Opening the door leading to the lobby? Now that, that wasn’t coincidence. That shit was morbid curiosity.

I looked around the atrium, intentionally positioned behind a wide marble column so I could look things over without too many people seeing me. It was pretty quiet for early evening. To the left was the check-in area. One customer stood being helped while a few employees milled around behind the long counter. To the right was an empty bank of elevators. Straight across, on the other side of a large, circular fountain, was the lobby bar. A dozen or so people sat around. I scanned for her face.

Nothing.

She’d left the office at four thirty, so she must be here by now. Hopefully she was inside the restaurant ordering expensive shit from the menu, compliments of the douchebag, and not suckered up to a room upstairs.

Annalise’s screwed-up relationship was none of my business. I should have turned around and left. I didn’t really care if she got screwed over.

Coincidence.

Morbid curiosity.

Those were the reasons I’d stepped foot into the lobby. And the reason I walked toward the bar, rather than hauling ass out the front door?

I’m thirsty. Why can’t I have a drink?

The bar was L-shaped. I sat in the far corner against the wall so that liquor bottles and the fancy old antique cash register blocked me from most people who happened to walk into the lobby. I had a clear shot at the restaurant doors, though. The bartender set a napkin down in front of me. “What can I get you?”

“I’ll take a beer. Whatever you have on tap is fine.”

“You got it.”

When he returned, he asked if I wanted to see a menu. I didn’t, so he nodded and started to walk away until I stopped him.

“Any chance you saw a blonde?” I motioned with both hands to my head. “A lot of wavy blonde hair. Ivory skin. Big blue eyes. If she was with a man, I’m guessing he looked like she was out of his league.”

The bartender nodded. “He had a Mister Rogers sweater on. She was taller in those heels.”

“Did you happen to see where they went?”

He hesitated. “Are you her husband or something?”

“No. Just a friend.”

“You’re not gonna cause any trouble, are you?”

I shook my head. “None whatsoever.”

He lifted his chin. “They went to the restaurant. Closed out their tab about twenty minutes ago.”

I blew out a deep breath. Sure, I felt relief. But it wasn’t because I gave a shit whether Annalise slept with the douchebag or not. It was because I didn’t need crying at the office. I had to work with her now—in close proximity.

I sat at the bar and nursed my beer for the better part of half an hour. The door to the restaurant opened and closed, and the initial stakeout excitement I’d felt started to lose its luster. I considered bolting.

Until the door opened, and I caught a glimpse of the woman coming out.

“Shit.” I looked down into the empty peanut dish I’d polished off, attempting to avoid eye contact. After thirty seconds, I chanced a sneak peek up. She wasn’t standing in front of the restaurant door anymore. I breathed a sigh of anxious relief. But it only lasted one breath. Because on my next inhale, I diverted my eyes from the door and found Annalise in my peripheral vision, walking right toward me.

And she didn’t look too happy.

Her hands gripped her hips. “What do you think you’re doing?”

I tried to play it off casually by picking up my empty beer and bringing it to my lips. “Hey, Texas. What are you doing here?”

She scowled. “Don’t even try it, Fox.”

“What?”

“Why are you following me?”

I feigned being offended, raising my hand to my chest. “Following you? I’m meeting a friend. I had a client meeting a few blocks over.”

“Yeah? Where’s your friend?”

I looked down at my watch. “He’s…late.”

“What time were you supposed to meet him?”

“Umm. Six o’clock.”

“Who are you meeting?”

“What?”

“You heard me. What’s your friend’s name?”

Damn. This was an inquisition. Her rapid-fire questions threw me off. I said the first name that came to my head. “Jim. Jim Falcon. Yeah. Ummm…I just met with a client, and we were going to have drinks after to go over my meeting.”

She added some badass squinting to her scowl. “You’re so full of shit. You’re following me.”

“I left the office at three today to go see a client,” I lied, knowing my door had been closed so she wouldn’t have known if I was still in when she left. “What time did you leave?”

“Four thirty.”

“So how exactly could I have followed you? I think you’re following me.”

“Are you nuts? Seriously, I think you need a shrink, Bennett. I’ve been watching you through the door to the restaurant for a half hour. You’re staring at the door every time it opens.”

I threw up my hands like I was exasperated. “The door is in my line of view.”

“Go home, Bennett.”

“I’m waiting for my friend.”

“I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but I’m a big girl and can take care of myself. I don’t need your protection. If I want to fuck Andrew, whether he wants to get back together with me or not, that’s my decision. Not yours. Maybe you should spend some time thinking about why you don’t have a relationship of your own, rather than being so concerned with mine.”

Before I could get another word in, Annalise turned and stomped back to the restaurant. I sat there for a few minutes collecting my thoughts.

What the hell am I doing here? I’d lost my damn mind.

The bartender walked over and leaned one elbow on the bar. “She’ll come around. They only get that pissed off when there’s something there.”

He saw the confused look on my face and chuckled. “Can I get you anything else?”

“You got any ass back there? Because mine just got chewed out.”

He smiled. “Beer’s on me. Hope your night gets better.”

“Yeah. Me, too. Thanks.”

I took my time walking the three blocks to the parking garage and then sat in the car and shot off a text to Jim Falcon before I forgot.

Bennett: If Annalise asks, you were supposed to meet me for drinks at the Royal Hotel bar tonight at six.

He typed back a few minutes later.

Jim: I’m way too cheap to pay eleven bucks for a domestic beer.

Bennett: She doesn’t know that, jackass. Just cover for me if she asks.

Jim: No, I meant I’ve wanted to check out that place, and it’s too pricey for my budget. So it’s gonna cost you. Three drinks there next time we go out. You’re paying.

I shook my head.

Bennett: Fine. Good friend you are, making me pay to cover my ass.

Jim: You’re lucky we weren’t supposed to fake meet for a dinner. Their surf and turf goes for seventy-five bucks.

I tossed my phone onto the dash and started my car. I’d parked on the second floor of the garage, and there was a long line to pay and exit. A sudden urge to get the hell home hit me as I waited. So of course, every person in front of me paid with a credit card, then I hit the light on the corner of the garage before having to stop for pedestrians at every turn. The street to get back to the highway was a one-way, which meant I had to pass the hotel again.

I made the mistake of looking at the door as I passed, and a flash of blonde came through. Only this time, Annalise didn’t notice me. Her head was down, and she walked quickly, practically running out of the hotel. Stuck in a line of traffic, I watched in my rearview mirror as she sped up even more, passing a few parked cars before bending to put her key in a door. She swung it open and hopped inside. Then her head dropped into her hands.

Fuck. She was crying.

A horn from the car behind me blared, jolting my attention from watching her in the rearview to looking at the driver’s arms waving in the air. The light had turned green, and everyone in front of me had driven off. I gave the asshole the finger even though I was in the wrong and then hit the gas.

Get the fuck out of here, Bennett.

You don’t need this shit.

She told you straight out to mind your own damn business.

And yet…

I found myself pulling to the fucking curb.

Annoyed with myself, I threw the car into park and hit my palms against the steering wheel a few times. “Such a dumbass. Just go the fuck home!”

Naturally, I didn’t follow my own advice. Because apparently I was a glutton for punishment when it came to this woman. Instead, I got out, slammed the car door shut, and started walking down the block, back toward her car.

Maybe she’d be gone.

Maybe I’d imagined she was crying and instead she was laughing into her hands.

Of course, I had no such luck.

Annalise didn’t even notice me as I approached. Her car hadn’t been started yet, and she was busy wiping her tears with a tissue. I walked around to the passenger side, leaned down, and knocked gently on the window.

She jumped.

Then looked up, saw my face, and began to cry harder.

Fuck.

Yeah, I have that effect on women sometimes.

I dropped my head back and stared up at the sky, silently berating myself for a few seconds, then took a deep breath, opened the car door, and got in.