Page 22 of Some Saviors Can Break You

“Then I guess you’re leaving now,” he said with a grin.

“I guess,” Florence agreed but didn't look too happy about it. Whatever was running through her head right now was evidently something that was upsetting her.

“I’ll give you a ride home, do you need to get anything before we leave?” he asked Florence.

“My purse is upstairs on my desk.”

“I’ll wait down here while you go get it.”

She opened her mouth, her face troubled, but then snapped it closed, nodded, and disappeared off down the corridor.

“Did she tell you that she thought someone was watching her apartment this morning?” he asked Florence’s partner once they were alone.

Jake’s eyes grew wide. “No, she never said a thing.”

“I went to pick her up, and she pulled a gun on me, thought I was the one watching her.”

“Were you?” Jake arched a brow. “I know you’ve been sending her flowers, calling her, and hanging around ever since you saved her from getting hit by that car.”

Eli tried hard not to lose his temper at the insinuation. “I'm interested in her.”

“And she’s told you several times that I've heard, that she’s not interested.”

“She might say the words, but you know she doesn’t mean them.”

Jake studied him for a long moment. “Look, from what I know of her childhood, it was pretty messed up. She doesn’t trust easily. If you’re interested, you better be prepared to be patient. I have a feeling you're not a patient man.”

“I can be patient with her.”

“Thanks for telling me about someone watching her.”

“I told you so you can do something about it.”

“And I will.” Jake gave a nod then walked off.

While he waited for Florence, Eli debated the odds that he could convince her to come and stay with him until they found whoever had been outside her apartment. His hotel was safe, and the apartment he would be moving into had excellent security, even though he hadn't officially moved in yet, he owned the penthouse, and he kind of liked the idea of staying there with Florence.

“I thought you had snuck out the back,” he teased when Florence finally returned.

That coaxed a smile out of her. “I thought about it.”

Instead of ordering her to give him a chance to prove to her that there could be something real between them, he took her hand again, pleased when she threaded their fingers together.“You hungry?” he asked as he led her outside to where his driver was waiting for them.

“Starving. Jake and I were so busy today we skipped lunch.”

Stamping down a flare of jealousy at the thought of her spending all day every day with a man who could be a model, he said, “How about we grab some takeout on the way to your apartment?”

“Yeah, okay, I guess we can do that.”

Pleasantly surprised by Florence’s acquiescence to what he considered to be a date—not that he was going to tell her that just yet, he didn't want to spook her—he opened the car door for her. “What do you want?”

“I'm easy, whatever you like is fine by me.”

“I'm in the mood of pizza.”

“Pizza is good, but I only like cheese on my pizza.”

“What?” He shot her a look like she was crazy, then pulled out his phone to order the pizzas from his favorite place. “No mushrooms? No ham? No olives? Nothing at all?”

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