Forbidden by Cheryl Douglas Page B

while. What we did today was no different.”
    “Except now you have a steady paycheck. That has to count for something, right?”
    “I guess.” Lee frowned. “You okay? You seem kind of distracted.”
    If someone had told her a week earlier that she would feel comfortable talking with Lee Elliott, she would have thought they were crazy. Yet there they were, and she couldn’t think of anyone she’d rather open up to about her sister. “I got some bad news today. It kind of hit me hard.”
    “I’m sorry to hear that. You wanna talk about it?”
    “Yes and no.” She knew Lee would understand. She was torn between needing a friend and trying to go it alone, a place she was sure he’d been before. Maybe that’s why he was so easy to talk to.
    “I’m not gonna push,” Lee said, raising a hand. “If you don’t want—”
    “Would you like to go to Jimmy’s for a drink?” She hadn’t intended to extend the invitation, but she didn’t want to go home.
    “I don’t drink.”
    She had noticed he’d stuck to pop and water at his party, but she’d assumed that was because he was driving. “You had a problem with alcohol too?” She hoped she wasn’t overstepping her bounds. They were in a good place, and she didn’t want to risk that by offending him.
    “I had a problem with substances,” Lee said, looking her in the eye. “I have an addictive personality. I don’t believe in tempting fate.”
    “That’s very commendable,” Indie said with a smile. The more she learned about Lee, the more she realized she’d misjudged him. He was the good guy his sister-in-law and brother claimed he was. That left her in the uncomfortable position of having to figure out how to deal with her growing feelings for him.
    “But I will join you at Jimmy’s. I don’t feel much like going home either.”
    “Great,” Indie said, reaching into her desk drawer for her purse. “I’ll meet you there?”
    “Why don’t I drive you?”
    “You don’t have to do that,” she said, thinking about how she’d felt in the cab of his truck last night: scared and thrilled at the same time.
    “You said you’d like to have a drink. I’d feel better if you weren’t driving.”
    Gripping her keys, Indie tried to pretend her heart hadn’t swelled to twice its normal size at his innocuous comment. He wasn’t flirting with her; he was merely trying to be a considerate friend, she reminded herself. “It’s nice of you to offer, but one drink’s usually my limit.”
    “I’d still like to drive you,” he said, standing.
    “Are you always so stubborn?”
    “Depends.” He shrugged. “If something’s important to me, I rarely stop until I get what I want.”
    The way he looked at her made her feel as if all of the oxygen had evaporated from her tiny office. “And this is important to you?”
    “Yes.” He held out his hand. “Now hand over your keys. I’ll hold on to them. You’ll get them back if I’m satisfied that you can drive yourself home.”
    Indie couldn’t help but laugh. It had been years since anyone had cared about her personal safety, but his nurturing side was a pleasant surprise. She dropped her keys into his hand. “Your poor daughter. I can only imagine how rough she’s going to have it when she starts dating. A ten o’clock curfew?”
    With a grin, he fisted the keys, made his way to the door, and held it open for her. “That sounds about right.”
    Indie rolled her eyes, hoping he couldn’t see her smile when his hand moved to the small of her back.
     

 
Chapter Nine
     
    Lee hadn’t intended to spend the evening with Indie, but when he’d looked out the window and seen her car in the parking lot, he was drawn to her office like a moth to a flame. He hadn’t been able to keep his head in the game all day. His thoughts kept drifting back to her when his attention should have been on adding value to a team focused on making great music.
    At Jimmy’s, J.T. approached their table, and Lee