Page 43 of Serving the Maestro

Right up until I walked past Trent’s door.

And I couldn’t let Trent be the reason I turned down a nice guy if he called and asked me out.

Trent wasn’t around forever. He only had another month here. And the thing between us was about me getting pregnant.

Whether or not that happened, Trent was leaving.

I realized that being with Trent had changed something in me. Maybe I could find a way to share my life with someone? If Roger called, didn’t it at least make sense to give the relationship thing a try?

FOURTEEN

JAZZ

My phone buzzed as I walked into my building.

I offered a half-wave to the doorman and pulled out my phone. When I saw the message Roger sent, I found myself smiling.

He was a nice enough guy. No, he didn’t make my heart race or anything, but that wasn’t the only thing in the world that mattered, right?

Trying to convince myself, I stepped onto the elevator. I noticed a pretty—no, gorgeous woman all but trip into the car with me, laden with more shopping bags than I’d ever seen in my life.

Rich brown hair pulled into a high, tight ponytail swung around as she wobbled, trying to catch her balance. Without thinking, I grabbed her arm and steadied her. “Whoa,” I said, hitting the button to stop the doors from closing.

She gave me a wide, friendly smile. “Thank you. I haven’t been shopping out here in ages, and I kind of went a little overboard.”

“So I see.” Now that she was steady, I let the elevator button go and hit the one for my floor. “Where are you going?”

She told me, and I blinked, puzzled because I hadn’t seen her before, and as far as I knew, nobody on my level had moved.

Then her comment clicked. Haven’t been shopping out here in ages.

“Are you visiting?” I asked as the elevator whisked us up.

“Yes.” A friendly smile curled her lips, but she watched the digitized panel over the door, the numbers whirling as we climbed higher. “My feet are killing me. Why on earth do we torture ourselves with shoes like these?”

Glancing down at the hot pink, high-heeled sandals that matched her flirty skirt, I suggested, “Mental instability?”

Her husky laugh brightened her face and her eyes. She was absolutely beautiful.

I bit back the urge to ask who she was visiting.

She pushed off the wall as the doors opened, juggling her bags. With a hand on the door, I waved her out. “Go on.”

A bag fell, and I bent to pick it up, jerking my head out of range as she spun around, one more bag falling.

“Shit!”

“I’ll get it,” I said, grabbing the other one. The paper handle had torn away from the body of the sack, and I gathered the sides of it, lifting it that way. “Which way are you?”

She beamed at me. “You’re so sweet.”

I almost shoved the bags back at her when she stopped in front of Trent’s door.

Trent.

She was here to see Trent.

The bottom of my stomach fell out.

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