He chuckled. “It can be.”

“Miss Atlier?” the receptionist called.

I stood. “Yes, I’m here.”

Hollis followed me.

“Come on back. The doctor would like to speak to you.”

It turned out Huey had an infection. He needed IV antibiotics, and in order to administer that, he needed to be sedated. The vet said it would probably be two days before he was ready to come home, so I told the doc I’d be back tomorrow to visit. Hollis looked at me funny when I said I was going to visit Huey, but he was smart enough not to comment.

Outside on the street, Hollis looked at his watch. “I need to get back to the office.”

“Of course. Go ahead. I have a little while before I need to pick up Hailey, so I’m going to get some groceries.”

“I might be late tonight. I need to do some damage control,” he said. “Can you stay if I work a few hours later than usual?”

“Of course. I have no life.”

“Is that true, or are you being sarcastic? I haven’t figured out how to tell with you yet.”

I smiled. “No, it’s true. I wish I was being sarcastic.”

He hesitated. “Why don’t you have a life? I’m guessing men asking you out isn’t the issue.”

I arched a brow. “Are you saying you think I’m attractive, Hollis?”

“We both know you are, so cut the shit and answer my question.”

I had to work at hiding my smile. “I’m on a very long, self-imposed man strike.”

“How long is very long?”

I bit my bottom lip. “Going on two years now.”

Hollis’s eyes widened. “You haven’t had…” He shook his head. “Never mind. I need to go.” He started to walk away.

“Hollis!” I yelled.

He turned back and looked at me.

“Say goodbye.”

He shook his head. “Goodbye, pain in my ass.”Chapter 13* * *HollisIt was almost midnight.

I hadn’t meant to work this late. Even though Elodie had told me it wasn’t a problem and to stay as late as I needed, I didn’t want to take advantage. But the West Coast clients needed some schmoozing, and my staff had all stayed for damage control, too.

My apartment was quiet. It was damn pleasant to walk in and not hear Anna’s name squawked at me. I tossed my keys on the table and went looking for Elodie. The living room TV was on, but the sound had been muted, and there were subtitles flashing on the bottom of the screen. Elodie was out cold, lying on the couch a few feet away. I grabbed the remote and went to flick off the TV, but the show caught my attention. A long-haired Fabio-looking guy was unbuttoning his shirt when a woman with a shitload of cleavage on display walked in.

What’s this now?

Words popped up at the bottom of the screen as the woman marched over to the dude, saying something: “Merhaba tatlim.”

What the hell?

Was she watching a foreign soap opera or something? That’s what this shit looked like. I once had a client from Turkey, and I could’ve sworn merhaba was hello in Turkish. The woman who’d walked in on Fabio two seconds ago already had her tits pushed up against him.

I chuckled to myself and hit the Off button. Elodie was definitely different. I had no idea what to expect from her one minute to the next. Turning, I watched her breathe in and out a few times as she slept. She really was gorgeous. Relaxed as she snoozed, her features were soft and feminine. Earlier, her hair had been tied back, but now a piece of her thick blond mane had come loose and rested across her cheek. I had the craziest urge to push it back off her face. Her shirt was disheveled and pulled to one side, exposing a delicate collarbone and smooth, fair skin. I swallowed. Damn. While a part of me wanted to fix her hair, an equally strong part of me wanted to sink my teeth into that unmarked skin—leave bite marks where people could see them. It was fucked up, and I salivated, thinking, two years. Two years that beautiful body hadn’t been touched.

I scrubbed my hands over my face and walked over to the couch to wake her.

“Elodie,” I whispered.

She didn’t budge. So I tapped her shoulder. “Elodie?”

Her eyes fluttered open, and she stretched her arms up over her head. Her shirt rode up with the motion and exposed her midriff. I couldn’t help myself. I hadn’t been with a woman in a while, and being around Elodie made me lose my damn composure. Her stomach was just so smooth and flat, and her navel, an innie, showed off a sparkly diamond. God, I wanted to take that thing between my teeth and give it a good tug.

Shaking my head, I forced my eyes to look anywhere but at the damn nanny. I cleared my throat. “Sorry I’m so late.”