The One Love Collection - Lauren Blakely Page 0,1

at work, when I leave work, and when I meet him at various places in the city, including here.

In her dolphin-decorated one-piece, Simon’s daughter, Hayden, splashes around the shallow end of the pool with the other kids and the swim instructor. When she surfaces, she pushes her goggles up her face and spots her hero. The kid beams, her smile as wide as the sky as she shouts, “Daddy! Come see me dive!”

“On my way!” Turning the corner at the deep end, he walks past, waving as we watch the kids, and, let’s be honest, ogle him.

His eyes meet mine next. “Hey, Abby,” he says, with an easy grin.

My pulse speeds up, and I wave back. But I don’t blush. I don’t stammer. See? I live with this attraction, and I’ve mastered the art of self-control, revealing nothing as we hand-off the kid here at the pool today. “Hey there.”

He nods at his adoring fans. “Hello, ladies.”

That’s all it takes. Two words from the hottest guy around, and the hearts, they’re all aflutter as they wave back. He walks on by, crouching at the edge of the pool to say hi to his little girl and drop a quick kiss on her forehead.

Yup, his love for his girl makes him even hotter.

Leggy Lady leans in, pats my shoulder, and deadpans, “Nope. I’m not jealous of you whatsoever. Not one bit. Not at all.”

I shake my head, trying to dismiss the idea. “The only thing to be jealous about is that I’m two months away from paying off my college loans,” I say with a wry smile.

She narrows her eyes. “Now I really hate you.”

As I steal a glance at Simon, hate is the furthest word from my mind. The four-letter word that’s now front and center is work.

Tomorrow night, he’ll be working late. Which means I can snag a few minutes when he comes home just with him. I’ve learned to treasure those moments here and there when I get to talk to him, to know him, to learn more about him. The times when it’s only us.

That’s the funniest thing of all about attraction. It can be so torturous, but you can look forward to it so much. It’s an exquisite kind of torment.

It can drive you in everything, including how much I’m looking forward to tomorrow night.

2

Simon

“Looks like squirrel is on the dinner menu,” Abby calls to me as I leave the bedroom, looping a wine-red tie around my neck.

“I mentioned he was an inventive chef, but I’m not sure he’s that inventive,” I tease as I round the corner into the kitchen. “Besides, I’m pretty sure I told you it’s a Brazilian restaurant I’m trying to back. Not a rodent one.”

She shakes her head, her honey-colored hair curling over her shoulders. It’s long and shimmery; sometimes she wears it in a French braid, sometimes in a twisty thing, sometimes in a ponytail, and sometimes down. Not that I’m paying close attention to her hair. I couldn’t tell you she wore it pinned up earlier today when she’d first arrived at my home, and all I could think about was her neck and how her skin might taste if I brushed my lips along the column of her throat. Or that she had it pulled back in a loose ponytail yesterday, making her look younger and even prettier. Or how the day before that she ran a hand through her wild, wavy hair and I couldn’t help but wonder how those soft strands felt to touch.

No, I don’t notice every little detail about Abby Becker. Not at all.

“I’m talking about the eagles. You already forgot about the eagles?” She points to the screen of her iPad as I join her at the kitchen counter, adjusting the silk knot of my tie.

“I could never forget the eagles,” I say, and it’s true. I’ve checked them out a couple of times during the last few days, though Abby’s done most of the eagle viewing. She’s a tiny bit obsessed with nature documentaries. I don’t mean obsessed in a bad way. They’re her thing, and so they’ve become Hayden’s thing, since Abby spends so much time with her, taking care of her when I work. Last week, Abby discovered a webcam the American Bald Eagle Association had focused on a pair of bald eagle mates in a nest high up in a poplar tree in the National Arboretum in Washington D.C. Two baby eagles hatched a few days ago, and Abby