“Thank you,” the woman said, stepping inside and selecting her floor. She moved to the opposite side of the elevator, but her eyes remained focused in his direction before briefly glancing at the control panel, which had only two floors lit up: hers and Courtney’s. “You’re J.T. Williamson. I was just watching Over The Edge last night. It’s my favorite of your movies.” She extended her hand toward him. “My name is Lexie.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“I hate to ask, but would you mind taking a picture with me? My friends will never believe I met you without proof.”
He was known for never refusing to give an autograph or pose for a photo. He didn’t want to start doing so now.
They managed two photos before the elevator stopped at the fifteenth floor and the doors opened to a thankfully deserted hallway. “Thanks again,” Lexie said, stepping out.
Josh made the rest of the trip alone. Unlike the first time the elevator stopped, the doors didn’t open to reveal a carpeted hallway. Instead, he stepped out into a small marble-tiled foyer several feet from a mahogany door. Oil paintings hung on the walls, and a chandelier much smaller than the one downstairs hung from the decorative ceiling, illuminating the area.
Unwelcome anxiety settled in his stomach as he pressed the doorbell. The anxiety changed into something he couldn’t label though when Courtney opened the door. At some point since their meeting, she’d ditched her dark suit for white leggings and an oversized crimson sweater. She’d let her hair down as well, and he could almost feel it slipping through his fingers or across his bare chest.
“Hey.” Courtney’s greeting stopped him from calling up all the times and places her hair had come in contact with his skin. “Come on in.” She stepped back so he could enter, and before she could change her mind and shut the door in his face, he crossed the threshold.
Whatever you do, don’t kiss her. Maybe if he repeated the words enough times while he was here, he’d manage to keep himself from doing it. However, if he were a betting person, he’d say the odds weren’t in his favor tonight.
He walked past her, and the barest hint of jasmine teased him. At least he thought he smelled it. In Hawaii, her hair had often smelled like jasmine, so it was possible he was imagining the scent now.
Other than to close the door, she didn’t move. “I was about to pour myself coffee, would you like some?”
How long she’d let him stick around tonight was anyone’s guess, but if she was offering him coffee, she intended to at least let him stay for more than five minutes.
“Sounds good.”
He caught another whiff of jasmine when she passed by him, and the memory of Courtney resting her head on his shoulder while they sat on her balcony formed. They’d done it countless times during their two weeks together, sometimes talking about whatever came to mind and other times simply enjoying the view. His eyes dropped to her feet as he followed her. It didn’t surprise him that she was barefoot. On vacation, she’d left her shoes and sandals behind whenever possible.
“Did you have dinner in the city?” Courtney entered the kitchen and removed two coffee mugs from a cabinet. Unlike his brother’s kitchen, which consisted of sharp angles, black cabinets, and a lot of chrome, this one incorporated dark woods, granite, and an inverted ceiling that echoed back to the grand hotel the building had once been.
“We went to Mon Soleil. Laura loves it there.” He’d meet Laura at the age of ten, and even though she treated him like a son, he’d never called her “Mom.”
Picking up the French press coffeepot, she poured coffee into the mugs. “That’s possibly my favorite restaurant in Providence.” Courtney added cream and sugar to her drink, then took a sip, but her eyes never looked away from him as he fixed his coffee. “Unless you visit Paris, you won’t find better French cuisine.” Rather than set down her mug, she gestured toward the doorway with it. “We’ll be more comfortable in the living room.”
Josh took that as another good sign she didn’t intend to kick him out anytime soon.
A unique combination of wood, leather, and various shades of red filled the living room. A door in the left-hand corner led out onto a balcony that wrapped around the corner of the building. Tonight it would be far too cold to sit out there, but in the spring and summer it would be a fabulous spot to sit and enjoy breakfast or dinner. Floor-to-ceiling windows provided an excellent view of the city, and during the day they would allow natural light to fill the room.
“This afternoon when you said you’d thought about calling me several times, I wasn’t sure I believed you.” She opted to sit on the sofa and set her coffee down on the end table.
On his way over, he’d run through various conversation starters. He’d settled on asking her about how her new job was going. Evidently, she had ideas of her own, and he was fine with that.
“Honestly, Josh, I’m still not sure I do,” she added with a slight shrug.
Considering the favor he’d asked her prior to telling her that, he understood her reluctance. “I—”
“But if you were being honest, I guess I should be too.” She sounded conflicted about whatever she intended to tell him. “A few times, I pulled up your number and almost called you.”
Despite the many places to sit, he dropped down onto the sofa with her. It might not be the wisest of decisions, since the urge to kiss her was growing stronger the longer he was with her, but it wouldn’t be the first time he’d done something stupid. And it probably wouldn’t be the last.
“I wish you had. I’ve missed you.” Perhaps he should keep the truth to himself, since she might assume he was simply trying to convince her to do what he wanted. But he didn’t want to. He wanted—no, he needed her to know the truth.
Josh’s words were just what she wanted to hear. Despite all the warnings she’d issued before he showed up, reminding herself to be cautious, a sliver of delight erupted in the vicinity of her chest.
He wants my help. Don’t forget that.
She didn’t want to believe it, but it was possible he’d say or do anything to get her to go along with his marriage proposal—a plan she’d been thinking about constantly since leaving his brother’s office. No doubt about it, the entire idea was crazy. Unfortunately, the absurdity of the plan wasn’t stopping her from seriously considering going along with it. She could honestly say she cared about Josh, and given time, she could see her feelings growing into much more.
Josh’s request for help wasn’t the only thing she’d thought about since the meeting this afternoon. She’d also spent more than a few minutes replaying their two weeks in Hawaii. While it was possibl