no idea where we’re going. That’s why I thought I’d leave it here and let you drive the Toyota.”
“I’ll take good care of it,” Herb said eagerly. “Is it okay if I move it to your spot, Dr. Michaels?”
“By all means, we wouldn’t want to blind someone coming down that ramp.” She gave him her car keys. “Just park my Toyota on the street and position Lynch’s car wherever you want. I have to go see my friend Olivia. I should be down in ten minutes.”
“I’ll take care of it.” His hand was still caressing the Lamborghini. “I’ll keep an eye on it all day, Mr. Lynch.”
“And it will be,” Kendra said as she got on the elevator. “He’s so besotted I doubt if he’ll do anything but gaze at the damn thing all day.”
“You never did appreciate the wonders of fine mechanical workmanship.” He punched the button. “Who is him?”
“What?”
“When you were on the phone, you said you had to get rid of him. Who is him?”
She blinked. She’d never thought he’d make that assumption. What the hell, why not go with it? She shrugged. “I guess I should have told you this before, but I have a roommate now. A male roommate.”
“Really? You’ve only been back for a few days.”
“I work fast.”
“Obviously.” He studied her expression. “You’re trying to make me jealous, aren’t you?”
“That would be childish and I pride myself on being an adult. He absolutely adores me. When I’m away, he spends the entire day just rolling around on the floor and moaning.”
“Aw, that’s nice. You’ve finally given Metcalf a chance?”
“Stop it. It’s not Metcalf.”
“That crazy guy at the end of your street who bums for change while singing bad show tunes?”
“No. My roommate’s actually very sweet. He likes to lick my face and neck.”
Lynch leaned in close. “Well, that has potential for being erotic. If that’s what you’re into, you should have told me before we—”
“And his breath smells like sour liver.”
“Are you sure we aren’t talking about Metcalf?”
“Ugly. Do you want to meet him?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I want to meet this moaning, face-licking, halitosis-ridden rival for your affections?”
“He’s with Olivia at the moment.”
Lynch nodded approvingly. “He gets around. I’m starting to like him.”
She was suddenly tired of playing this game. She gave a half shrug. “I’m not sure if he’ll like you. At least not at first.”
Lynch dismissively waved his hand. “Come on, everyone likes me.”
“You’re right, they do.” She added coolly, “Until they get to know you.”
“Even after they get to know me. Admit it.”
She met his eyes. “All that means is you’re really good at fooling people.”
“No, it means you may need to realign your perception of me.”
“Hardly. No one really knows you, but I thought I knew you better than most, Lynch.”
“You did, Kendra,” he said quietly. “You do.”
“Until you suddenly turned around and I found I didn’t know you at all.”
“You don’t believe that or you wouldn’t have let me back in the door today. No one knows everything about a person, because everything around us keeps changing. Then we have to decide if we want to change, too, or accept that we can’t go down that path.” He smiled faintly. “You’ve been growing and changing ever since the day I met you, and I’ve welcomed every single one.”
“Well, I didn’t welcome that change you pulled on me in Afghanistan.”
“I had a reason, but we’ll both have to decide if it will prove to be a good one in the long run. I’ll definitely have to think about that.”
“Don’t think anything. If Adam Lynch suddenly engages in any meaningful self-reflection, the Earth may spin off its axis.”
His lips quirked. “I wouldn’t want to be responsible for that.”
“Of course not.” The elevator slid open at Olivia’s floor and they started to walk down the hall toward her condo. “Fortunately, I have the perfect thing to take your mind off it.”
An unearthly half moan, half roar echoed toward them from the direction of Olivia’s door.
Lynch froze. “What was that?”
Kendra rapped on Olivia’s door. “New roommate.”
Olivia unlocked the door and opened it. “Finally. Our friend didn’t like that you tossed him in with so little ceremony.” She cocked her head. “Hello, Lynch. Welcome home.”
Kendra knew she’d most likely identified him by his Ambre Topkapi aftershave.
“Hi, Olivia. Good to see you.”
At that moment, Harley muscled Olivia out of the way and hurled himself at Kendra. He raised himself on his hind legs, slapped two large