Back In The Bedroom (The Wrong Bed #29)(32)

“It’s not some jerk. You know who it is.”

Eddie sighed again and said, “Yeah.”

“Oh, Eddie.” Cheri gave him a hug. “You try too hard.”

“The boy is hardheaded.”

“Really? And where do you think he got it?” She kissed him on the cheek when he just stared at her. “It’ll be all right, Eddie. It will.” Another stroke of her hand. “Look at how he’s running over here to save the day. He loves you. He’s always loved you.”

Eddie couldn’t resist another second. He pulled her in for a hug. “How the hell did I ever let you get away?” he whispered into her hair, her long, glorious, dark hair. “I was such an idiot.”

“Yes,” Cheri agreed, and stepped back. “We were both idiots. Now, let’s work. After all, that’s why you brought me here, right?”

Here’s your chance, Ace. Be smooth, be debonair, do your thing. Instead, his mouth went dry and he stood there like a fool. A tongueless fool. Eddie Ledger, legendary lady-killer, known for his charm and wit and ability to get any woman he ever wanted into his bed, and he couldn’t come up with a single intelligent thing to say.

She stroked his jaw and moved away, moved toward his home office.

And all he could do was watch her go.

Oh, yeah, he really was just one big, fancy idiot.



TESSA GOT UP EARLY the next morning, got ready in record time and, for the first time in the history of her existence, left for work with time to spare.

When she opened her front door, Carolyn popped her head out of her apartment next door. “Hey, there. Wow, you’re…” She glanced at her watch. “Twenty minutes early?” Her welcoming smile vanished. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing.” Tessa locked her front door and crossed her fingers that her car would start today.

“Uh-huh. Nothing.” Carolyn eyed her carefully from head to toe. “You look good. New clothes?”

So she’d splurged on the way home last night, buying a new dress for work, and only partly because it was red and made her feel sexy. “This old thing?”

Carolyn didn’t buy it. She put her hand on her hip. “There’s a guy at work, right?”

Oh, yeah, there was a guy. But if her sister got wind of it, there’d be no peace. “There’s work at work.”

“So everything’s okay?”

She put her Sunday best smile on. “Of course.”

“You’re just…early. For no special reason.”

“Yep.”

Carolyn crossed her arms. “Honey, I know you, and I know something’s up. So you might as well spare us both the time and tell me what’s going on.”

“What’s going on is me loving my job.”

“You’re sure?”

“Absolutely sure.”

Carolyn eyed her for another long moment before she was satisfied. “So, are we on for dessert and a movie tomorrow night?”

“Of course.”

“Great.” Carolyn kissed her on the cheek. “Have a good day, hon.”

And Tessa might have, if her car had started.

She sat there in her uncooperative VW and sighed. It was temping to run back to her sister for help, but this was her life, her problem, and she wanted to handle it on her own. Always being rescued by a sibling didn’t count as handling it on her own.

She took the bus again. Once inside Reilly’s building, she got off on the fourth floor where she knew he sometimes worked out. Oops, funny how that had happened, her getting off on the wrong floor…

She looked through the glass doors of the gym. The room was lined with exercise equipment and filled with early worker bees, all of whom were in various stages of sweating. Serious, intent faces abounded everywhere.

Tessa stood there for a moment trying to decide if she felt any remorse at all for having such a serious aversion to exercise.

Nope. No remorse at all.

She recognized some of the people she’d run into all week—the croissant lady from the lobby, the attorney from the second floor… And there, in the far corner, facing the wall of windows that opened to the beautiful San Gabriel Mountains, running on a treadmill was her temporary boss.

Headphones on his ears, he ran for all he was worth. His T-shirt clung to him, delineating every muscle, every nuance in his long, sleek back and arms. His legs pumped, burning calories. As if he needed to! The man didn’t have a single inch of excess anywhere.

Her eyes caught and held on to his very fine backside.

She took a quick moment to glance furtively around, making sure no one caught her staring at his butt.

No one even looked her way.

She liked this fourth floor, she liked it a lot. She liked to see Reilly all tall, dark and sweaty and she stood there for one long moment, just soaking him in. How many times had she told herself she wasn’t going to want him? And how many times had it not mattered?

She still wanted him.

Then suddenly, Reilly turned and looked unerringly right at her. His skin gleamed, his eyes glittered and his body made her knees knock together as he slowly cocked a brow, silently asking her what the hell she was doing standing there with her eyes locked on him.

Yikes. Like the calm, steady woman she was not, she turned and fled.