Page 5 of Holiday Loss

There wasn't even a boy.

Well, man not boy.

Other than friends, people related to work, or people related to Freddie’s school, the only man she’d even conversed with lately was …

No.

He wouldn't.

Would he?

“Something you want to tell me?” Adam asked as he set the giant bouquet down on her desk.

“Umm … no. Nothing.” Despite how it seemed that was absolutely the truth.

“Certainly seems like there should be. You seeing someone and failed to mention it?”

“Seeing someone? When would I even have the time?” Her hand trembled as it reached out to grasp the card sitting amongst the flowers.

“Then who’s sending you flowers?”

“I don’t know,” she answered honestly. Just because she had a crazy idea of who it might be didn't mean it was true.

“One way to find out.” Adam nodded at the card in her hand.

Slowly, she opened it, almost afraid to see who they were from. “If you feel like teaching me the ropes of lock picking the offer for dinner still stands,” she read aloud, her voice shaking as much as her hands.

It was from him.

From Donovan Davidson.

“Lock picking? Someone asked you out and asked you to teach them how to pick locks?” Adam asked, clearly confused.

Embarrassed about last night, she hadn't told him about it this morning, hadn't thought there was any need to. Hadn't believed that a billionaire like Donovan would give her a second thought.

But he had.

More than that he’d sent her flowers.

After handcuffing him and putting him in the back of her car, he’d still asked her out. Even when she’d said no, he’d reached out again.

Why did that have excited butterflies dancing in her stomach when she knew it could never go anywhere?

Chapter

Four

December 6th

5:44 P.M.

This out-of-character nervousness was exciting even as it was unpleasant.

Donovan was used to being confident. He knew his skills, his strengths and weaknesses, and plenty of people called him egotistical, but he never viewed it that way. It wasn't that he thought he was good at everything, he just focused on the things he could do instead of those he couldn’t.

With the amount of money he had sitting in his portfolio of investments, properties, and stocks, combined with the body he spent hours a day working on at the gym, he had never had a shortage of women interested in getting him into bed. Over the years, he’d dated but not a single woman had captured his interest more than the exhausted cop who had put him in handcuffs.

Getting her out of his mind had been impossible the last three days.

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