could tell he’d scored a point when he emphasized the other man’s name, adding the deliberate twist several of the partners used when speaking of him. “And,” he added as he stepped around Melvin to open the door, “he would have beaten both of us to partner if he’d stayed.”
The parting shot hit home. Paul nearly grinned to hear the muffled slam of a stall door striking the wall. Todd would have enjoyed that.
Thoughts of Todd and the pain of his loss walked with him the rest of the way to his office. Martha was away from her desk, and he opened the door and walked into his own area, sure he’d find Torie on the phone.
Instead, he stopped dead, shocked to see her sitting at the table her head in her hands, tissue box at her elbow.
“Torie?”
“Oh!” she exclaimed, hastily wiping her eyes. “I was just…”
“Crying.”
She dropped her gaze. “Yeah. That, too. I guess I got a little overwhelmed.”
He closed the door. Locked it.
“Understandable. Here.” He pulled out her chair, took her hand, and brought her to her feet. “I think we both need this.”
His nerves were sizzling as he eased her into his arms, cradling her head into that perfect spot at his shoulder. As they had that morning, their bodies fit together. He wrapped his arms around her and held on, savoring the sense of her close to his heart.
After a few minutes, he finally asked, “What started all this?”
“I have to go to my office,” she said on a hiccupping sigh. Her hands were tucked into his chest, as if she were afraid to hold on, afraid to allow herself to trust. “To get a key. They said, they said…” She stopped, drawing a deep breath and burrowing more firmly into his arms. “They said such stupid stuff about me in the paper. How can I go back there?”
“You won’t have to. Trust me. Not to work.” He eased her away just enough that she looked up at him. All trace of makeup had been washed away by her crying jag. She looked vulnerable and lost. It made him want to fix it. “Do you want me to go with you?”
Hope blossomed in her eyes, quickly followed by confusion. “I…I’d love it, but you don’t have to do that.” She sighed. “It helps just to be able to say how much it sucks.”
He laughed. “Yeah, but I’ll go with you anyway. Here,” he said, getting her to look up again, “this will make you feel better.”
Paul kissed her. This time, he skipped gentle and went straight to desire. He caught her mouth and her quick gasp in a fiery kiss that he hoped left no question about how he felt. Part of his mind was busy planning which stable surface he could lift her onto, and drive them both beyond thinking with fast, hot lovemaking.
“Wow,” Torie managed when they paused for breath. He wanted to start again, drive her further, but he knew he had to stop.
“Is that a good wow or a bad wow?” he murmured, resting his cheek on her hair. He could smell the strawberry shampoo his nieces had left in the bathroom the last time they’d visited. It was the first time strawberries had turned him on.
“A good one,” she said, her breath coming short as he laughed and kissed her again, briefly this time.
“Take your mind off things?”
“Pretty much,” she admitted. “I was supposed to be thinking during that?”
Paul laughed, enjoying the moment. “No, absolutely not. No thinking.”
“Okay, warning bells,” she said. “I’m thinking now.” Torie pushed him away, although she didn’t entirely leave the circle of his arms.
“Damn.”
It was her turn to laugh. It was still a bit shaky, but it was a laugh.
“I thought we said this was a bad idea. I’m your client, and all that. What about that?”
“It is a bad idea, but pretty much only for that reason.”
She smiled but it held a lot of puzzlement. “Not to look a…well, let’s call it a gift horse, though I could be saucy and call it something else…in the mouth, but we don’t like each other. Right?”
“Who says?”
Torie laughed, but it was sad again. “Pretty much everyone. Including us.”
“Hmmm. Old news. Time to turn over a new leaf, don’t you think?”
She smiled, and it was stronger this time. “I didn’t get the memo, but hey, I’m willing to get some fresh news.”
“Good. So, what do you say to dinner?”
“Dinner?”
“Yeah. As in food. Eating. Together.”
“I know what you mean, but—” she began.
“Not burgers. Casual, but nicer than Bob’s Grill and Grease.”
