Calling It Read Free Page A

tonight. Didn’t realize she’d moved.”
    Oh, that wasn’t playing fair. Except if he didn’t know her brothers, much less that she had any, then he also probably had no clue that playing the sister card would get her every time.
    “I just moved in a few weeks ago,” she explained, feeling the need to reassure him.
    The air changed again. Although she still couldn’t make out his features, she had absolutely zero doubt that he was staring at her.
    And suddenly all the tension was back, albeit in an entirely different way. It crackled in the air around her.
    She nearly jumped when he cleared his throat and stood up, saying, “Look. This has been—” his laugh sounded as resigned as it did bitter “—fun. But I’ll go. Like you said. I’ll—”
    “ Wait. ”
    The word was said so adamantly Dorie almost didn’t realize it had come from her own mouth.
    Because it was asinine. Foolish. A mistake in a whole host of ways.
    He was her landlord’s brother, but that didn’t mean he was harmless. Yet she heard herself saying, “It’s late. It’s, uh, your apartment. And probably your bed . You should sleep in it.”
    When he started to protest, she said, “Really. Stay. Just let me grab some clothes and then the bedroom’s all yours.” She turned and walked down the hallway before she offered up anything else.
    Like dessert, for example. After she dropped her robe.
    For heaven’s sake. Maybe her brothers were right to worry and she truly shouldn’t be trusted to be on her own.
    The first thing she did was detour into the bedroom and grab her glasses—if the man was going to spend the night with her, she was damn well going to see what he looked like. And she’d call her landlord. Confirmation that the man was actually Fitz’s brother was still required.
    She pulled on a T-shirt and a pair of flannel PJ bottoms and then grabbed her phone before crossing to the bathroom. While she let the water drain from the tub, regretfully swirling her hand in the bubbles that were left, she made the call. There were voices on the other end when Fitz picked up. Sounded like a poker game.
    “Hi. I’m trying to reach Fitz?”
    “You’ve got her” was the answer. “Who’s this?”
    “Fitz, hi. This is Dor... Um, Lucinda. Lucinda Donelli.” Feeling a frightening urge to babble, Dorie shut herself up. The woman didn’t care that Dorie went by a nickname.
    After a few beats of silence, Fitz finally answered, “Oh. Is everything okay?”
    “Yes. I just...” Dorie leaned back a little so that she could make sure the guy was still out by the kitchen. He was. She shifted forward again, softly asking, “Do you know someone named D.B.?”
    “What?” Fitz snapped so sharply that Dorie straightened up.
    Dorie nudged the bathroom door closed. “This guy just kind of showed up. Your brother? He said he actually owns the apartment and—”
    “He said his name is D.B.?” Fitz asked. “Can I talk to him?”
    “Of course.” As the last of the water disappeared, she opened the door again and went down the hallway. The man still had his back to her. He was on one of the stools at the island, kind of slumped down, his head in his hands. Just for the record, with her glasses now on, it was clear his body was exactly as built as she’d envisioned it.
    “Fitz is on the phone,” Dorie said, holding it out to him.
    And as he turned, she realized with a start that she did know who he was. He was so far beyond vaguely familiar that, if the circumstances were different, it would have been laughable. Even, possibly, thrilling. Because the man in her kitchen was...
    Holy good lord.
    The man in her kitchen was Nate Hawkins.

Chapter Three
    Over the course of his career, Nate had met thousands of women. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say he’d been up close and personal with hundreds of them. But he was pretty damn sure that he’d never even been half as turned on as he’d been when the woman living in Fitz’s apartment brought