Page 2 of Whatever Lola Wants

“You better not, or next time you come to spar I won’t take it so easy on you.”

He bounced away, and Lola pushed open the door. The late May sunshine was bright, and the wave of accompanying heat announced that summer had come to Chicago. Grant and Anna’s new home wasn’t far, a thirty-minute walk she’d intended to take as a wind-down from her workout. But the sidewalk was crowded with Chicagoans eager to enjoy the sun after a long winter, and a quick glance at the time on her phone told her she was already running late. And since she’d forgotten to pack sunscreen in her workout bag, her pale, winter-white skin would be pink with sunburn by the time she got there.

Decision made, she pulled out her sunglasses and tapped her phone to bring up her rideshare app.

Fifteen minutes later, she stepped out of the car in front of Anna and Grant’s new house, took two steps toward the front door, then hit the sidewalk.

Well, someone hit her, then she hit the sidewalk.

She landed on her sore hip, hard enough to make her teeth snap together, and her bag landed in the flowers. “What the fuck?”

“Oh, hell.”

Oh, hell, indeed. She knew that voice. Hip throbbing anew, she tilted her head back and looked up into the ridiculously handsome face of Simon Hastings. Chestnut hair glinting in the sunlight, broad shoulders blocking half the damn sky. The pale gold eyes of a big, sleek cat, currently narrowed as he frowned down at her.

The man had predator eyes, she thought, and they suited him.

“What are you doing sitting on the sidewalk?”

She sent him a sunny smile. “Oh, just enjoying the weather.”

His scowl deepening, he reached down, grabbed her by the upper arms, and hauled her to her feet. “What?”

She tugged free and smoothed her skirt over her aching butt. “You knocked me down.”

“I barely bumped you.”

She bent down to lift her duffle bag from the flower bed, then looked up at him. Jesus, he was tall. Tall and built and sexy. He wore casual slacks and a black t-shirt that looked like it was painted on. “You’re a bit bigger than I am.”

He looked her over, his expression unchanging. “That’s an understatement. Are you all right?”

“Apart from the skid marks on my ass,” she drawled and turned to stride up the walk to Anna and Grant’s front door.

He fell into step behind her. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

Since he couldn’t see her face, she allowed herself a brief grin before schooling her voice to cool indifference. “I didn’t know you were coming,” she replied, and shot him a bland smile over her shoulder. “I guess we’ll both just have to deal.”

His face got that pinched look, the one that made him look as though he smelled something rank and couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. “I don’t care if you’re here.”

She let her smile widen and knocked on the front door. “Good for you,” she said encouragingly.

He scowled in a very satisfying manner, and the door opened on Anna’s beaming face. “You made it!”

Lola laughed as she was pulled in for an enthusiastic hug. “You look so good, Anna.”

Anna tossed back her hair, a sassy red that bled into orange and red and blue halfway down, making it looked as though it had been dipped in flame. “I feel so good.” She snagged Lola’s hand and held out her other to Simon. “Simon, I’m so glad you could come.”

Lola watched the change come over Hastings with amusement. His predator’s eyes warmed, the corners crinkling, and his mouth curved into a genuine smile as he took her hand and kissed her cheek. “It’s good to see you again, Anna.”

Anna hooked an arm through his, and with her other hand still locked onto Lola’s, tugged them both into the house. “Come on in, you two. Grant’s grilling.”

“Red meat, I hope,” Lola said as they made their way through the house. Boxes lined the hallway, sat stacked nearly to the ceiling in the living room. “God, Anna, you guys moved in two weeks ago. How are there still boxes everywhere?”

“We’ve been busy.”

“Uh-huh.”

Anna gave her a shoulder bump. “Grant’s been out of town for work twice, and I added three new clients. Getting up to speed has been taking some time.”

---