No need to open a single envelope if I didn’t have the money. Right?
Living like this, one paycheck from homelessness, was no way to live. There had to be a better way, besides marrying a man with tons of money and becoming completely dependent upon him.
Wishing to distract myself from thoughts I wasn’t ready to explore, I remoted on the TV.
I was rewarded with a blank blue screen.
My gaze hopped back to the unopened envelopes.
“Oh well,” I said on a sigh. My cable had been cut off. No big deal. I’d lived without cable before. I’d lived without a lot of things before. It wouldn’t be for long.
I clicked off the TV and changed my clothes. Once I was all prettied up for my date with Shane, I padded into my living room, barefoot.
I’d actually finished getting ready early. That was a first.
I sat and stared at the door. Then I stared at the wall. And then I stared at the bookshelf.
Ugh. This living-without-cable thing was no fun.
I grabbed my laptop and powered it up. I could kill some time by checking in with some friends on Facebook.
No connection.
I checked my modem. The red lights were all glaring at me.
Crap.
I had one of those bundle deals. No cable meant no internet either.
Just for kicks, I scanned for wireless networks, thinking I might borrow a neighbor’s internet. Theirs were all secured with passwords.
So much for that.
I grunted with frustration. And determination.
Soon. It would all be back soon.
My cable.
My internet.
My stability.
* * * * *
Shane knocked on my door at exactly four o’clock. Not a second earlier. Not a second later. Shane lived by the clock. He was never late. Never. I liked that about him.
I liked a lot of other things about him too. Like how he made me burn when he touched me. And how his mouth possessed mine when he kissed me.
The second he was in my door, his arm was wrapped around my waist. He hauled me into his arms and slanted his mouth across mine. The kiss was more than a greeting. It was a promise. A promise of a lot of wonderful things to come. When the kiss was over, I was wobbly and dizzy and ready to tell him to forget about dinner.
He gave me no chance, however. “Let’s go.” His gaze flicked to my empty hands. “Purse?”
“Right here.” I pointed at the table next to the door. The one loaded down with unpaid bills.
“We’re going to be late.” Stepping aside, he waited for me to get my purse and then motioned for me to precede him out the door. I twisted the lock on the doorknob before stepping out. Shane pulled the door shut behind him, and tested it. The knob rattled. The door shook. “You should have a better lock on this door, Bristol. A two year old could break into your place with a hairpin.”
“The building’s doors are locked too. A bad guy would need to get through those first. Besides, I can’t remember the last time there was a break-in in this area. It’s very safe.”
He shook his head. “No place is completely safe.”
Yes, there were times when dating a controlling, alpha male became a little trying on the nerves. “I’ll look into adding a deadbolt if it’ll make you feel better.”
“Thank you. Yes. It would. I’ll have a locksmith out ASAP to install it.”
Ah, my overbearing boyfriend was at it again, solving my problems for me. My pride stung a little. It should be me paying the locksmith to install the lock on my door. Should be. But at the moment I didn’t have the money. And I knew he would harass me endlessly until I had the work done.
I put up a sign of resistance, “You don’t have to—“
“I know.” He held the building’s main door for me. “You aren’t upset with me, for stepping in again, are you? I realize I’m being a little selfish. I want to keep you safe for my own purposes.”
His own purposes. For some reason those three words made me smile. “You aren’t being selfish.”
“You say that, but I don’t believe you mean it.” He pulled me into his arms, and I immediately forgot what we had been talking about. “Forgive me.”
“You’re forgiven.”
He kissed me again. This kiss was exactly like the first. It was a gentle, seductive promise and it made my head spin and my heart thump and my knees weaken. But all too soon it ended and I was clinging to him, trying to catch my breath.
Sounding a little breathless too, he uttered, “If we don’t stop this now, we’re not going to make it to dinner.”
I couldn’t help giggling. Normally I wasn’t a giggly type of girl. But Shane’s kisses sometimes made me that way. “And whose fault would that be?”
“Not mine.”
“Oh, really?”
“It’s most definitely your fault. For looking so damn beautiful. And sexy. And…” He growled. “Perfect.” Moving suddenly, he grabbed my hand and charged down the walkway, heading toward his car. I trotted along beside him, smiling. Maybe he was a bit bossy, but when it came to me he did have a weakness.
And I thoroughly enjoyed knowing that.
Chapter 2
Up to this point it had been such a nice night. The appetizers had been delicious. The service had been excellent. And the company had been, as always, delightful.
Had been.
Past tense.
Things changed dramatically when she showed up and invited herself to join us.
I’m referring to Alexis.
The first time I met Alexis, I’d learned she had some very troubling ideas about her relationship with Shane. Specifically, she believed she would someday be Shane’s wife. Shortly after that first face-to-face meeting, I caught Shane and her looking cozy at a restaurant. Of course, I jumped to conclusions. I thought the worst. But Shane later explained they were meeting to discuss a charity event. He was able to convince me that he had no interest in pursuing a romantic relationship with Alexis. But I wasn’t stupid enough to think she’d given up trying to convince Shane that she would make a better girlfriend than I did.
The fact that she was gorgeous, like Shane, and rich, like Shane, and had some kind of history with him sure didn’t make me feel any better about the situation. Neither did Shane’s willingness to allow her to interrupt what had been a perfectly wonderful date tonight.
“Thank you so much for inviting me to join you. I was positively horrified when Robert called to cancel at the last minute,” Alexis said while batting false eyelashes at my date.
I wondered if she hadn’t planned this whole thing. Maybe there had been no Robert. Maybe she’d learned, somehow, where Shane was taking me and…okay, maybe I was becoming a little paranoid.