“I’m fine.” Cassie pushed herself to her feet and went to him. “A little tired, and?—”
“Sore?”
She blushed at the wry smirk lifting one corner of his mouth. “And sore.” Her palm flattened against his leather jacket. “But in a good way.”
“Yeah?”
An unhurried nod. “Definitely.”
“Good to know.” Archer leaned in for a kiss, but his phone peeled to life before their lips could meet.
Muttering a curse she couldn’t quite make out, he pulled back and retrieved his phone from the front pocket of his jeans before answering the call. “Hey, Logan. What’s up?” Archer listened to whatever his teammate was saying before telling the other man, “Okay. She’s right here. Hang on a sec.” Pulling the phone from his ear Archer told her, “The construction guys are at the house now. Logan’s going to stay and help until it’s time to meet up with Knox. Said it’ll be good as new by the time we get back home.”
“Oh, good.” She didn’t bother hiding her relief. “Please tell him I said ‘Thank you’.”
“I will. Oh, and hey…how’s pizza sound for lunch?”
“Throw in some wings, and you’ve got a deal.” She smiled. “And I’m not picky at all on my pizza, so just get whatever you want.”
His gaze smoldered as he lowered his voice and said, “Pizza and wings. Knew you were my kind of lady.”
Oh, how I wish I was your lady.
After last night…and the way he’d been with her today…Cassie sure felt as if she was. And Archer, well…
I want him to be mine.
Cheeks hot with a blush she knew he could see, she fought the urge to kiss him and instead responded with, “Tell LoganI’m happy to pay whatever I need to for the work those guys are putting in. I can give him a check when we see him.”
Waiving away her offer to pay, Archer sent her a wink and a sexy, sideways grin before pointing toward the hallway as if to say he was going to go somewhere else to finish his conversation.
Cassie nodded so he’d know she understood. With a quick wink of her own, she went back to the work still piled on her desk while he disappeared somewhere down the hall.
Minutes later, while she was scanning the first of several case files needing reviewed, her phone dinged with an incoming text. She picked up the phone, smiling when she saw Archer’s name and a message letting her know the pizza place was really busy, and the food wouldn’t be there for about another hour.
After sending him a quick text letting him know she’d be fine waiting an hour to eat, Cassie set about making notes for Ellie, who would be handling her cases while she was temporarily out of commission.
Please, God…pleaselet this be temporary.
For as long as she could remember, Cassie had wanted to be a lawyer. To help people who found themselves in need of a good, honest defense. Now she was the one in need of defending, and as she spent the next several minutes combing through a few of her client’s files, Cassie had to admit she saw them and their situations in a whole new light.
She’d always fought for them the best way she knew how. Had been, in her eyes, anyway, the best damn defense lawyer her clients could have found.
But now, as she sat at a desk she wasn’t sure she’d ever use again, Cassie found a renewed appreciation for the career she’d chosen. And if she somehow managed to get out of this whole mess, she vowed to continue giving her clients everything she had.
Because that’s what they deserved. It’s whatshedeserved. Which reminded her…
She grabbed her phone again and dialed a number she knew by heart. After several rings and an automated response, Cassie left a quick voicemail for Ellie letting her know she’d have the files boxed up and waiting for her at the front desk so she could pick them up in the morning.
Once that was handled, she took a minute to make another call. She dialed and waited…the recipient picking up after the third ring.
“Hey, you!” Lori’s greeting was cheery. “That’s so funny, I was just about to call you.”
Settling back in her plush leather chair, Cassie smiled at the sound of her friend’s voice. “Yeah? What’s up?”
“I just heard about what happened at your house.” Concern oozed through the phone’s tiny speaker. “I can’t believe someone did that. Are you okay?”
She considered the question a moment before answering. Was she okay? Not really. Not in the sense most would attribute to that particular description. But thanks to Archer’s protective presence, she was a whole lot better than she would’ve been.