Love Irresistibly (FBI/US Attorney #4)(31)
The corners of his mouth curved. Touché. “I’m single.” With that admission, he waited for her answer.
Brooke tried to appear nonchalant. “Apparently, I work too hard. According to the Hot OB, that means I’m not a ‘big picture kind of girl.’” She saw Cade’s jaw tense, but he said nothing as she continued. “Oh, and dating me is like being in a relationship with a guy, because I don’t complain about not being taken out enough.”
“No offense, but the Hot OB sounds like an ass**le.”
“He wasn’t the first guy with that list of grievances.” Brooke bit her lip, not having meant to admit that last part. Must’ve been the wine. “All right. Now it’s your turn.”
Cade took a sip of his bourbon. “I’m emotionally unavailable.”
Brooke fought back a smile at the matter-of-fact way he said it. “Is that right?”
“According to my ex-girlfriends, yes. And I use sarcasm as a defense mechanism.”
Brooke pointed to herself. “What do you know? Me, too.”
Cade tipped his glass at her. “So if you and I got together, we could probably go our entire relationship without ever saying anything meaningful at all.”
“Yes, although you and I would never get together since we don’t even like each other.”
“True.” Cade gazed at her across the candlelit table. “Good thing we got that straight.”
Brooke felt a few flutters in her stomach at the way he was looking at her right then. “It sure is.”
* * *
WHEN THEY LEFT the restaurant an hour after that, Brooke was pretty sure they were both feeling warm and good. After the pizza, they’d had one last round of drinks while sharing lawyer war stories and, not surprisingly, trying to outdo one another with the funniest anecdotes.
At some point as he walked her home, Brooke realized that her non-date with Cade had been the most datelike evening she’d had in a long time. Granted, she’d met him for work purposes, but she felt more relaxed and at ease with him than she had since . . . she couldn’t remember when. She hadn’t been worrying about where things between them were going, or any of that other relationship rigmarole, nor had she been trying to impress him. And, given Cade’s seemingly endless ability to irritate her, it was pretty safe to say he felt the same way. They’d just been two people, having drinks and sharing good stories and a pizza on a Friday night.
“Lucky you, being able to walk to work from home,” Cade said in the elevator, heading up to her floor.
“Where do you live?”
“Lakeview.”
“My first apartment in the city was in Lakeview. I still miss—” Brooke stopped, suddenly realizing something. “Wait. Why are you in this elevator?”
“Because . . . it’s the one going up to your apartment?”
“And why are you going up to my apartment?” They’d been so busy talking when they’d walked into her lobby, she hadn’t paid any attention to the fact that he’d come up with her instead of saying good-bye downstairs.
Cade contemplated her question. “Huh. That’s curious.”
With a ding! the elevator arrived at Brooke’s floor. She stepped out. When he followed her, she knew.
“Which one is you?” he asked.
The butterflies in her stomach, the ones that had started fluttering around back at the restaurant, were now doing cartwheels. Still, she kept it cool, determined not to let him see that, yes, he had her a little flustered. “2506.”
She led the way, digging around in her briefcase for her keys. When she got to her apartment, she turned around and faced Cade. “I’m not inviting you in.”
He stepped closer. “That’s not why I got on the elevator. You know that.”
Yes, she did. Otherwise, she would’ve stopped him in his tracks before he’d gotten off. She raised her chin. “Then why?” she asked, even though she already had a feeling she knew the answer.
He closed the gap between them, his eyes dark blue and smoky. “I got on that elevator for this.”
He lowered his mouth and kissed her.
Quickly, Brooke realized that despite any other faults, Cade Morgan knew how to kiss. He teased her lips open, his mouth seductively moving over hers in a way that left her tingling down to her toes. She slid her hands up his chest—wow, he had some serious muscles—and allowed herself one teeny, tiny moment to give in to this . . . whatever between them.
He reached up to cup her face, deepening the kiss as his tongue wound hotly around hers. He explored her mouth possessively, a low rumble in his chest when she responded by nipping playfully at his lower lip.
They heard a ding! down the hallway, as an elevator arrived at her floor.
Cade pulled back, his gaze heated as he traced his thumb along her bottom lip. “Good night, Brooke Parker.”
He turned and left just as a middle-aged couple, Brooke’s neighbors in 2508, passed by. Cade nodded at them with a pleasant “Hello,” then strode off with the strap of his briefcase slung over his shoulder.
Brooke watched him leave, silently admiring his tall, broad-shouldered frame, and trying to muster up more irritation over the fact that he’d somehow managed to get in the last word once again.
Twelve
THE NEXT WEEK, not surprisingly, was a busy one for Brooke. On the first of the month, Sterling would be taking over the food service at the Staples Center, which meant she needed to work nearly ’round the clock to complete the employment contracts for the managerial employees they’d hired.