Blind Love (Cowboys & Angels 5)

She hung up and focused on me. I smiled wide, expecting her to return it. But this was Harley. And even though she’d been initially happy to see me, she was now far from pleased.

In fact, she was downright pissed.

The sound of his voice made me jump. When I spun around and saw Tripp standing there, for one brief moment, I was happy. He came to me. Finally.

Then I remembered what I’d just walked away from in his office, and I turned from him. A sickness rolled through my stomach.

“Doc, let me call you right back.”

“Okay, Harley.”

When I’d placed my phone on my desk I stared at him. He had the nerve to smile that damn smile of his. The one that normally would have my knees shaking and my stomach dropping. His dimple on the left cheek that you rarely saw unless he was giving you a genuine smile, yep, there it was. There he was…in all his handsome glory. After years of begging him to talk to me, now he shows up and thinks he’s going to be my knight in shining armor. Well, fuck that.

My knees were far from shaking. Right now, his smile made me feel more pain than anything. He’d given her that smile when she walked into his office. Dressed like an on-call whore, with Tripp’s dimples on full display not that long ago. When I realized I had dropped my key in Tripp’s office, I went back in.

As I walked down the hall I heard Mallory moaning as she called out Tripp’s name. They were screwing in his office. It wasn’t like I didn’t know they were having sex…but to actually hear it nearly destroyed me.

Now he wanted to help? He couldn’t wait for me to leave so he could have his little lunch date. Well, no, thank you, Mr. Parker. I don’t want your help.

“What do you want?” I bit out.

His smile faded. “Well, first off, I’m here to finish the conversation you started when you barged into my office earlier.”

My hands went to my hips. “Oh, you mean when I interrupted your lunch fuck date.”

His brows pulled together.

“Excuse me? I was having lunch with my, um, girlfriend.”

Ouch. That hurt more than I thought it would.

Rolling my eyes, I pushed out a frustrated breath of air as I dropped into my chair.

“Well, if fucking your girlfriend in your office is your version of lunch, then lucky her.” I looked away quickly. I hadn’t meant to say that last part.

“I wasn’t fu—”

“Save it, Tripp. I realized I’d dropped my key and came back to your office to get it. I heard you both going at it like rabbits. So, please, I’m not really in the mood for this.”

His eyes filled with what looked like regret. “I’m…I’m sorry about that.”

Forcing a smile, I shrugged. “Why? Like you said, it’s your girlfriend. Not really something I expected from someone who is running for mayor, but then again, I guess I don’t really know you all that well anymore.”

I couldn’t help but notice how he cringed a little when I said that. Interesting.

I wonder how many more times I can get the word girlfriend into this conversation.

Tripp broke eye contact and walked to the window. He was totally lost in thought. I didn’t have time to deal with his issues. I had bigger problems of my own.

“Did you come to bring me back my key?”

He nodded and turned to face me. “Yeah. Here ya go.”

After he dropped it on my desk, I expected him to turn and leave. He had avoided me for so many years, I couldn’t believe one lost key would bring him around. It was almost laughable. I would probably have laughed if I didn’t want to cry so desperately.

I opened the file on my desk and started to read it.

“Why did you come to my office earlier?”

Lifting my gaze, our eyes met. He had aged into an even more handsome man. His dark hair, unshaven face, and finely sculpted body were enough to make my stomach pool with warmth. When my eyes went back to his hair, the feeling vanished. He had that just-fucked hair. Her hands had probably been pulling at it as he screwed her. I quickly dropped my head.

Damn it. He still has such a strong effect on my body. Both bad and good.

“It doesn’t matter anymore. It was a mistake and I should have known better.”

He sat down in the chair that faced my desk.

Shit.

“What does that mean?”

Staring at him, the anger grew quickly. I wanted to tell him what an asshole he was. How much I hated hearing him having sex with Mallory. How it had killed another part of my heart. How I wished it was me having sex with him behind that door. I wanted to say it all now that I had a captive audience.