped when his fingers slid between mine until our palms met. “I’m glad you’re here, you know.”

Danger. Danger. “Okay.”

“Mr. Rossi?”

A young woman approached, almost running in sky high heels and a formfitting suit. Her hands were pressed into anxious fists.

“Mr. Rossi. Here you are.”

I smiled at her hushed, worshipful tone, half-expecting her to genuflect. Her blue eyes widened as she chewed on her lip.

Nick frowned, slid his hands from mine.

Why the hell had we been holding hands?

“Samantha.” Nick nodded to the woman. His tone was formal, professional. “Are we about ready?”

“Yes,” she chirped, and I saw she was actually wringing her hands now. “They’ve already started, actually.”

“I’d better go, than.” I attempted to walk past Nick, but his hand shot up and caught me, rested right against my stomach, slowing my progress.

My not-flat stomach.

“Where are you going? Samantha, this is Dr. Zora Leffersbee. She’s been kind enough to consult with us during the developmental process.”

“Call me Zora.”

“Oh!” She pumped my hand enthusiastically. “Nice to finally meet you in person. We’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

“Samantha heads our San Francisco-based R&D team. She’s running point with Marketing at the university.”

We nodded at each other like marionettes, neither of us finding anything else to say.

I glanced up at Nick and found him watching me with an odd expression.

“Dr. Leffersbee and I grew up together in this town.”

Her eyes widened. “Really? You grew up here?”

Nick and I both laughed at the incredulity in her voice.

“Yes, he did.” I laughed. “Hard as it may be to believe now.”

“I’m sure it’s very nice,” she said, already back-tracking to the auditorium door. “It’s certainly very pretty.”

“Everything is handled,” Nick said to her, and it wasn’t a question; it was a statement.

“Yes. There’s a live feed in the next room where we’ll all sit since we don’t have two-way glass. It will all