It was a very big deal.

His words raced through her head numerous times a day, distracting her from whatever she was working on as she again tried to decipher the meaning. In perfect Vincent fashion, he never explained himself or even acknowledged he had sent the text. It was never discussed. For him, it was as if it never happened. For Lexi, however, it was the subject of many of her dreams and the reason behind more than one sleepless night.

Lexi knew he was flawed, horribly so. She wasn’t a naive teenager anymore who thought he walked on water. She saw him for the man he was.

Behind his severe, controlling, and arrogant behavior was a kind, loving man who pushed people away to keep them from hurting him. But he was intelligent, sweet, and funny once you broke through the façade he had created. She knew his softer side, and that, more than anything, was what she craved.

She also knew Jade was just waiting for the perfect opportunity to rip her to shreds. In the past, that might have made her shut down or run, but now Lexi wasn’t afraid, nor was she willing to give up the life she was finally making. Jade would just have to find a way to deal with the fact that she and Vincent worked together, and Vincent would have to figure out what he wanted, because she was growing tired of his mixed messages. She wasn’t going to sit around and wait for him any longer. If Vincent ever decided he wanted her, he would have to break up with Jade and open himself up to Lexi, not just the parts he was willing to share, all of him. Until he was ready to do that, Jade could have him.

That didn’t mean that every time he walked into a room her heart rate wouldn’t go up, or when he leaned over her shoulder and his chest pressed tightly against her back she wouldn’t have to fight the urge to turn her head to the side and trail kisses up his neck. She couldn’t stop the way her body reacted when he was near any more than she could change the electricity that arced between them until one of them got spooked by the intense feelings and left the room. What she could change was the way she watched life go by and ignored other men and basically let herself be a romantic hermit.

Peter was a pleasant distraction. He made her feel beautiful and attractive. She knew he wasn’t really her type; he was a little too wrapped up in himself. But even knowing that, she had to admit that all the attention he gave her was very good for her ego. And the way Vincent’s jaw clenched whenever Peter’s name came up in conversation was an added bonus. Part of her hoped it was jealousy that put that scowl on his face, but with Vincent, she never really knew what was going on in his head.

Frustrated that she was once again dwelling on a man she might never understand, she slipped out her door, hoping the headlines of the morning newspaper would provide a much needed distraction. As she bent and scooped the bundle up from the floor, she heard Hope’s door click open, and when she saw who stepped out, the newspaper that had been in her hand fell to the ground with a loud thud.

“Later, Hope.” Sean turned around, and when he saw Lexi gaping at him in just her T-shirt and underwear, he gave her a sexy wink and strode down the hall with a definite spring in his step.

“Nice outfit, Lex. You really should wear that to work one day. I bet Vincent would love it.” His low chuckle disappeared as he stepped into the waiting elevator.

Wasting no time, Lexi sprang across the hall and opened Hope’s door. She heard the light clanking of dishes being loaded into the dishwasher.

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When the door shut behind Lexi, Hope’s voice purred from the other room.

“Did you forget something, baby?”

“Yeah, I forgot the conversation where you told me that you and Sean were having sleepovers.” Lexi leaned against the refrigerator and grinned as a cookie sheet slipped out of Hope’s hands and crashed onto the tile floor.

“Crap!” Hope scrambled and tucked it into the dishwasher before finally facing Lexi’s highly amused gaze. “Oh, damn it, I thought I could just do it once and get it out of my system and never have to tell you about it, but I’m hooked.” She fell into a chair at her tiny table and put her head down, embarrassed. “It’s an illness.”

“Big, bad Hope has fallen. I never thought I’d live to see the day.”

Hope grabbed a napkin off the table, balled it up and flung it at Lexi’s head. “You’ve only known me for five months, you dork.”

“I’m just saying, I’ve never seen you lose your cool, especially over a guy,” Lexi teased as she took a seat beside her friend.

“Honestly, I have no idea what happens to me when he’s around. I get all hot and want to strip off my clothes and rub myself against him.” She slapped her hand over her mouth, embarrassed that she had shared so much. “Anyway, he wanted to get a drink last night, and I said fine, no biggie. I brought Marco and Tony with me, figuring they’d scare the hell out of him, I’d laugh, and it’d all be good. And ya know what happened? The two turncoats liked him! He schmoozed them. They were carrying on, laughing, and left me alone with Sean after one beer. When has Marco only had one beer at a bar? He must’ve paid them off, all I can figure.” She gently banged her head on the table. “And then Sean did that husky thing with his voice, and he asked me to dance. I should have known better, but he’s just so big and strong and …gah!”

Lexi laughed as she watched Hope fan her face.

“Then with the lights and the music … the man basically made love to me right there on the dance floor. His hips were moving, and his hands were wandering, and I just melted into some girlie pile of goo.” She hung her head in shame. “I might‘ve giggled.”

Lexi covered her mouth and made a dramatic gasp at Hope’s confession. “You giggled?”

“Bite me,” Hope snarled with a twinkle in her eye.

“I’m guessing Sean beat me to it,” Lexi said, pointing at a small red mark on the top of Hope’s breast that peeked out from the deep V in her camisole.

“Damn it!” Hope clutched the neckline in her hand. “I’ll kill him.”

“Hope Greyson, you’ve got it bad.” Lexi shook her head from side to side. “So, how was it?” There was no keeping the curious grin off Lexi’s face no matter how hard she tried.

There was a moment of silence as Hope closed her eyes and smiled. “There are no words for how amazing it was. He was everywhere, wrapped around me like a second skin by the time we closed the apartment door. And the man is all muscle. For the first time, I liked feeling small beside a man. He took control, and it was so damn sexy.” She pulled her lower lip between her teeth as she thought back on the night’s events. “I have a feeling every other man on earth will pale in comparison.”




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