Page 26 of Sin City Lights

She groaned and rubbed her bleary eyes. The words all jumbled together, no longer making sense.

She visualized graduation, as she had done so often. She was so close that she could practically feel that rolled-up diploma in her hands. She wished she could have financed school another way, but Eleet paid so well that she’d even managed to save a little money, although not enough to pay for the first year of grad school.

She’d done it on her own. Not bad for someone with no family other than a mother with the parenting skills of a shark.

Time for a green tea break. She tossed the highlighter, placed the anatomy book face down on the side table, then stretched and headed toward the kitchen.

No sooner had she opened the cabinet and reached for a mug when the phone rang.

“Your pilot is here for you, Miss Layton.”

Eve repositioned the phone receiver, thinking she’d misheard the lobby desk clerk.“My…pilot?”

“That’s right. He says he’s here to pick you up.”

She had a feeling Devon would never speak to her again, so it could only be one other person.

Adam.

Fireflies danced in her chest. Somehow, he had found her.

Before she knew it, and against her better judgment, she found herself saying,“Send him up.”

Adam. On his way up to her apartment.

Eve started to panic, thinking she should get dressed, do something with her hair, apply a little makeup. But then she decided not to do a thing. He’d come here uninvited. He would just have to find her as she was.

Well, almost.

She sprinted to the bathroom, dragged a brush through her hair, and dotted some rose gloss on her dry lips. She retied the belt of her red silk robe and kicked off her frumpy fuzzy slippers, opting for barefoot.

There. That would have to do.

Why was he here?

The sound of the buzzer made her jump. She couldn’t stop herself from peering through the peephole.

And there he was.

In uniform.

A thread of panic wound through her. Why had she let him come up? Oh, well. She’d take this opportunity to tell him to stop requesting her. Her heartbeat took flight, and strangely, her upper arms and lips suddenly tingled.

She placed her palm on the handle, took a deep breath, and opened the door, but she stood in the doorway, blocking his entry.

Dear God, but he was handsome. Heart-meltingly so, in that crisp white short-sleeved shirt and navy-blue tie. A pair of gold wings gleamed on his left breast pocket. His black-and-gold-striped epaulets graced his broad shoulders, and she remembered the feel of them under her fingertips.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded.

A trace of a smile played on his lips.“Good morning to you too, Eve.”

She just stared at him, her gaze sweeping from the top of his bright blond hair to the tips of his black lace-up shoes. His muscular legs were long, and she would bet her last dime that those leather Oxfords were at least a size thirteen.

His eyes flared like blue flames under her scrutiny.“May I come in? Or would you prefer to have me in the hallway?”

His blatant hint about the other evening at Mile High made her cheeks grow warm.

She hesitated, then stepped aside, allowing him to enter. He carried with him the scents of coffee and that cologne, the one that brought unwelcome memories of every hot encounter she’d had with him.

---