Page 27 of Changed Plan

The engineer with the bad jokes who lived down the hall from me and so obviously waited for me to walk out of my apartment before he headed for the elevator so we could ride down together every morning? He was too damn talkative at such an early hour, but he was attractive. And kind.

Well, shit! Maybe I should’ve given them a chance.

But those guys never really made me laugh. I laughed to be polite, but I could’ve just as easily not. Zane is actually funny. He makes me laugh unexpectedly.

And those guys were both handsome, but Zane’s sexy. You can recognize that someone is attractive, but not be attracted to them. I’m attracted to Zane.

I’ve been attracted to him since the first time he made me laugh, standing in line for coffee.

Maybe it’s not that I shut other guys down too soon, but that I couldn’t shut Zane down even when I told myself I should. I considered saying no when he suggested the train ride, but I didn’t. I could’ve turned him down when he asked to share my table at dinner, but I said yes.

The only time I managed to tell him no was when he offered to let me stay in his room last night. And all that did was delay us getting naked together by a few hours.

Hours we’ll never get back.

10

Zane

With the End in Sight

Ifoldtheblanketbackbeneath the pillows, attempting to make it look as neat as when housekeeping does it, but my results are less than perfect. All that matters is when we fall asleep together again in this bed, there won’t any barriers between us.

There’s no way I’m letting her sleep in the terminal tonight. What objection could she possibly have at this point?

She comes out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. “I would’ve helped,” she says when she sees that I’ve already put the clean sheets on the bed.

“You were in the shower. I can make a bed.”

Her eyes scan the job I did. The overhang of the blanket isn’t exactly equal on both sides.

“The sheets are even,” I assure her.

“I believe you.”

Her smile says she doesn’t trust my claim, but she’ll see when she climbs between them later.

She opens her carry-on and rifles through the few clothes she has inside.

“You can borrow one of my shirts if you just want to be comfortable.”

“Thanks.”

I toss her a t-shirt from my bag. It looks so much better on her. And I love that she doesn’t bother with pants. There is something incredibly sexy about a woman wearing nothing but an oversized shirt, especially when it’s mine.

The food arrives. I uncork the wine while she peeks at the cake. Then she runs her finger through the frosting and licks it off.

“Warn a guy next time.” I pass her a glass of wine. “I didn’t even have a chance to get my phone out.”

“No photos.”

“I knew you weren’t going to be any fun.”

“Nope. I’m a total bore.”

She sits cross-legged on the bed with the excess material of my shirt bunched between her legs while she eats. I wheel the desk chair over in front of her again. There’s not a chance I wouldn’t get sauce or chocolate on the bed. She could spill her plate and I wouldn’t care. It’d be worth it to see her sitting in front of me like this. But I try to keep my eyes on hers as we talk.

I get her to open up a little about her life. Both parents are still alive, and she gets along with them. Not overly close, though. Never been married. No kids. Workaholic from what I can tell.

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