He must be dreaming. It was the only logical explanation.
“Hi,” Emmy said.
“Hi,” he replied stupidly, not sure what he should say to a real woman he’d been imagining only moments earlier.
“Did I wake you?” She gave him a once-over, and he became painfully aware he was only wearing black boxer briefs. “Oh.” She flushed, becoming aware of it too. “I’m sorry.”
Emmy turned away, whispering, “So stupid.” She was halfway to the elevator before Tucker shook off his stupor and it dawned on him she was leaving. “Emmy, hang on.” He stepped out into the hallway, keeping his door open with one hand so it didn’t lock behind him. “Don’t go.”
She stood stock-still in front of the bank of elevators and stared down at her feet. With her hair pulled back in a loose bun and still wearing the rumpled clothes she’d started the day with, he was able to absorb how exhausted she was, even from thirty feet away.
“I can put pants on,” he offered.
Emmy laughed, short but honest, and looked from the elevator to him, then smiled softly, like anything bigger might hurt her cheeks. For a minute he thought she might still leave and wasn’t sure what he could say to stop her, but then she shouldered her big purse and closed the gap between them. She gave him another once-over from a few inches away. Her cheeks stayed pink, but she didn’t glance away. “Don’t get dressed on my account.”
Tucker stepped back and held the door open for her, watching as she moved into the suite without turning on any lights. “You know,” she called out, “it’s only like nine o’clock. When did you turn four hundred?”
He closed the door, shutting out the brightness of the hallway so the only light was from his bedroom alarm clock and the city outside. Her silhouette glowed against the bright outline of the buildings. “I have a Nazi athletic trainer who says I need to get up early if I’m going to stay in shape.”
“Your shape looks just fine.” She spoke so softly he wouldn’t have been able to hear her in a louder room, but with only the two of them there, the words cleared the distance between them too easily.
“Thanks.” Don’t push your luck, Lloyd.
“Sorry.”
“Stop apologizing.”
“Sorry,” she said again, then laughed. “You think I’m a Nazi?”
Tucker sat in an armchair near the door and held a throw pillow in his lap, wondering if he ought to go find some sweats, then remembering he hadn’t brought anything with him.
“I think you’re great at your job. I believe I’m on the record saying that.”
Emmy slumped onto the bed and let her purse fall to the floor. He couldn’t see her face but thought better of adding anything to the conversation until she spoke again.
“Can I ask you something?” she said.
“Sure.”
“How do you know when something is over?”
“What do you mean?” He stretched his legs out, uncomfortable with the long limbs being cramped up in the small chair. He was hopeful her words meant what he suspected they did, but for all he knew she was talking about her job.
But if she was talking about her job, why wouldn’t she be at Simon’s apartment?
“I don’t know.”
“You do know.”
She was quiet as she kicked off her shoes and tucked her legs up underneath her. “Simon was making dinner. For another woman.”
“Oh.”
“And I wasn’t mad.”
“No?”
“I mean…he says she was coming over for work, and I have no reason not to believe him. He’s not the one who’s been kissing other people.”
They both fell silent.
“But you weren’t bothered by the idea of him having another woman in his apartment?”
“No. I was…relieved?”
Tucker’s heart skipped. It actually skipped. He opened his mouth, and the words came out before his common sense could stop them. “Why did you come here?”
Emmy propped her chin on her folded hands. “I needed a friend.”
“And I was the first person you thought of?”
“You were the one who was ten blocks away.”
“Ah.” He set the pillow aside and got to his feet, then sat on the bed next to her, a safe person-sized distance between them. “Friendship by proximity.”
This close he could see her smile and it was dangerous, because this close meant he could kiss the upward curve of her lip with only a lean.
“Thank you for coming with me today,” she whispered.
“Of course.” He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, planting a kiss on the top of her head. “Whatever you need.”