“I’ll need a map of the city. Do you have one?”

“Not really, but I could get you one in the morning…or I could drive you there myself.”

Her lips parted. “But you have work in the morning.”

“No, I’m not going in tomorrow.”

“Why?”

“Because you just got here, and I want to spend some time with you.”

Her heart melted. The gorgeous, incredibly sensitive man before her had taken a leave from his job to devote time to her. She was flattered. “You don’t have to do that.”

He took her hand and sandwiched it between both of his. “I don’t have to but I want to.”

Their eyes met again, but his time, neither of them could look away. Warm electricity traveled through his orbs to her limbs and she saw Cooper’s Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed.

Not a good idea, Cooper. You always mess things up. You can’t risk it with Jenny. “So, am I taking you?” He broke the awkward silence. Am I taking you? What is wrong with me?

She sighed, feeling unnervingly giddy in her toes. She vowed to never look directly into his eyes again. They were magically addictive. Dangerously so.

“If you’re sure it won’t bother you.”

“It won’t.” He casually slid away from her to maintain a safer distance from her very appealing body. She’s heartbroken and very sensitive. I’m not going to give her something else to worry about. I’m all she has. I have to behave.

“Do you want to go for a walk?” It was better if they were out in a public place. The novelty of having her around was clouding his judgment.

Her face brightened up instantly. “Yes!”

Ten minutes later Jenny was outside, inhaling the aroma of New York. She loved New York, always had. But every time she visited, she hadn’t called Cooper. She had been too busy, too involved in her own life, immersed in her relationship, in her work. Cooper had called her every Christmas, on every birthday, and although she had been ecstatic every time to hear from him, she had never attempted anything for him. And when she finally needed him, he hadn’t wasted a moment to give her his hand.

She turned to smile at him adoringly and he grinned back at the very obvious expression. Linking her hand through his arm, she held him close while they walked. He had been busy too, but he had never forgotten her. With a sinking heart and guilty conscience, she faced the fact that she had let him go completely. But he hadn’t.

She grasped him tighter and for a while, Jenny forgot all her troubles. She had an interview the next day, and she had a bed to sleep in, which she wasn’t expected to share with her moronic ex-boyfriend.

**

“Do you think I overdid the makeup?” Jenny asked for the second time, and he put the car in parking, switching off the engine.

“What makeup?” he answered just like he had earlier, and she scowled.

“I'm nervous. Interviews always make me nervous. It’s like people will watch everything…nitpick petty details. It’s scary.”

“You look great. Don’t worry.” He meant it. In her beige suit and starched white shirt, she looked like a different person. He had been taken aback when she came out of her bedroom that morning. The tousled brown hair was swept down her back neatly, pinned on top of her head to keep it off her face. Her subtle pink lipstick and barely-there mascara and blush was impeccable. If she had sauntered into his office, he would’ve hired her on the spot. But then again, he was dreadfully biased where she was concerned.

She stepped out of the car, outside the small but impressive building of O’Malley Trust. “Aren’t you coming?”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to take your sidekick along on a job interview.”

She chuckled. “No, I mean inside the bank at least.”

“I’ll stay in the car. Take your time.”

“Okay.” She breathed harshly, smiling, her full lips making his heart flip over.

“And Jen…you look like a million bucks. Flaunt it.”

She blushed with giddy happiness. Coming from his lips, she suddenly felt like a million bucks. “If all goes well…my treat. McDonalds. Cause that’s all I can afford until I actually get the job.”