Page 18 of Safe With Me

“And what a coincidence, we were just talking about you,” Kathy said, her gaze drifting over my shoulder.

I swiveled my head to find Mike standing behind me, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. His brown hair was sweaty and soaked, turning it almost black.

It was a battle of wills with my eyes not to track a bead of sweat as it dripped down his neck and along his bare chest.

Keeping my gaze at eye level was taxing enough to give me a headache.

“I was off today and thought I’d get a run in while there was almost a cool breeze tonight. The police gym gets a little boring sometimes.” He laughed before tipping his head back and draining the water bottle in his hand.

“Hey, Lila,” he said, a slow grin spreading his cheeks. That smile was a lethal weapon.

“Hey, Mike.” I sent him a tiny smile back before taking another sip, trying like hell not to count his abs in my periphery.

“I was just saying how you fix things for us sometimes. Your father taught you well.” Terry said, an almost flirty smile lifting her lips.

Mike snuck me a grin as if we were sharing a private joke. My heart fluttered in my chest, but not in a tense, on-guard kind of way for once.

“Yes, my tutelage at Russo’s Contracting taught me how to hammer a nail and put most things together without instructions. But I can credit the LEGO I had as a kid for that, too.”

He rested his elbows on the railing, treating us to the flex of his forearms. Mike was tall with a lean but broad build. Not bulky but strong, good for fighting bad guys and other things I hadn’t thought about a man doing in a long time. Yet the intrusive thoughts were coming at me left and right.

He needed to leave or come back with a shirt on before I geared up to make a fool of myself in front of him for a third time.

But my God, this guy was beautiful.

Did he even have a clue? Judging by the hint of a smirk twitching on the side of his mouth, maybe. But I didn’t get an arrogant vibe from him.

More playful. Cute. Sexy.

If it wouldn’t have looked rude, I would’ve downed my wine, thanked them both, and given Mike a quick wave before I retreated into my apartment.

Appreciating an attractive man wasn’t a terrible thing—or it shouldn’t have felt that way.

The way his gaze trapped mine whenever I glanced in his direction as he made small talk with Kathy and Terry had me wondering if he was appreciating me back.

Or maybe he was watching for any more sudden or weird movements.

I blamed my reactions to Mike on a mix of homesickness from my call with Ally and the isolation finally getting to me. The last thing I wanted or needed was to make a mess when I was trying to simplify my life.

“Right, Lila?” Kathy asked, pulling me out of my wayward thoughts and back onto their front porch.

“If you need me to help you hang up stuff, I’m more than happy to. Just let me run home to take a shower.”

Shit, what did I just daydream through?

“I figured, you have all those nice pictures just leaning against the wall. Why let them sit there when Mike can hang them up in no time?” Terry said, lifting her shoulder with a sly smile playing on her mouth.

“Pictures and knickknacks are what makes a place feel like home. At least, for me.” Kathy reached over to pat my knee. “And we want you to feel at home here.”

I detected the sympathy in her eyes, wondering if Claudia had alluded to why I’d come to Kelly Lakes and had taken this apartment so quickly. I trusted her enough to know she’d either given the ladies a short version or one that didn’t make them suspicious of me.

I didn’t want either of them to pity me or feel badly that my apartment’s bare walls made it a cold place to stay.

“You’re right,” I said, nodding my chin at Mike. “As long as you feel up to it, I wouldn’t mind hanging up some pictures.”

The smile breaking out across his face made the air whoosh right out of my lungs. All I could do was smile back as the lack of oxygen kept me from forming any words.

Men had never made me tongue-tied like this. I had recent difficulty being around them, but it was from keeping them from getting too close, not from fighting to keep my distance.

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