For Seven Nights Only - Sarah Ballance Page 0,7
shirt as he did without a shirt at all. The material settled in all the right places, leaving him tantalizingly out of view without making a mystery of what lay below the fabric. The flashback of him standing soaked and shirtless hadn’t left her side all night, but now it amped up to levels of harassment.
He cleared his throat.
She hitched her eyes upward, hoping the heat that flooded her face wasn’t evident. Judging by the sexy tilt of his lips, she guessed no such luck. Flaming hotter now, she grabbed her keys and phone and tucked them in her pockets before picking up the coffee and gesturing ahead, suggesting he should vacate her doorway.
And if she was smart, her life. Because surely he had something better to do on Friday night than rescue her. From what little she knew of his type, that he’d been available to do the rescuing at all struck her as odd.
“What were you doing alone last night?” she asked as they headed down the hall.
On cue, a bombshell brunette stepped into the hall and gave Sawyer the kind of long, slow look that could only mean one thing. And he, the jerk, actually turned his head to stare as they passed by.
Kelsie elbowed him.
He lazily returned his attention to her. “You assume I was. Alone, that is.”
What an unbelievable ass. “I assume you didn’t leave someone downstairs tied to your bed while you ran up to have dinner with me.”
“In fairness, a ceiling headed for a cave-in isn’t exactly something one deals with later. And for the record, I don’t know if I’d call that dinner,” he said as he pressed the button for the elevator. “More of a near-death experience.”
She glared. Sort of. In truth, she’d only attempted to cook because after a couple of weeks of online communication, she’d thought Brian could be a keeper and wanted to impress him. So much for that.
As they stepped into the elevator, he asked, “What were you doing inviting a guy you’d never met to your apartment, anyway?”
“He’s a friend of a friend,” she muttered. Which was technically true, and more than Sawyer needed to know.
Marmaduke balked at the door, so she reached with her foot and gently lifted him under his belly to move him across the threshold before depositing him on the floor between her and Sawyer.
“Some vetting you have there,” he said, poking the button for the lobby.
“Excuse me? You’re one to talk about vetting with all those strays you bring home.”
He stared at her, utterly wounded. Or faking it, anyway. “Those are all lovely, talented young women.”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t think I want to know what they’re talented at.”
He just smiled and shook his head.
“So,” she said, “why were you alone on a Friday night?” And why did she insist on pursuing that topic? It wasn’t as if she cared. To the contrary, she didn’t care in the least to hear what—or who—he’d done after he’d left her apartment.
He gave an exaggerated sigh. “Turns out I’ve already slept with every woman in New York City.” Brilliant green eyes focused on her, he added, “Except one.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not your type.” And she wasn’t, so that funny little flutter in her stomach could just shut up. If nothing else, this experiment had taught her that she really needed to get out more. There was no way this arrogant jerk should have her all twisted inside.
They exited the elevator into the lobby and headed onto the sidewalk. The air was cool enough for the sun to feel good, so she tipped back her face and briefly basked in it, only to catch Sawyer staring at her. “What?” she asked.
“You’re pretty when you smile.”
“Thank you.” She paused, then shot him another look. He’d caught her off guard with his seemingly honest compliment, but he was a player, no doubt playing his game as a reflex. “You do realize this is about you giving me tips on attracting a man, and not about you trying to attract me?”
“I’m not trying, sweetheart. But now that you mention it”—he snagged her elbow and gently pulled her out of the flow of sidewalk traffic, Marmaduke trotting behind—“part of attracting a guy is having confidence.” As he spoke, he maneuvered her against the wall, propping his coffee-holding arm beside her and leaning treacherously close until she could feel the heat of his skin.
“Lesson number one,” he said. “There’s not a man alive who won’t fall