Page 12 of Anything To Be With You

Turns out, I meant nothing to her.

After that, I decided it was better to build a wall around my heart and threw myself into my work, barely going out. I tried blind dates, but I never found someone who kept my interest. After a while, I figured it was better to be single than have a woman destroy my heart again.

"You’re not wrong there. You know she also calls me once a week to tell me how much she misses you," Gabe states while making kissy noises.

Now it’s my turn to laugh. "She’s hoping she can catch me when I’m down and out so she can claw her way back into my life by feeding me bullshit."

"If she calls me again, I’ll tell her you found your way into a cute blonde’s bed," Gabe says with laughter in his voice.

"Then you’ll be an only child because she’ll kill me." I say.

"True enough. What are you doing for lunch tomorrow? I’m going to be in your neck of the woods around noon. Wanna grab a bite?" Gabe asks.

I shrug one shoulder. "Sure, why not. I have meetings in the morning, should be free by one."

Gabe bangs his hand on something hard. "It’s a date! I’ll bring flowers. Wear something that shows a little skin. I’m a leg man you know."

I shake my head, grinning to myself. "You’re an idiot."

"Don’t care. What I do care about is checking out this new assistant of yours," Gabe says.

The last thing I need is Gabe sniffing around Dani, laying on the charm. The ladies love him, with his sky-blue eyes and long blond hair.

"The fuck you are. You can wait with CeCe; you are not going anywhere near Dani."

Fuck. I don’t like this feeling of possessiveness I have with her already.

"Dani huh? Short for Danielle or Daniella. Cute name. Might have to call CeCe and get the run down on Dani."

"Don’t you fucking dare."

"Too late, see you tomorrow." He hangs up before I have a chance to say anything else.

I call Carrie, but she doesn’t answer. "Shit." I rub my face and look at the notification indicating a voicemail is waiting. Hitting the button, I listen to the message.

"Lucas, please call me back. I really need to talk to you. It’s important, I think…I think I made a mistake leaving you. Please, call me."

Deleting the voicemail and blocking her number, I head to my office, sit down in front of my computer, and get to work on Pierre Miller's divorce.

Ma! Shoe!

Dani

"Hey Ma! Where's my other shoe?"

For the love of all things holy.

I love my son, I really do, but this whole 'hey ma' thing needs to stop, he's giving me a headache. He's seventeen, he should know where his shit is.

"Ma! Shoe!" Mason yells.

He comes barreling down the stairs like a freight train, all six-foot-six, and two hundred and forty-seven pounds of him. He stands in the doorway of the kitchen, hunched at the shoulders to avoid hitting his head on the frame.

My son is huge. He's built like his father. A man who hasn't seen Mason—thank God—since he was just over a year old.

"Ma? Are you listening?"

Fuuuuuck, his voice is so deep. I miss his little high-pitched, squeaky voice. "Honey, I have no idea where your other shoe is. I wasn't the one who put them away," I answer as I make breakfast before my first day of work.

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