Playing Dirty (Risky Business, #2)(41)

A shiver went through me and he must have felt it, because the hand circling my ankle loosened. His palm slid a few inches up my calf underneath the hem of my pants, just touching me in a gentle slide of his fingers against my skin. The warm air blew in a steady stream over my wet nails and my hands curled into fists.

This wasn’t sexual. This was just Parker being nice. He’d seen me fall apart over my stupid toenails. What was he supposed to do? Say, “Well, have fun with that. See you tomorrow!”

Yeah, because bosses painted their secretaries’ toes all the time.

Okay, maybe that little voice in my head had a point, but even if he was thinking it, and I was thinking it, we weren’t actually doing anything, so the guilt gnawing at my conscience was completely absurd, right?

The little voice was conspicuously silent.

The rattle of the lock in the door had me guiltily trying to pull my legs off Parker’s lap, but his grip was suddenly strong around my ankles and I couldn’t budge.

Which was why when Ryker walked in, he saw his girlfriend sitting on the couch with her legs in another man’s lap.

Ryker stopped right inside the door, his gaze resting on us.

“Am I interrupting something?” he asked, and I winced at the thinly veiled accusation in his voice.

I tried to take back my feet, but Parker held firm.

“You’re going to ruin the finest pedicure I’ve ever done,” he said to me.

“It’s the only pedicure you’ve ever done,” I hissed back. My face was hot and I knew I was blushing under Ryker’s scrutiny.

“What’s going on?” Ryker asked. “Sage?”

“I brought her home and she was a little high on painkillers,” Parker explained. “So I fed her some pizza and was polishing her toes.”

Ryker’s eyebrows flew upward. “You were what?”

“Relax,” Parker said, carefully setting my legs aside and standing. “She was upset. You weren’t here. I was just doing what I could to help.”

Okay, so I guess the sexual tension I’d felt had been entirely one-sided. Good to know. Now to ignore the sinking feeling in my stomach. Stupid, stupid, to get sucked back in.

Ryker blew out a sigh, then to my relief, he let the matter drop. “Well, I have bad news,” he said, shrugging out of his jacket and tossing it over a chair, though I had a hall tree right there to hang coats on. “The video footage showed exactly what you said. A man walked behind you, shoved you into the street, then disappeared into the crowd.”

I’d been afraid that that’s what had happened, but to hear it confirmed was just sad. I felt a little like my parents, wanting to ask, “What’s the world coming to these days?” for a complete stranger to try and kill me for no reason.

“Any luck on finding out who it was?” Parker asked, but Ryker just shook his head.

“Not yet. We’re trying some facial recognition programs, but that takes time. If we get a hit, they’ll let me know.”

Ryker dropped down on the couch beside me. “You can find your way to the door, I’m sure,” he said.

Parker just smiled in a bland sort of way, then picked up his jacket.

I rolled my eyes and got painfully to my feet. “I’ll walk you out,” I said, following Parker to the door. He’d already opened it and stood in the doorway, waiting, by the time I got there.

“Thanks for taking me to the hospital,” I said. “And for dinner. And the pedicure.”

His answering smile wasn’t so much on his lips as in his eyes. “You’re welcome,” he said, uberpolite but with a gentle undertone that inexplicably made me blush. “You don’t have to come in tomorrow, if you’re not feeling up to it. Take a day off.”

“Thanks,” I said, knowing I’d go in to work anyway. It was a nice gesture. “I’ll see how I feel.”

“Okay. Good night then. Don’t forget to take your meds.”

I nodded and he headed down the hallway. He was nearly at the stairwell before I remembered.

“Parker?” I called. He paused, glancing back at me.

“Yes?”

“Your suits from the dry cleaner’s …” I hesitated.

“What about them?”

“The truck kinda … ran over them.” I winced, thinking of how much it was going to cost to replace those. Parker didn’t dress cheaply.

But his lips just twitched. “Better the suits than you,” he said, then he was gone.





CHAPTER EIGHT


I think you need to up your life insurance,” Megan said, spearing more lettuce with her fork. “Between the club and now the truck, I can’t believe the awful luck you’ve had this week.”

“I know, right?” I hadn’t told her that someone had deliberately pushed me, just that it had been an accident. No sense worrying my best friend even more.

“So did Ryker go ape shit when he found out?”

I nodded. “Yeah, a little.” I paused before adding, “Parker kinda did, too.”

That made her stop chewing for a moment. I waited, wondering what she’d say to that.

“I’m not surprised,” she said. “Who’d go pick up his dry cleaning and get his breakfast every day if something happened to you?”