“I broke up with Shelby.”
Claudia’s mouth dropped open slightly before she closed it. “You did? When?”
“Last week.”
“So you’re single?” Her voice rose on the last word, and I bit back my smile.
“I am.”
I Have Questions
Claudia
Holy crap. Frank wasn’t only sitting in my office right now, but he had just dropped the most unexpected bomb in my lap.
He was single.
It was something I hadn’t wanted to hope for since it seemed like wishing for the impossible. Plus, it was selfish to hope for someone else’s relationship to end, even though I had wanted it to.
And now here he was, sitting across from me in all of his Frank Fisher glory, telling me that he was available and comparing me to the night sky.
I had to keep my legs crossed to stop myself from jumping into his lap and straddling him the way I’d done numerous times lately in my dreams. No, there were still a lot of unanswered questions I needed answers to, and unresolved feelings I needed to work through. This was an overload of information hitting me all at once, much like his voice mails had been.
“Say something,” he said softly, his tone pleading.
I didn’t know what to say or where to start. I was overwhelmed, my thoughts in a jumble, all mixed up and out of order. I couldn’t have sorted them out in that moment if I tried.
“Can we talk about all of this later? Preferably not where I work,” I said as I noticed my next appointment already waiting in the lobby.
“How about where I work instead? Tonight. Come by. It doesn’t matter what time.” When I didn’t respond right away, he firmed his voice. “Tonight, Claudia. Come.” It wasn’t a request.
“We’ll see.” I tried to be strong, to resist, but he knew better. It was as though he could sense my vulnerability when it came to him and my newfound information about his relationship status.
Frank stood up, his muscular body seeming enormous in my tiny office. “If you don’t show up, I’ll come here every day until you do.” He flashed that fabulous Fisher smile at me, the one that slayed women every night of the week, and my heart raced. “I’m not giving up.”
Looking down, I swallowed my smile. “I still have questions.”
“Bring ’em. Hell, make a list if you need to. I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
“Anything?” I glanced up at him through my lashes, unable to stop the teasing tone that came out.
“Yes. After tonight, I don’t want there to be anything between us. Except maybe some sheets,” he said with a laugh. “But probably not even those.”
As he turned and walked out of my office, I found myself staring at his ass and broad shoulders. He paused before he reached the front doors and glanced back, giving me a small smile.
Dammit, he knew I’d been watching him walk away.
I attempted to catch my breath as I headed to the lobby to greet my next appointment. Britney caught my eye through the glass wall of her office, practically bouncing in her seat with frustration. I held up a finger in her direction, telling her to wait, and then extended my hand to the customer waiting for me.
• • •
As soon as my next appointment left, Britney shot through my open door and closed it behind her before she plopped into my guest chair.
“Tell me everything. And don’t leave out a single detail.”
After I filled her in, she insisted she’d be going to Sam’s with me that night. “To make sure you don’t wimp out,” she said.
When she confessed that Ryan had texted her and that she had set up the meeting today for Frank, I could only pretend to be mad for so long when I wasn’t. At all. I was more shocked at how good she was at keeping me in the dark, pretending through breakfast and our whole commute to work that nothing out of the ordinary would be happening later that day. She was a skilled liar, and I’d never even known it.