Page 5 of My Silver Fox Savior

“You lived … here, right?” He looks up and down The Row.

“We did, yeah.” I nod. “You took on Mom’s case. You stopped me from going into care. You gave her a second chance.”

“When was this?” he says, a soft smile touching his lips. “It must’ve been … ten years ago?”

“Yep. I was twelve. I never learned your surname then, and Mom doesn’t like talking about when she was like that.”

“Like that,”meaning completely dependent on pills.

“Is she doing better now?” he asks.

“Much, thank you. I think you gave her a wake-up call.”

He looks down at my feet and then back at my face, the corner of his lips twitching. Something tells me he’s comparing how I looked as a kid to how I look now. I was frumpy and bigger back then. I’m not exactlythinnow, but I feel like I’ve grown into my curves. Surely, he’s not doing that. I was twelve the last time hesaw me. Just because I had a crush on him, it doesn’t mean he’d ever think twice aboutme.

“Do you still live around here?” he asks after a pause.

“No, when Mom got clean, she moved us out. I’m here for work. I’m a social worker now. You inspired me. When I saw how you handled the system back then—not to mention Dad—and without asking for a fee, it meant a lot to me …”

I trail off, realizing I sound like the biggest dork who has ever lived. His lip does that twitching thing again as if he sees me as somebody he can show a polite interest in but nothing else. I’ve got to remember that while he was a huge inspiration forme, I’m probably just one memory in dozens, if not hundreds of cases.

“You’re here alone?” he asks after a pause, those kind eyes turning searching. “Handling a case?”

I stand up straighter. Am I nuts, or did his gaze flit to my chest? Yes, that’snuts. No, he’s notchecking me out. “Yes, I am.”

“You’re a senior social worker already?”

“I’m doing my internship,” I tell him.

He frowns and moves closer to me, almost like he thinks we’ll be overheard. I don’t even care about the reason when I can savor his cologne, his presence. How many times have I remembered tall and intense Landon since he disappeared from my life?

“You’re here alone,” he says, his tone getting tight. “While you’re on yourinternship? Somebody’s fucked up.”

“Or maybe somebody realizes I can handle it,” I hiss. “They also realize that there’s only so many resources available in this city.”

When his lip twitches again, I almost want to slap him. It’s the confused emotions it triggers in me. One moment, it’s like he thinks I’m cute and that it’s quaint and silly that a woman like me would handle this alone. The next, it’s like he’s fiercely proud, and I care much more than I should.

“What if it gets dangerous? This sort of work can, sometimes.”

“You’rehere alone.” When he laughs, I snap, “What? You don’t need to be afraid, but I do?”

“I don’t want to offend you, Lily …”

“Maybe I’m not very easily offended.”

“Then yes, I think I could handle myself better if something went wrong. I also think the sky is blue.”

There’s not much I can say to this, so I go the sarcastic route. “Actually, it’s pretty gray today.”

His laugh seems more genuine now, less mocking.

“Why are you here?” I ask. “Is it about the bar?”

He nods. “Noise complaints from some parents. They want to use the noise as a reason to shut the bar down.”

I debate if I should tell him. Landon is even better at reading me now than he was when I was a kid. Back then, when he helped my mom, he could tell I was trying to protect my dad; he could tell I was terrified of revealing the truth about Mom’s addiction. He could read it all, which made revealing it so much easier.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, leaning down even more.

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