[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

crawl under her favorite soft throw. She d go shopping for a daybed soon enough, but
until then, her air mattress would do just fine.
She was not a princess. She was a survivor, and she and Divine would make it.
Smiling at her new sense of resolve, she turned on her phone and saw she had two new
voice mails. Great. Probably her mom with a fresh guilt trip. She d been bugging Alexa to
go shopping with her, and Alexa knew she d only be able to put her off for so long. As if
she had spare money to shop. But she could make the time and she would.
 Hi, Alexa, this is Patty. I hoped you d be available so I didn t have to leave a message,
but I ll just say it straight out. I got the mail today and there was an overdue rent notice.
Fabulous. Having her new designer see yet another overdue notice was not good. God,
she d thought she d paid enough last month to make a dent in the amount she was
behind. And she d pay more just as soon as the money from the sale of her house arrived.
 I like you a lot and I enjoy my job, but I was offered a position at Value Hardware and
I took it. I hope you understand. I wish you all the best 
Alexa clicked off. After checking the other message and determining that it was her
father who d called with the guilt trip this time rather than her mother he d fretted ever
since she d announced she was moving into the  rat trap above Divine she tossed her
phone aside.
Her dad could worry about the nonexistent rats and Patty could show up or not in the
morning. It didn t really matter.
She was fucked.
She d believed, wrongly it seemed, that her house closing would be the lowlight of her
month. Maybe even year. Then she d experienced some sparks with a guy who hadn t
been able to get out of her place fast enough. He probably thought she was just one
shade above destitute and therefore too much trouble.
Not that Dillon s opinion mattered. They didn t know each other. It wasn t as if she was
looking for a boyfriend, just a lover. Someone to hold her for a little while, to remind her
she was a woman.
Now this.
Clearly the universe intended to make sure she got its message. And that message
was: you suck.
Swallowing hard, she reached for her wine and downed the cup in a few sips. She
looked around her apartment, still in a state of disarray, boxes and suitcases everywhere,
and jumped to her feet. Uh-uh. She couldn t stay locked up in here tonight, staring at the
silver streaks of rain just beginning to slip down the windows. If she didn t get some air
and some perspective, she d lose what was left of her mind.
She went into the bathroom and freshened her makeup, though she had no idea where
she was going to go. Hitting a bar sounded about as appealing as staying home. Nellie
and Jake were probably halfway through a welcome home celebration. Double ick.
Occasionally on nice nights after work, she d escape upstairs to the roof, just to check
out the sunset. It was so quiet up there, and the expansive view somehow helped put her
chaotic mind at ease. But she hadn t been up there in months no sunset could soothe
what ailed her now and it was raining. Still, even sitting out in a nice, warm rain was
better than sweating to death in her stiflingly hot apartment. Anything was.
She glanced down at her simple black sleeveless sheath dress. Yeah, that wouldn t
work. Good thing she d bought a pair of shorts for moving. Since she d moved into Dante s
Inferno, she had a feeling she d be buying more.
Five minutes later, after changing into her cutoff shorts and a tight tank top she usually
wore to bed, she retied her braid and grabbed her purse. The sound of the rain was now
a steady patter, much heavier than it had been even a few minutes ago.
Maybe this wasn t such a good idea. Then again, did she have any better ones?
She followed the bend in the hallway to the roof access point she d discovered about a
year earlier when she d first explored the building. Her insatiable curiosity had led her to
the partially open door, held open with a doorstop to provide additional airflow to the top
floor on a sweltering summer day. Unsurprisingly the door was cracked again, held open
with that same heavy doorstop. Rain spattered through the opening.
Nerves crawled up her spine. Was someone up there? She glanced down at her
unrestrained chest. Should she have worn a bra?
Screw it. This was a safe building. She d worked in it for years with no problems.
Despite her father s concerns about rats, there was nothing to fear, animal or human.
Right.
She toed aside the doorstop and stepped onto the narrow staircase. Her gaze swung to
the top of the stairs as someone stepped into the space, blocking the remaining light.
The door behind her swung shut.
Chapter Three
 Who s up there?
From the top of the stairs, Dillon didn t speak. He d seen Alexa s face in the flash of
light from the hallway, but up on the roof it was pretty damn dark, hence her confusion.
He didn t have any, though. She d been on his mind all frigging day, and seeing her
again when he d finally started to focus on work  all right, not really really pissed him
off.
Other, less discriminating parts of him weren t quite so irritated.
What was she doing up here? And why hadn t he noticed her car pull up? He d passed
her in the parking lot when he d come back with her part, and he d decided to wait
around for a couple hours to see if she returned rather than letting himself in her place to [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]