“Look, it’s not like I thought you were Saint Rory, Defender of Chastity before we got together.”
He snorted. “Christ, you’re a goof.”
Laughing, she shrugged. “Well, I saw you with enough women from the Cock to know that sainthood wasn’t your calling.”
His mirth fled his face. “I’m sorry about that. It was… well, insensitive at best and downright stupid and mean at worst.” She remained quiet, and he finally added, “I didn’t hook up as much as you might have thought. Never enough time or energy while working and studying. But, well, I guess I figured out what worked depending on where everyone was.”
She nodded, a little sad but hardly able to be upset over what he did when they hadn’t been dating. He was now quiet, and she reached over to place her hand on his, licking her dry lips. “You know, there’s no reason for you to need a place for me to visit when you can come here… anytime you want.”
He leaned closer, his hand cupping her cheek, his thumb sweeping over her cheek. “Anytime?”
“As far as I’m concerned, you don’t need to rush just because of me. If you want to get your own place, fine. If you want to stay where you are to save money until you know exactly what you want, that’s fine, too. And as far as us… you’re perfect here with me whenever you desire.”
He held her gaze and she warmed under his perusal. “Better be careful what you offer, Sandy. I might be tempted to take you up on it.”
She smiled, slowly at first, then wider. Leaning the rest of the way in, she kissed him. “Let’s go inside, and I’ll show you just how much I want you here with me.”
Pulling her close, he took the kiss deeper. Just like the first kiss they shared, she felt the tingle down to her bones. As his tongue glided over hers, she clutched his shoulders, wondering if she could straddle him without her ass hitting the steering wheel or sitting on the horn. As though he knew what she was thinking, he pulled back, mumbling, “Let’s get inside.”
She hated to separate but agreed with his plan. Alighting from his truck, they hurried to her door, quickly unlocking it and rushing through.
Making sure her front door was locked behind them, he stopped and held on to her arm as she tried to pull him toward the stairs. “Babe?”
She turned to look up at him, her head cocked as she waited to see what he wanted to say.
“Being here with you is perfect, but you’ve got to know that while I don’t have my own apartment right now, I can’t consider this my place. I know that might seem stupidly macho or something but—”
She placed her fingers on his lips, halting his words. “I know. I know that you’d always feel that this place was mine and not ours.” Lifting on her toes, she stopped when her lips were a bare whisper from his. “So, when the time is right, we can find a place that’s ours.”
His eyes widened, but she launched herself toward him, erasing any distance between their bodies. Without breaking the kiss, he scooped her up into his arms and took the stairs two at a time. She hoped Ocee didn’t get underfoot. After all, she wanted nothing to get in the way between her, Rory, and the bed.
24
“Dave, this is amazing!” Sandy had carefully toured the offices on the first eight floors of the Partridge Tower, thrilled with the results. Those that were already leased had their furniture and decor completed, thanks to Barbara. The office spaces that had not been leased at this time had been generically designed and now stood ready for potential clients to view.
Everything from the tile and carpet to the room placements and walls and inner windows, doors, cabinets, outer window treatments, conference rooms, workrooms, break rooms, and especially the executive offices were exactly as Carmichael Designs had created.
“According to Anthony, he now has new leases that complete the third, fourth, and fifth floors,” Dave said, looking down at his clipboard.
“Oh, wow, that’s even more than the other day.” Sandy stood in the middle of the floor lobby and turned slowly, her gaze carefully moving over the entire space. Turning back to Dave, she looked at the clipboard in his hand and laughed. “I see you’re still using the clipboard and not the tablet.”
He grinned and shook his head. “I use them both, but I’d prefer flipping through papers to find what I want rather than poking onto a tablet. Guess I just like doing things the old-fashioned way.”
They wandered into one of the workrooms, and she looked at the electrical outlets that were placed along the top edge of the counter. Glancing over her shoulder, she asked, “And everything was inspected? Um… according to the code requirements for a building this size?”
His lips twitched as he held her gaze. “Signed off on everything, Ms. Carmichael. I know you had concerns, but I followed through with the inspector and Perkins Electrical. I talked directly with the company president, Mr. Perkins himself.”
“Good. Now Anthony and his father, Albert, can get ready for the grand opening. Will you be there?”
Snorting, he sighed heavily. “Yes, but I won’t be in a black tie. I’ll just come in my wedding and funeral suit.”
In the process of checking the window treatments in one of the offices, she stopped, her hands still raised in the air. Eyes wide, she stared at him. “Funeral suit?”
He chuckled. “You know, every man has a suit that he only drags out if he has to go to something special, like weddings or a funeral.”
“I… I… uh… I can’t figure out if that’s ghoulish or smart!” She turned back to the window, reaching as high as she could to straighten the blinds that appeared to be crooked. Dave laid his clipboard and tablet down on a nearby desk
