Chase Me (Broke and Beautiful #1)(39)

Which meant there was every possibility she could lose the part of a lifetime.

Walking toward the subway, she felt exposed. Raw. The idea of going home and sitting in her bedroom, feeling this way until evening fell, seemed like a shitty idea. She’d dwell on the upcoming rehearsal and drive herself insane. She’d binge on the leftovers Honey kept neatly stocked in Tupperware inside the fridge. Hide the remote on herself so she’d have an excuse to watch Lifetime.

No, she needed to feel better. Now. When she thought of what had made her feel happy lately, what made her feel warm and safe . . . she thought of Louis. It didn’t sit well, this idea that she needed Louis, a guy, to erase the ickiness Johan had slimed all over her, but the fact remained. Talking to Louis, seeing his face, made her . . . happy.

Instead of taking the uptown 2 train back to Chelsea, she changed direction and headed for the downtown 5. Toward the courthouse.





Chapter 13



LOUIS WINKED AT one of the kids sitting in the front row of the courtroom, doing his best to radiate confidence, although unlike the kid, he didn’t necessarily feel it. The first two rows were filled with members of a local Lower East Side youth community center. Each of them wore a bright green T-shirt to represent the group, an organization that provided after-school programs for public school kids in the city. Unfortunately, they were also at risk of being evicted, thanks to a hefty amount of unpaid back rent. They were working furiously to get the center a government grant to keep their doors open, in addition to pursuing private donations, but time had run out before they could get the full amount together. He’d taken the case, hoping he could get them an extension. Otherwise, all the kids who watched him so seriously from the front row wouldn’t have anywhere to go after school. Most of their parents even relied on the center to keep them safe and occupied with positive activities until they got home from work.

The judge indicated he should proceed. He spent the next fifteen minutes giving a detailed outline of everything the community center administrators were doing to make up the rent payments. He presented all the necessary documents, all the while feeling the weight of thirty sets of eyes on his back. He’d gone before this judge a handful of times, and the guy was tough. So when the judge granted the extension, Louis almost asked him if he was sure.

Relief swamped him when a cheer went up behind him. He turned to give the kids high fives, when someone snagged his attention. Roxy? She stood all the way in the back of the courtroom, looking slightly out of place and completely baffled as she watched him. Before he could command his feet to move, he’d already closed half the distance separating them. After a tiny head shake, she met him halfway.

“Rox.” He reached out and cupped her cheek. Couldn’t help it. She looked so fresh and gorgeous standing in the dusty courthouse full of mostly miserable people. There was something about the way she was looking at him, too. As if she’d just seen him for the first time. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? “What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”

“Everything is fine.” She surprised him by turning her face into his hand, brushing his palm with her lips. Part of him wanted to bask in the fact that she’d come to find him at work, instead of waiting until tonight. Not only that, but she seemed . . . relieved to see him. It should have had him pounding his chest like some modern version of Tarzan, right? This girl who’d been running him around in circles was standing right here in front him, accepting his touch.

So why was the happiness he felt tempered by worry?

Roxy walked with her shoulders thrown back. The word walk really didn’t describe it. She glided, with a twist of her hips after each step. Louis knew this because he’d made a study of how she moved, mostly how she looked when moving away. Right now, a little bit of that confidence was missing, and he had a good idea why. Dread made itself at home in his stomach. He wanted to kick his own ass for feeling a spark of pleasure that she would come to him after having a bad audition, but it was there, growing by the second. He wanted to make everything better for her. Now.

She cast a glance over his shoulder, back toward the excited voices of the kids. “I didn’t know this is what you did.” When her eyes found his, they were speculative. Possibly even a little impressed. “That was amazing. You saved their youth center.”

“For now.” He scratched the back of his neck, wondering why hearing praise from her made him feel so much better about it. Maybe because no one in his family, or his firm, ever brought it up. The only people he ever discussed it with were Ben and Russell. “Still a lot of funds to pull together.”

“But you’ll help them.”

“Yeah.” Oh man, it felt way too good to bask in her glow of approval. He had to change the subject, even if it would be an unpleasant one. “How did the audition go?” Louis asked, positive he already knew the answer. Obviously she hadn’t gotten the part.

“I’ll tell you about it later.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder and looked up at him from underneath her eyelashes, full mouth tilted in a smile. He almost did a double take, wondering if he’d imagined the lack of her usual boldness when she’d arrived. It was definitely back in full force now . . . and directed squarely at him. Not many things could get him hot in this setting. Inside the walls of this courthouse, he stayed focused on his job. He took it seriously. There was nothing sexy about paperwork, judges, and shitty coffee.