Page 37 of Another Girl Lost

“Don’t. Stay tough.” I needed the Judge to be strong. I needed her boundaries. I needed to know there was at least one rock in my life.

“I’ll shake off any tender feelings immediately.”

“Thank you.”

“Have fun?”

“To be determined.”

I ended the call, gripped the phone, and moved toward the wine bar. I wasn’t more hopeful about this date, but some of the weight that had settled on my shoulders had lifted.

Lito’s had opened its large front doors and pushed back sliding windows to bring the outside in. People were sitting at cocktail rounds chatting and laughing.

Sweat pooled on the back of my neck.

I tightened my hand on my purse, walked inside, and checked the time. A minute after six. I looked around, searching for Luke, still hoping he’d changed his mind and hadn’t shown up.

A broad-shouldered man stood by a round top, and I realized it was Luke. He wore a suit, but he’d removed the tie. If he was trying to soften the image, he’d have to work harder. Slicked-back dark hair and the lights above sharpened the angles on his face.

I raised a hand and cut through the crowd, doing my best to avoid contact with anyone. One man backed away from the bar and bumpedinto me, driving an elbow into my battered ribs. My first reaction was to shove back hard and tell him to back off. But I caught myself. My fingers balled into fists as people flooded around me. Pulse pounding, I drew in a breath and kept moving. The goal tonight was a date that lasted sixty-three minutes.

Luke watched me as I approached, and I felt his appreciation stroking over me. At twenty-five, I should be making the most of my youth, but reaching beyond my walls and putting myself out there seemed like an impossible mountain to climb.

He’d expect a kiss on the cheek. A small casual touch. Bracing, I found a smile and leaned forward slightly as he kissed me on the cheek. Hints of expensive aftershave swirled around me. When his hand slid casually to my waist, I tensed.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I had a fall on the rock-climbing wall today.” I skidded away from his fingers and took the seat across from him. The table between us helped ease some of the tension away. “Ribs are a little tender.”

A frown furrowed his brow as his gaze skimmed over my body. “What happened?”

“I made it to the top and grazed the ceiling with my fingers, and then my concentration broke. Too cocky for my own good.”

He settled across from me. “Why did your concentration break?”

“Sometimes it just happens.”

Light from a candle nestled in a small votive glinted in his gaze. “Nothing just happens.”

I shifted, smiling through a grimace. I was grateful now I’d fallen. It was something to talk about, and it would explain why my body tensed when touched.

“I assume you had a safety harness on,” he said.

“I did. It was quite effective.”

When the waitress came to the table, he ordered a bourbon neat, and I selected a white wine. “I’ve never tackled the wall. I focus on the treadmill and weight room. It’s not exciting but it’s efficient.”

“You have a busy schedule?”

“Sure. But par for the course when you’re in practice for yourself. You’re self-employed. Any words of wisdom?”

“You never work a day in your life if you work for yourself.”

His quick laugh was hearty and rich.

I relaxed a little. “Truthfully, the job never stops.”

“No truer words.” He leaned back as if he were talking to an old friend.

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