Page 68 of Fatal Betrayal

"There's nothing to see," she protested, as she moved up the stairs after him.

He walked into the large master bedroom and realized she was right. Besides the bed which was only covered with a sheet and a blanket, there was nothing else in the room. There were a couple of suitcases by the closet and a single rack of clothes, but that was it.

"I told you, Cooper," she said.

He moved toward the window, which looked at another building about thirty feet away. "Why didn't you go for a beach view? You always said you wanted to live by the beach one day."

"I didn't see the point of paying extra for that. I work a lot. I don't have time to sit around and look at a view."

"But you must have told me a million times that one day you were going to live by the sea."

She frowned. "I can't believe you remember that."

"Like I said, you said it a million times. We'd ride our bikes to the top of Ridgeview Avenue, where we could almost see a sliver of the ocean fifteen miles away."

"I loved going up to Ridgeview. Even though we couldn't really see the ocean, we did have a great view of the city, and I liked having a bigger world to look at. It made me feel that there was more to life somewhere out there."

"So, why not pay the extra bucks?"

"The beach is six blocks away. I can walk there."

"It's not the same."

"What about you? Do you have a beach view?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," he said. "It's amazing."

"Well, you probably have a few more extra bucks than I do. You've sold a lot of books."

He wasn't going to tell her that he'd thought about her when he'd bought his condo, when he'd stood on his deck and looked out at the crashing ocean waves.

"It was nice to be able to buy a place that spoke to me. I've always wanted a bigger world view, too."

As their gazes met, something shifted between them. He took a step forward, and he thought she'd move back, but she didn't, and they were suddenly too close. He could hear her breathing. He could smell her scent. His blood began to race through his veins. A million voices in his head were screaming at him not to do what he very much wanted to do. But he shut them out.

He didn't know if he moved or she did, but his mouth was suddenly on hers, and she tasted better than he'd imagined. She also kissed him back like a woman who knew what she wanted, a woman who wanted him, and every single wild fantasy he'd ever had about her was coming true. It felt like a dream, but it was real.

Until she pulled away, until their eyes met in a clash of uncertainty and desire.

"That was…" her voice trailed away uncertainly. "You shouldn't have kissed me, Cooper."

"You kissed me back, Andi. You know you did."

She stared back at him. "I shouldn't have."

"Why not? You're single, right?"

"Yes, but—"

"So am I. We kissed. What's the problem?"

"The problem is that you hate me, Cooper."

The problem was that he didn't.He blew out a breath. "I want to hate you," he said. "But I'm having trouble getting there now."

Her phone suddenly dinged. She pulled it out of her shoulder bag. "Oh, great. The furniture won't be here for another twenty minutes. Maybe you should go. Get a ride, get your car, do something else."

"I want to go with you to the gym."