Page 18 of Heartsick & Lipsticks
“Stop. Lola, I saw him on the Ring cam.”
Him? Who washim? And did she call her mom Lola?
“I’m going to be watching. You have two minutes to get him out. I’m serious.”
I waited in the hallway for about a minute before walking down the hall. When I came into the foyer, she was staring down at her phone. I could see the stress and worry on her face.
“If you need to go—”
Her head jerked up, and I saw the surprise on her face. I’d managed to scare her twice in the past five minutes. Good job.
“Sorry.” I apologized again.
“No, it’s fine. I just didn’t hear you…” Her voice trailed off as her eyes shot back down to her phone. She stared at it for another thirty seconds or so before her expression relaxed.
When it did, she lifted her head.
“If you need to go—” I started again.
“No, it’s fine. He left.”
“Who’s he?” Was it any of my business? No. But for some reason, it felt like it was. I wanted to go over and kickhimout of her house myself.
“I don’t know.” Her left shoulder lifted in a shrug. “One of my mom’sfriends.”
I nodded, wishing that I could ask more questions but knowing it was none of my business.
“I have a daughter,” she explained. “So I don’t want my mom to havefriendsover at night.”
Every protective instinct in my body came to life. I’d always considered myself a gentleman. I opened doors. No woman in my company has ever walked to her car alone. If there was anything to carry, I always carried it. But I’d never been particularly protective.
That was how I felt now. I hated thinking about her dealing with her mother’s friends.
“Anyway, I better…” She started to walk toward the hall.
“How old is your daughter?”
“Fourteen. Almost fifteen.”
“Wow.” I didn’t mean to sound surprised, but she didn’t look old enough to have a daughter that age.
Her lips pulled into a tight grin, and she walked past me back toward the hall. Like a moth to a flame, I started to follow her but caught myself and turned the opposite direction toward the office.
I wasn’t sure what the deal was with her. Why did I feel so drawn to her?
I had no idea, but I did know I didn’t like it.
I liked control. I was always in control. Yet she’d tapped into an untamed, wild, impulsive side of me that no one ever had. It was unnerving and, I had to admit, enticing. And that was a dangerous combination.
