Page 69 of Perfect Order

“I get to stand behind the curtain watching a woman sing who has every right to lie down and give up. She’s about to bleed in front of the whole world. That takes a hell of a lot more courage than finding your best friend turned out to be a traitor.”

She rubs her hands up and down her sweater before biting her trembling lower lip. “Kane.”

I lean forward. The little box shows my camera fills her screen. “Trust me, Leanne.”

She slides off her sofa until her face is all I see. She whispers, “How can you look at me and not see what’s been lost? Everyone else is.”

“Because when I look at you, the only thing I can do is feel.”

Her breath shudders out. Then she quickly leans forward and presses her lips to the camera. I tip my face back a bit so I can see her eyes as she pulls away. Wet, wild, she wonders, “God help me, Lee. He’s who you wanted me to meet—isn’t he?”

Then her camera turns off.

I fall back in my chair, stunned. “I’ve never had a single date that intense, let alone an online date.”

A message pops up on my screen.That wasn’t a date. That was a working session that got a bit out of hand.

My fingers fly.Semantics, Crash. Two people eating together…

Work dinner, she fires back.

Sharing intimate details about each other’s lives?I counter.

Could still be a work dinner.

I'm not convinced,I type.

Knowing details about your co-workers is important to building strong business relationships.

She’s right, of course. Which is exactly why I won’t let her off the hook.Then why don’t you come down here to work? It would be much easier for us to do this together,partner.

No answer.

I’m certain we could get through these files better together.

Still nothing.

Put in a little extra effort to clear the desk, as it were. Then we’ll know for sure where to focus our attention.

I press Send, and within seconds, her face pops up on the screen, flushed.

“All right, already. I can’t come down there.”

“Why?” I demand.

“First, because your boss banned me from the office. He said my showing up as ‘Kylie Miles’ would be suspect. And he’s right. I have to focus on what I’m doing, Kane.” Leanne’s voice breaks.

“That wasn’t going to be an issue…” I begin, but her next words stop me from going on.

“Because we have a problem. Or maybe it’s just me. I have a problem.”

I swallow. “And what’s that?”

Her voice becomes husky. “You. You’re in my thoughts, where I should have nothing but retribution. You’re following me into my dreams, when there should be nothing but nightmares.”

Lord deliver us.I slap my hand up to the computer. Hers is immediately there. “Then stay away, until we can’t any longer, Leanne. That’s the Grammys,” I manage to rasp.

“After all, I’m going to need someone to hold me after I lose it onstage anyway. Didn’t you read all about me singing ‘Landslide’?” Her words are bittersweet.