Page 21

“Of course you did.” I smile and she scowls at me. “But?”

“But my parents worked a lot, they said it wouldn't be fair or responsible to get a dog if we couldn't give it the love and attention it deserved. I guess looking back, they were right but at the time I was always so pissed at them.”

“And since you’ve moved out? Why have you not gotten one since?”

“I guess the same reason,” she says as her eyes trail off into the distance. “Taylor and I lived in a dorm room when we first moved here and from there we moved into that small one-bedroom. I’ve been working ten-hour days and her schedule is all over the place. It’s never been the right time. But one day.”

“One day huh?”

Camila smiles up at me, “Yeah. One day.”

CAMILA

As if someone just threw a blanket over the sun, the clouds roll in, dark and heavy. The sounds of puppies whining and jumping on crates intensify as volunteers begin packing up the park.

“Looks like it’s going to rain.” I wrap my arms around myself as thunder booms overhead. I follow Miles as we walk at a clipped pace out of the park.

We’re about two blocks away from the jeweler when thunder booms overhead and it begins to pour. Long fingers interlock with mine as Miles pulls me behind him and starts to run.

His strong arms pull me under an awning and the abrupt stop has me slamming into the side of his body. My hands wrap around his chest and back to steady myself. And even though we’ve both been running out in the cold rain his body somehow radiates heat. The solid ridges of his muscles flex beneath my fingertips and before I can embarrass myself any further I take a step back.

His breathing has slowed. “Here,” he says, starting to take off his jacket.

“No. I’m fine, really,” I say, shaking my head.

“Then come here.” He opens the flap suggesting I standinhis jacket.

At my hesitation, he raises his brows and jerks his head. “Please. Before you freeze to death.”

My teeth chatter as I step into his side again and embrace his warmth. With my head a good six inches below him he can’t see my eyes close as I inhale a deep pull of his fresh woodsy scent. It’s quickly become my new favorite smell. It’s inviting, calming even. But also so sexy at the same time. At this point, I must be huffing him because I’m completely lost in my own thoughts when his voice rumbles through his chest against the side of my face.

“I’m going out of town tomorrow.”

That pulls me from my weird sniffing trance. I tilt my body so I can look up at him but this puts me right in front of him and just this slight angle change feels way more intimate than it should.

The column of his neck works as his eyes focus down on me and he swallows. “Just a few days, I need a signature from a client. I’ll be back Tuesday.”

“Oh. Okay.” I’m aware of how disappointed I sound. So I quickly change to a more lighthearted tune. “That's a lot of work for one little signature.”

His eyes break contact with mine and land on my lips. We’re so close if I just popped up on my toes our mouths would meet. But I stay firmly planted on the ground and his eyes come back up to find mine again. “Well, we both know how important one little signature can be,” he says.

The sounds of water rush behind me and it could very well all be in my head, but it feels like he begrudgingly pulls his eyes away. I twist in his jacket to see Wills has pulled up. Our eyes connect once more before he pulls my hand into his and we walk out into the rain together again.

Miles

The crisp airfeels cooler on my sweat-soaked body. There isn't usually anything a 6 a.m. boxing session can't help me forget about, but as I take the elevator back up to my apartment, I’m still drowning in thoughts of Camila. I was itching to get back home to see her, to just be near her. I spent the first night in my hotel wondering what she was doing, thinking about her padding around the apartment in her silk shorts. The next night I was pissed off that I couldn’t get her out of my head. I went over each of our conversations like some kind of lunatic trying to remember every one of her words. By the third night I gave up on trying to forget about her and I let myself think the one thought that wouldn’t escape me no matter how hard I tried. I got in bed that night drowning in thoughts of what it would be like to have her body under mine.

I try shaking my thoughts as I exit the elevator and kick my shoes off by the door. Pulling the velvet box out of my gym shorts I roll it around between my fingers before setting it on the counter. I’m trying to be glad that I was able to pay to have her rings made, sized, and cleaned in such a short amount of time, but having to pick them up this morning cuts into my morning routine.

The forty-five minutes I carve out to make and drink my coffee before getting ready for work have always been the most and often only peaceful moments of my day. This morning, although my mind is wandering, it's no different.

Until a loud crash echos from down the hall followed by Camila screaming.

My legs move faster than my brain can keep up. Adrenaline pumps through me as I start thinking of worst-case scenarios. My legs almost fall out from under me when my socks slide on the floor as I run down the hall towards her room. “Camila!” I yell, standing outside her door. No answer. I try the handle and thankfully it’s unlocked. I push the door open calling for her again. She’s not in here but she screams again, this time less afraid and more of a whimper or whine. I follow the sounds coming from the other side of her bathroom door. “Camila!” She doesn’t respond, and this time the door is locked when I try it.

I’m getting impatient. I don’t think before I Hulk out and throw the full force of my body into the door. A wide-eyed Camila stands shivering in the back corner of the shower. She quickly uses one forearm to cover her chest and the other to cover that tight little spot between her legs. My brain cannot keep up.

“You're naked!” I shout.