herself. “We’ll be living under the same roof. That’s not the same as living together.”
He shrugged. “Semantics.”
“As long as we’re on the same page here, then—” she couldn’t believe she was saying this, knowing full well he’d use those semantics to his advantage “—give me your money.” She held out her hand. “I’ll check out. You go pack up your stuff and meet me back at the loft.”
L EO WASN’T SURE he’d ever hit such a stroke of good fortune in his life. Capitalizing on it had proved to be tougher than he ever would’ve thought—at least before last week. He was learning fast that every inch gainedwith Macy, whether measured in physical or mental terms, was hard won.
But oh, was every inch sweet!
Not many people went toe-to-toe with Leo Redding and enjoyed, as he did, the feints and jabs, the thrill of the fight, the battle to go one better than his opponent. Certainly no woman had ever sparred so adeptly, so directly, as Macy had.
He’d yet to work out how this thing with her was going to go down. He kept insisting the attraction was all about the game, about a woman who had a competitive streak and cutthroat spirit he’d never found in another player.
But the piercings, the tattoo, the unconventional hair style, the wardrobe right out of a high-school classroom…it was all a bit much to deal with. She was a strange composite: everything he wanted in a woman and everything he avoided at the same time.
He wondered what her issue was about growing up, how long she’d continue to flaunt convention with the unorthodox way she dealt with the world around her. He could see her a year or two from now, taking off on a quest to “find” herself. His Bohemian, avant-garde mother all over again.
So, what in the hell was the appeal? Was he seriously looking beyond the exterior trappings and her obvious Peter Pan syndrome? Looking deeper, and seeing his own ambitious nature in a package meant to complete?
How Jerry Maguire was that?
Leo chuckled to himself, swung his garment bag over his shoulder and reached into the back seat of his Lexus for the duffel and overnight case that contained most of the belongings he’d need until he could move the rest of his things from storage into his new place.
His new place. It had been quite awhile since he’d been this excited about a change. Not that he’d necessarily been suffocating. He just hadn’t been in a mental place where he’d felt jazzed about much of anything.
Moving into the city was a personal victory of sorts. He’d established himself, had worked hard enough to afford the better things in life without a second thought as to how finances would effect his future. It was an incredibly intoxicating freedom, and he knew he’d made his father proud.
But his caseload of late was routine. The social functions he’d attended recently had failed to hold his attention. As had the women whose company he’d been keeping. A shake-up was definitely in order. And maybe Macy Webb was about to give him what he wanted.
The gate on the loft elevator closed and he began his ascent. For once, he wasn’t going to analyze. This time with Macy was something of a vacation. He was going to enjoy her scavenger hunt the same way he would enjoy sailing the deep gulf waters this summer.
And then, when he was baking in the sun and the solitude, he’d give more thought as to why this woman appealed to him at such a visceral, soul-searching level. And what exactly he was going to do about it.
The elevator ground to a stop; the gate groaned and creaked open. Leo half expected to find Macy in a warrior woman stance, wearing golden Valkyrie armor with longbow and six-foot spear at the ready.
Instead, the loft was quiet, the track lighting brightening the hardwood floor immediately in front of the elevator, but casting the rest of the main room into shadows. He walked inside, dropped his three bags onto the yellow-and-red plaid armchair.
He
He shrugged. “Semantics.”
“As long as we’re on the same page here, then—” she couldn’t believe she was saying this, knowing full well he’d use those semantics to his advantage “—give me your money.” She held out her hand. “I’ll check out. You go pack up your stuff and meet me back at the loft.”
L EO WASN’T SURE he’d ever hit such a stroke of good fortune in his life. Capitalizing on it had proved to be tougher than he ever would’ve thought—at least before last week. He was learning fast that every inch gainedwith Macy, whether measured in physical or mental terms, was hard won.
But oh, was every inch sweet!
Not many people went toe-to-toe with Leo Redding and enjoyed, as he did, the feints and jabs, the thrill of the fight, the battle to go one better than his opponent. Certainly no woman had ever sparred so adeptly, so directly, as Macy had.
He’d yet to work out how this thing with her was going to go down. He kept insisting the attraction was all about the game, about a woman who had a competitive streak and cutthroat spirit he’d never found in another player.
But the piercings, the tattoo, the unconventional hair style, the wardrobe right out of a high-school classroom…it was all a bit much to deal with. She was a strange composite: everything he wanted in a woman and everything he avoided at the same time.
He wondered what her issue was about growing up, how long she’d continue to flaunt convention with the unorthodox way she dealt with the world around her. He could see her a year or two from now, taking off on a quest to “find” herself. His Bohemian, avant-garde mother all over again.
So, what in the hell was the appeal? Was he seriously looking beyond the exterior trappings and her obvious Peter Pan syndrome? Looking deeper, and seeing his own ambitious nature in a package meant to complete?
How Jerry Maguire was that?
Leo chuckled to himself, swung his garment bag over his shoulder and reached into the back seat of his Lexus for the duffel and overnight case that contained most of the belongings he’d need until he could move the rest of his things from storage into his new place.
His new place. It had been quite awhile since he’d been this excited about a change. Not that he’d necessarily been suffocating. He just hadn’t been in a mental place where he’d felt jazzed about much of anything.
Moving into the city was a personal victory of sorts. He’d established himself, had worked hard enough to afford the better things in life without a second thought as to how finances would effect his future. It was an incredibly intoxicating freedom, and he knew he’d made his father proud.
But his caseload of late was routine. The social functions he’d attended recently had failed to hold his attention. As had the women whose company he’d been keeping. A shake-up was definitely in order. And maybe Macy Webb was about to give him what he wanted.
The gate on the loft elevator closed and he began his ascent. For once, he wasn’t going to analyze. This time with Macy was something of a vacation. He was going to enjoy her scavenger hunt the same way he would enjoy sailing the deep gulf waters this summer.
And then, when he was baking in the sun and the solitude, he’d give more thought as to why this woman appealed to him at such a visceral, soul-searching level. And what exactly he was going to do about it.
The elevator ground to a stop; the gate groaned and creaked open. Leo half expected to find Macy in a warrior woman stance, wearing golden Valkyrie armor with longbow and six-foot spear at the ready.
Instead, the loft was quiet, the track lighting brightening the hardwood floor immediately in front of the elevator, but casting the rest of the main room into shadows. He walked inside, dropped his three bags onto the yellow-and-red plaid armchair.
He
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