“After one date?”
“And one alley rescue.”
Cara furrowed her brow. “Do you think you’ve put him on a pedestal because of that?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “Maybe. I just know that I’ve been looking forward to seeing him again since a few seconds after he left Friday night. It feels really good.”
“Just be careful.”
I laughed at her big sister tone. “Don’t worry about me. What about you? What’d you do over the weekend?”
She shrugged and looked down at her plate. “Just went to the club Friday night.”
“What club? Six?”
“Yeah. I met someone there that night with you and we hung out.”
“Good. Do I get to hear more about it?”
“Not yet. I don’t want to jinx it.”
That was unlike Cara. Her innermost secrets usually poured out of her. I said nothing, but my curiosity was piqued.
We walked back to our office after lunch, the fall breeze blowing our hair and making us button up our wool coats. I loved fall in New York. The bright colors of changing leaves and crisp air signaled time for flannel pajamas and hearty soups.
“Busy afternoon?” Cara asked me as we rode the elevator up to our floor.
“Two meetings. Not bad,” I said. “You?”
She rolled her eyes. “I have my evaluation today.”
“You’ll get a good one.”
“I hope. My billable hours are pretty kickass.” She reached for my arm as we stepped off the elevator, her lips parting with interest. “Viv, who is that?”
A tall, fit man with short dark hair was leaning over the desk of Samantha, one of our paralegals, giving her a smile that was literally making her eyelashes flutter. I was embarrassed for her.
“That’s my brother,” I said to Cara. “I don’t know what he’s doing here.”
I approached and Samantha gave me a look that said go away.
“Grayson,” I said as he turned and hugged me. “Did you do something requiring legal representation?”
He laughed and squeezed me tighter. “Not today, sis. You got a minute?”
“Sure.”
He followed me into my tiny office and I closed the door.
“Private office,” he said appreciatively. “Nice.”
“Right. Not quite as nice as yours, I’m betting.”
Grayson was three years older than me, and I’d followed him to New York after he took off in in his position at an investment banking firm. We didn’t get to spend much time together, but it was nice having a family member close by.
“So what’s up?” I asked, sitting down in my desk chair.
“Something’s gotta be up for me to come see my little sister?”
He was trying for a light tone, but his gaze was darting around my office. He looked nervous, which was very unlike my confident, successful brother.
“Whatever it is, you can tell me,” I said.
He let out a deep exhale. “I really hate to ask, but I need to borrow some money.”
I forced myself not to let my shock show. Grayson made much better money than me. I assumed he was loaded, but apparently not.
“Okay. How much?”
Another exhale. “Maybe five hundred?”
His tone was so hopeful that I reached into my purse immediately and took out my checkbook. “Sure, no problem.”
“Thanks, Viv. I’ll pay you back soon.”
“What’s going on, Grayson? Is everything okay?”
“Oh, yeah.” He waved a hand dismissively. “Just a short-term crunch is all. Made a bad investment.”
“You’re sure you’re okay?” I tore off the check and passed it across my desk to him.
“Positive. Hey, wish I could stay, but you’ve probably got work to do, and I need to get back to the office myself.”
We both stood and he came around the desk to hug me again.
“Thanks again,” he said, tucking the check into his pocket. “I’ll get you something extra nice for Christmas this year.”
I groaned skeptically. “You set the bar pretty low last year with that shirt that said ‘you can’t afford me’.”