it happened, that was the reason he’d come by. To apologize. “The woman who showed up at my place last night said she knocked on your door by mistake. I’m really sorry about that. I had no idea she planned to come over.” He flashed her a playful grin. “Any chance you were still awake at the time, so I can feel like less of a jerk here?”
Her eyes were a warm chocolate brown, framed by thick lashes. “Dead asleep.”
Damn.
“Ah. Well, I promise that won’t happen again.” Last night, he’d had a nice but honest conversation with Charlotte in which he’d made it clear that they were not looking for the same thing. She’d apologized for dropping by uninvited, and had sheepishly joked about feeling like she was in college again, using alcohol to make her bolder when it came to men and inevitably making the wrong decisions. And Ford got that—she certainly wasn’t the first person to make a bad decision while drinking. But seeing how that definitely wasn’t a situation he wanted to get dragged deeper into, he’d called her a cab, waited with her downstairs to make sure she got in safely, and wished her well when he’d said good-bye.
Figuring the less said about that awkward topic, the better, he focused instead on the woman standing in front of him—the very cute and seemingly single woman with whom he shared a bedroom wall. He held out his hand to make the introduction official. “Your name is Victoria, right? I hear you’re a divorce lawyer.”
She nodded as she slid her hand into his. “I run a family law firm here in the city.”
Interesting—her own firm. He knew her last name was Slade from the mailbox next to his, so he made a mental note to Google her later. “Let me guess. You’re off to squeeze in some work right now.” He pointed to her laptop bag and winked. “I have several friends who are lawyers, so I know the drill. You guys are always working.”
“Actually, I was just heading out to do some work.” She stepped into the hallway, putting them very close to one another as she turned and locked her front door.
“So how do you like the building so far?” Ford asked conversationally.
She turned to face him once again. “Oh, like any place, it has its positives and negatives.”
Perhaps he was reading her wrong, but he got the distinct impression from her pointed look that she was including him in this assessment.
So . . . he was one of the “positives,” was he?
Suddenly, he had a feeling that Victoria the Divorce Lawyer or Something was going to be a great addition to the building.
He stepped a little closer, his tone teasing. “If you’re on the fence, you obviously haven’t seen all the building has to offer. I mean, you really haven’t lived until you’ve experienced the wonder that is our common storage room.”
That got a slight smile out of her. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Just be sure to watch out for the guy in 4B,” he warned.
That caught her attention. “Why? What’s wrong with the guy in 4B?”
“He’s a borrower,” Ford whispered. “Pots, vacuum cleaners, stepladders, heck, the guy’s even got two patio chairs of mine. And you’ll never see it again, except maybe on eBay.” He paused, sensing that he had her hooked. “But that’s nothing compared to the people in 3A.”
She waited. “What’s the situation with the people in 3A?”
“Long story. I should probably fill you in over coffee sometime.”
It took her a half second, and then she smiled. “Ah . . . I see what you did there. That’s pretty clever, sneaking in the coffee invite that way.”
He grinned, guilty as charged. “So, is that a yes?”
“No.”
Ford waited for the punch line. Kidding!
Then he waited some more.
And . . . now this was getting a little awkward.
He cocked his head, seeing no reason not to be direct. “Sorry, but last Friday at the bar, I thought we had a vibe going.”
“We did.” Her tone was surprisingly pleasant for someone who’d just rejected a guy without a second thought. “But unfortunately, I’m not interested in joining the cavalcade.”
“The cavalcade?” No clue what that meant.
“Of women coming in and out of your place.”
He smiled, because, well, that was a bit of an exaggeration. Obviously, he needed to clear the air here. “That cavalcade. Look, I’m not sure what you—”
She held up her hand. “Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against casual dating. I’m a