I glanced over my shoulder at her. “Yeah?”
“You have a phone call.”
“A phone call?” I repeated, reaching into my back pocket. My cellphone wasn’t there. “I guess I left my phone in the car.” Turning to Philip, I said, “Give me a few minutes and I’ll be back. I’m going to take this call and find my cell.”
Lara smiled at me as I walked past her to my office. “Hello,” I said, answering the phone.
“Hey, sunshine. You ignoring me?”
I sat down and laughed. “Of course not. I think I left my cell in the car. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I texted you and you never responded. I was starting to think you didn’t like my ideas.”
“What ideas?”
“Why don’t you get your phone and read my texts? Surely you won’t disagree with a little chocolate and foreplay, right?”
“Mmm, sounds kinky. I think I’d enjoy that.”
“I sure hope so. My dick’s getting hard just thinking about it.”
“Aren’t you still at practice? You don’t want the guys seeing you all hard up.”
He chuckled. “Can’t help it. You’re all I’ve been thinking about today.”
“I need to swing by my house after work and get some more clothes. That is, if you want me to keep staying with you.”
“Why don’t you just move in with me? We both know it’s inevitable. I mean, we’re basically living together now.”
“True, but I guess moving in officially makes it all real. I know how some guys are. You get scared of commitment and run.”
“Well, I’m not like those guys, sunshine. I’m not afraid to admit when I want something. Now pack your shit up and tell Lara you’re moving out. You’re officially mine now.”
Excitement bubbled inside me. “You got it. I’m all yours.”
After hanging up the phone, I rushed straight out of my office and ran right into Lara. “Trying to run me over?” she laughed, rubbing the shoulder I hit.
“Sorry,” I apologized. “I guess I was just a little excited.”
“So what did lover boy want?” The thought of his texts made me blush. I couldn’t wait to read them.
“He asked me something, and I want your take on it.”
Narrowing her eyes, she crossed her arms over her chest. “O--kay. Did he ask you to marry him?”
“No, but he asked me to officially move in with him. I kind of said yes.”
Her eyes lit up. “Sis, that’s awesome. Were you afraid I’d be against it?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I just hate leaving you all alone.”
She rolled her eyes. “Sum, we’re twenty-eight years old. I think I can manage living on my own. Besides, I’ve been doing it for a while now.”
“True, but I wanted to make sure.”
Lara grabbed my shoulders and smiled. “I’ll be fine. You deserve to be happy.”
“So do you,” I countered.
Her smile faded. “Yes, well, my life is a little more complicated at the moment.”
“It’ll get better, I promise.”
“I sure as hell hope so. I mean, it can’t get worse, right?” She waltzed off down the hall, and all I could think about was Luke. He was about to make her life really difficult. Back in my office, I grabbed the keys to my car and ventured outside. The afternoon air was chillier now that it was late fall, and the sky grew darker earlier. My phone was in the center console, and it vibrated in my hand when I leaned over and picked it up. There were six text messages.
Before I could look at them, I had a feeling I wasn’t alone. I turned around quickly and realized I was right. “What the hell? What are you doing here?”
Jaxon’s jaw clenched. “I came here to talk to you. Apparently I’m a suspect in Evan’s case. My house just got ransacked.”
“What did you expect? It’s obvious you don’t like Evan. Why don’t you go and talk to him? You have no business harassing me.”
“I’m not harassing you, Summer. If Evan would talk to me I’d go to him, but I can’t. You’re the only one I thought would be reasonable.”
“Then I think you made a mistake.”
He stepped closer and I backed into my car. “The mistake is that I’m suspended until my name is cleared. I can’t play, Summer. And it’s all because of you and Collins ratting me out.”
I stood up straighter, refusing to back down. “You should have thought about that before starting trouble. If anyone’s to blame, it’s you. You are the one who planted the seed of doubt in our minds.”
Philip appeared over Jax’s shoulder, tense and ready to fight. “Summer, what’s going on?”
“It’s okay,” I assured him. “Jax was just leaving.”
Jax looked down at me and huffed, his gaze angry yet weary. “Evan and I might have some bad blood, but I would never try to run him off the road. Believe it or not, that’s the truth.”
He backed away and glared at Philip before storming toward his car. Philip grabbed my arms and turned me to face him. “What the hell was that about?”
I watched Jaxon speed out of the parking lot and sighed. “Jaxon’s mad because I gave his name to the police. He and Evan don’t get along, so I thought it would be good for them to check him out. You know, just to be sure.”