Chances Are - By Christy Reece Page 0,7
and if not for McCall’s voice on the intercom telling her to send Jake up, he would have gone for it—and most likely regretted it for the rest of his life.
Grateful that the freezing temperatures seemed to have stiffened his resolve, Jake pushed the door open. The instant he saw her beautiful face, every frozen part of his body was instantly heated. And the most frustrating thing was, Angela made no secret of her attraction to him. That kiss he’d been so tempted to give her the other day would have been reciprocated, of that Jake had no doubt. But what was also obvious was her innocence and vulnerability. Beneath that tough-girl persona, he’d seen the gentle, caring heart of Angela Delvecchio. A heart that could be crushed by some cruel bastard’s uncaring selfishness. Dammed if he would be that man.
Exotic dark eyes gleamed up at him. “Bonjour, Monsieur Sunshine.”
Figuring he looked like an ominous thundercloud, Jake grimaced a smile. “Sorry. Need coffee. Spent my morning catching a mouse and haven’t had any caffeine yet.”
Her pretty nose scrunched up. “You need to find a nicer place to live.”
“Can’t argue with that.”
“Deidre just made a fresh batch of coffee.”
“Thanks. I’ll grab a cup after I see McCall.”
He could swear her eyes flickered with secrets at his comment. Which was damn odd—Angela was the most open person he’d ever known.
“Something wrong?” Jake asked.
Silky black hair swished around slender shoulders as she shook her head. “Have a good meeting. I’m running some errands, so I won’t be back today. I’ll be late tomorrow, too. And then I won’t—”
Jake held up his hand to stop her. “I gotta get up to McCall’s office. Let’s talk later. Want to meet for coffee? Say around four?”
Her eyes went wide at the invitation but instead of agreeing, she gave another quick shake of her head. “No thanks, too much to do.”
Before he could respond, she pressed a button to open the elevator for him. Another oddity. It was against protocol. All employees had to verify their identity by pressing a sensor key on the elevator. And usually she went out of her way to keep him talking for as long as possible. He told himself he wasn’t bothered by her eagerness to get rid of him.
She turned her back to him. “See you later.”
Frowning, Jake walked onto the elevator and waited impatiently as it shot to the tenth floor. What the hell did he think he was doing asking her for coffee anyway? That was going down a path he’d sworn he would avoid. Stupid didn’t even begin to describe his rashness. For a man who wasn’t known for impulse, that’d been a dumb-ass thing to do.
He’d done his best to keep their relationship on a friendly basis, but he was coming to the realization that it wasn’t going to work. Being friends with someone you wanted to strip naked wasn’t possible.
At that insane thought, arousal rose swift and urgent. Dammit, walking into McCall’s office with a hard-on wasn’t exactly a good idea. Gritting his teeth, he concentrated on everything but Angela.
The elevator door opened. Relieved that he’d been successful in dampening his desire, he strode to his boss’s office. He’d table the self-castigation until after his meeting. Hopefully a new assignment would get him out of town, might even get him out of the country.
He knocked on McCall’s door and then opened it at the gruff “Come in.”
The LCR leader stood behind his desk, looking out the giant picture window. When Jake entered, he turned and nodded at one of the leather chairs in front of his desk. “Have a seat.”
McCall wasn’t known for his cheerfulness but the man’s grim features seemed even more austere than usual.
“What’s up?”
“You and Angela seem to have a good rapport.”
Jake frowned. Where the hell had that come from? Mentally shrugging, he said, “Yes, I guess we do.”
“She’s still very vulnerable from the loss of her family.”
His frown turned to a scowl. “I’m aware of that.” That had been one of his main concerns when Angela made it known she would be open to something more than friendship between them. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt someone who’d already been hurt so much.
“She seems to think a lot of you.”
Puzzled and getting slightly pissed, Jake said bluntly, “Want to tell me what the hell you’re getting at, McCall?”
As if Jake hadn’t spoken, the man continued, “Angela started working for LCR when she was seventeen years old. She’s like