discarded garment and her briefcase, suddenly eager to escape the barren office and the loneliness it represented. She could imagine how Tate would gloat if he knew she’d spent the day here alone.
But it turned out the building wasn’t entirely deserted. As she juggled her belongings in her arms to lock the brokerage door, she heard footsteps in the hall behind her. She glanced back immediately; her dad, who’d been far more comfortable teaching her self-defense than taking her bra shopping, had coached her to be aware of her surroundings.
Her eyes widened. Hot Architect! It was like a sign. Or fate, if she believed in such nonsense. For today, be a believer. “Hi.”
“Hi,” he echoed. “I didn’t think anyone else was cooped up in the building on such a gorgeous day.” His lips quirked in a lazy half smile, his gaze dropping in a brief but appreciative once-over before returning to meet hers. “Never been so happy to be wrong.”
He was flirting with her? His unexpectedly playful tone was like diving into cold water on a scorching summer day—an initial shock to the system, but damn it felt good.
Although he still hadn’t given her a full smile, humor danced in his eyes. “I hope your presence here on a Saturday afternoon doesn’t mean you’re a stuffy workaholic,” he teased. “That would be tragic. But I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt.”
“You’re here, too. Workaholic tendencies?”
She could almost believe the man she normally saw in well-tailored suits was a workaholic. But now? Lord have mercy. His dark hair was rumpled. With no trace of styling product, it looked shaggier yet sexy. He filled out a pair of jeans in a way that could make a grown woman weep, and his T-shirt... She tried not to gape, scarcely believing how he’d hid those biceps under his suit jackets.
He crossed his arms over his chest, giving her a great view of corded forearms. “I wouldn’t describe myself as a workaholic.” This time, instead of the half smile, he flashed a wicked grin. “But I don’t stop until the job’s done to everyone’s mutual satisfaction.”
Her mind raced, full of suggestions on how such satisfaction could be reached. Hadn’t she promised herself that when he finally smiled at her, she’d make a move?
“Are you on your way to the elevators?” he asked.
“Stairwell, actually. I prefer physical activity.”
His grin widened. There was a bracketed indentation to the right of his mouth, not deep enough or boyish enough to be called a dimple, but close. “Sounds like you and I have a lot in common.”
Two days ago, she’d offered the innocuous suggestion of buying him a pastry. Now she wanted to offer a whole lot more than that. Dinner, maybe. And dessert, back at her place. Slow your roll, Yates. The guy doesn’t even know your name yet. “I’m Danica, by the way. My friends call me Dani.”
“Mine call me Grayson. Or just Gray.” He reached out to shake her hand, his fingers calloused and warm against her skin. She suddenly wanted to know what that touch would feel like along the rest of her body.
“Do you have anywhere you have to be?” She blurted the question before she could change her mind. “Because, personally, I’m dying to let off some steam.”
Heat flared in his eyes, his smile fading into something more intense. “What did you have in mind?”
“For starters, a drink at a bar I know.” The delicious way he was looking at her made her reckless and lightheaded. “After that...well, I guess we’ll see.”
He stepped closer. They weren’t touching, but the proximity was intimate. Her body prickled in heightened awareness and if her hands weren’t full, she’d be fanning herself. “Consider my evening cleared.”
Wow. She was really doing this. Exhilaration and desire were a potent mix, an electric buzz along her nerves.
They fell in step together, and he opened the door for her when they reached the stairwell. Dani walked up and down these same concrete steps on a daily basis, but it had never felt thrilling or sexy before. Gray’s presence heightened her senses, made her more aware of her own body. As she descended the stairs in front of him, she swore she could feel his admiring gaze drop to her hips and butt. The ogling wasn’t unwanted. After all, she was the one who’d propositioned him. And holding the attention of such an incredibly sexy man made her feel powerful and feminine. Boldly sensual.
While she’d never been shy, even she was surprised at how brazenly she was behaving. She’d daydreamed about making a move on him when he finally smiled at her, but she’d had no idea how hot the chemistry would be between them. It made her wild impulse to take him home feel inevitable rather than insane.
Still, one-night stands were uncharted territory for her. At this precise moment, tasting his kisses seemed like the best idea she’d ever had, but would she feel that way the next time they ran into each other outside the coffee place? What would it be like to stand in line for a latte behind a guy who’d seen her naked?
As they reached the exit, she took a deep breath. “No matter what happens tonight, you don’t have to worry that seeing me will be awkward when Monday rolls around or that I’ll crowd you.”
“Monday?” he echoed. Evidently, he hadn’t thought that far ahead yet.
She gave him an earnest look over her shoulder, wanting to clarify that there were no strings. “I’m definitely not looking for a relationship. I was supposed to get married in...” She consulted the slim gold watch around her wrist. “Forty-five minutes. My fiancé eloped last weekend with the woman he was seeing on the side. Right now, I need to have a really good time and forget the whole mess.” Permanently, if possible.
Did her words make it sound as if she’d picked him at random? “I’ve been thinking about you all week,” she added. “And it seems like the attraction’s mutual. What do you say, Bryce?”
He frowned.
“Gray,” she corrected. He’d said the nickname was what his friends used, and she was hoping they would become very friendly before the night was over. “Want to help generate a little amnesia?”
IDIOT, IDIOT, IDIOT. Sean wanted to howl at the bitter unfairness of the situation, at his own stupidity. He was in his brother’s office building, so why the hell hadn’t it occurred to him that the stunning brunette had mistaken him for Bryce? Maybe because no one had confused the two of them since second grade. They were too dissimilar.
The disappointment at hearing his twin’s name from Dani’s full, cupid’s bow lips stabbed deep. The idea of his brother flirting with her, touching her... His hands clenched into fists at his sides. Then again, she must not know Bryce, or why would she have introduced herself? Sean spared a moment of contemptuous disbelief for his permit-seeking, suit-wearing brother. The man worked down the hall from a woman who looked like this and had never even asked her name?
Idiocy must run in the family.
As he mentally berated both himself and his brother, Dani’s forehead crinkled. “Damn,” she sighed, regret lacing her husky voice. Had she taken his silence as rejection? “Was I too forward?”
“What?
