Rebel with a Cause by Natalie Anderson

want to talk about it. Well, she didn’t want to either. What was the point? It was done. It was finished. She wasn’t going to go all cold and wounded on him. But not flirty and desperate either. She’d aim for friendly professional. She flashed him a smile—just the right touch of warmthbut not overly so. ‘I’m off in a minute. I’ll drop to part-time hours as we discussed now the backlog is cleared.’
    He annoyed her completely by walking further into her office instead of hoofing off to his own as she’d hoped. She looked out of the window so she didn’t have to look at him.
    â€˜The vandals have been back.’ She’d noticed it this morning. The graffiti was huge—stunning, if Sophy dared offer her opinion, which she didn’t because now he had that really brooding look on his face. ‘You didn’t hear them?’ It had to have been more than one kid to spray a piece that big in a short time.
    â€˜I’m a deep sleeper,’ he said dryly.
    She shifted a letter unnecessarily. That was dangerous territory. ‘What a pain for you to have to paint over it again.’
    He shrugged. ‘I’ll leave it for a bit.’
    â€˜Fair enough.’ She was quite pleased. She liked the colours, the whole fence looked on fire with the crimson reds and burnt gold coils.
    She logged off the computer, gathered a couple of items to put back in the cabinet. It only took a moment. Then she reached for her favourite shiny handbag. Definitely time to make her exit.
    Â 
    Lorenzo leaned against the window frame and watched. Wow, she really was efficient, wasn’t she? Had filed him away as if he were one of those pieces of paper. Checked him off her list and moved on. Forgotten about him.
    And he shouldn’t give a damn.
    And he didn’t—it was just his cock making things complicated. Leaping to attention when he merely walked the corridor—before he’d even seen her, let alone caught her fresh scent on the gentle breeze. The desire gnawed athim—had ruined his sleep last night. He’d lain awake, the noise of the city at night loud in his ears. So often it had soothed him. He’d spent so many nights listening to the traffic, imagining he was in one of those cars and just driving, driving, driving away.
    And the restlessness had driven him outside—to the cover of darkness where he could create. Despite it being his property, it still thrilled him—helped release the anger that had burned in him since he could remember. Making his mark—he was there and they couldn’t get rid of him, no matter how much they wanted to.
    Alex had had a bit of bitterness with the mess his parents had made. Lorenzo was filled with it.
    He’d chuckled as he worked on the fence. What would the do-good miss say if she knew it was him? He’d spent hours on it—switched all the lights in the warehouse on to cast a glow out to the yard. But in the end it hadn’t done its job. Nor had the five-mile run he’d taken after. He was still angry. He was still frustrated.
    He still burned inside.
    But he’d discovered something that offered the softest respite from the old torment.
    Sophy.
    Unfortunately she was also the cause of half his trouble. Somehow just being around her—and her perfect looks, her proper manner—brought those old feelings back.
    â€˜You are coming to the fund raiser tomorrow night, aren’t you?’ he struggled to ask casually.
    â€˜You really need me to?’
    â€˜Yes.’ Hell, yes. ‘It would be good to have you on hand to make sure the information side of things goes smoothly.’ He totally made it up. There was no information side of things.
    â€˜Then I’ll be there.’ She paused by the door on her wayout, turned back to look at him, an irritatingly benign smile on her face. ‘I assume it’s all right to bring a date?’
    Every muscle locked onto