Yes, of course, they were leaving.
“Just heading out.” Roman gave Marlee a hug. “Your kid is awesome.”
“Did you know Sadie still doesn’t have office space?” Eli asked.
Was it Sadie’s imagination or was Roman somehow closer to the door? She hadn’t even seen him move.
“Come on,” he mouthed to her.
She hesitated only a second, but when she turned, Roman was not there. Was he escaping without her?
No. No, he was not.
“I’ve got to catch Rome.” She didn’t look back as she sailed out the door. “You guys will do great. Good luck.”
Roman stood leaning against the side of the house, just outside the door.
“You said no man left behind.” Sadie pointed her finger at his chest.
Roman watched her intently, but he didn’t say a word. Not a syllable. That smile remained pasted on his face, never wavering.
“I’m still here.” He moved forward, right to her.
Oh yes, he sure was. Her body seemed to very much like that he was still there. She felt the nerve endings all along her skin tingle at his proximity.
“But you’re out here and I was in there.” She waved her arm toward the house, ignoring the tingle.
“You were gabbing. I was evacuating.” Oh gosh, he got closer.
She huffed out a breath.
His testosterone level had hit maximum intensity and smacked Sadie straight in the face.
She paused, her heart beating faster.
He was a predator and his prey had just walked through the door and straight into his trap.
Thwwwwwap.
“What are we doing, Roman?” she asked, meaning so much more than what they were literally doing right then in that moment on this planet.
“There’s space in my building.” Roman didn’t move an inch or move his gaze from hers.
Yay! Maybe he’d know where she could find administrative help, too.
“Seriously? Where’s your building?” Sadie asked, hope floating to the surface.
Not that she would choose an office near Roman because it was near Roman, but she really needed an office and wasn’t going to be too picky as long as it was in her budget and didn’t have a leaky roof or a funky smell. She could deal with a hot guy in the same building. And really, the funky smell could be covered with some oil-based candles, so that wasn’t a total deal breaker either.
“In Cherry Creek, not too far from Heather’s cookie shop and Jase’s flower shop.” The way his jaw worked, the way his eyes scanned her, Roman wasn’t attempting to be intimidating (even if he was…a little). He was trying to figure her out. Like she was a puzzle and he thought he had known where the pieces went, but now, he wasn’t so sure.
She would never select him for jury.
Lucky for her, he wasn’t up for jury selection. Instead, he happened to have a lead on an office space.
“That sounds amazing.” This could be perfect. Marlee was on maternity leave, but when she went back to work, it’d be at Jase’s shop. Sadie would love to be close to her. Close enough she could babysit her nephew in between clients and meet with Marlee for lunch. Hang with Lothario. Yes, this could be perfect.
Except.
“What’s the catch?” she asked. The rent must be sky-high in Cherry Creek.
“There’s no catch.”
There was always a catch.
“I’ll think about it,” she said.
“You do that.” Roman walked to his truck, climbed inside, and gave Sadie a two-finger wave as he turned over the engine.
Another Sadie rule of life? Never trust something that seems totally reasonable.
Because it never is.
Chapter Eleven
Sadie: I did not spend the night with Roman.
Marlee: That’s not true.
Kellie: You should text an ex. It always makes me feel better when I’m stressed.
Becca: Do not do that.
Marlee: They were taking care of Luke. Pretty sure it was platonic.
Kellie: Did Roman at least slip you a little tongue?
Becca: Do not answer that.
Marlee: Actually, yes, answer that.
Sadie: If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to ignore you all now.
Becca: Are you okay?
Kellie: Don’t answer that. Just let us know when you finally stick your tongue down Roman’s throat again.
Marlee: Don’t do that.
Becca: Unless you want to.
Kellie: And if you do, we want to hear about it.
Sadie shoved her phone in the briefcase bag and trekked into Heather’s Cookie Co.
Pink and yellow polka dots adorned the windows. The place was perfectly perky as a cookie shop, but not so appropriate for a divorce proceeding. Even the hot-pink sign on the door that read Come In! We’re Open & Awesome! seemed the antithesis of what her clients were going through—even if Sadie herself adored the color combo.
Stepping through the front door, she expected the festive decor—she’d gotten used to it. The penis-shaped cookies on the counter, however, were not the norm.
Sadie stalled. She so totally needed a freaking office.
One in appropriately muted colors with no surprise cookies staring her in the face.
She sighed. Even if the office came with freaking Roman, his totally too-good-to-be-true offers, his charisma, and his brown eyes.
“Hi, Sadie.” Tonya turned from her examination of the cookies.
Sadie hadn’t been sure what to expect of a client who met her soon-to-be ex-husband through a fish-enthusiast chat forum. She did know she hadn’t expected her to be quite so Tonya. Tonya was one of those stunning women who could be picked out of a crowd by talent scouts and sent on an extravagant modeling gig in the Big Apple. The kind of woman with high cheekbones, perfect bone structure, and a face that was as symmetric as they came.
“They’re dressed like police officers, how interesting is that?” Tonya asked.
“So interesting.” Sadie held her hand out to her client.
Tonya shook it. “Who would’ve thought to use handcuffs that way?”
The handcuffs were placed at a unique angle along the waist area of the cookies, making it appear as though they actually had their own—
“I know, right?” Sadie replied.
She knew Heather had an underground following for inappropriately shaped cockies (as Heather called them). She just usually didn’t store them on top of the case like that.
“So sorry.” A blushing cashier pulled the tray away. “I grabbed the wrong tray. Wasn’t paying attention. So, so sorry.”
“Can I buy a few of those?” Tonya leaned over the case.
“Absolutely,” the girl chirped.
“I’ll just meet you in the…” Sadie pointed toward the hot-pink birthday room.
“Be right there.” Tonya was already making her choices from the police officer selection.
One solid intake of the pink walls and Sadie gave in. She texted Roman to arrange some office-seeking time.
When a couple met on welovebigfish.com and they combined their tanks of exotic aquatic life, what could they expect when the inevitable divorce kicked in?
A custody dispute, that’s what.
However, eating a dick-shaped cookie while discussing custody arrangements was a new one for Sadie.
Sadie read through the…names…on Tonya’s list.
Each and every one of the forty-seven fish had their own name and description, including line items listing the ones who liked each other, mated with each other, or had personal issues with one another. The list started with Roger, the most expensive of the batch. He came with a hefty tens-of-thousands-of-dollars price tag.
He favored Tonya and, according to her, got really upset when she and Rex argued, which happened often before the separation.
Roger’s distress was the catalyst for the separation.
“No arguments near the fish habitat
,” Sadie mumbled, jotting down the first point of Tonya’s requests. “How far is near? We’ll need to be specific.”
“Just not close.” Tonya nibbled at the edge of the handcuffs on her cookie.
Tonya had grabbed one for Sadie, too. She hadn’t touched it. Not yet. It looked great, really, it did. But biting into it seemed like a violation of legal ethics or something.
“What if we say ten feet?” Sadie asked. “Reasonable?”
Tonya nodded.
Sadie jotted down a note to find out if there was such a thing as anxiety medication for aquatic animals—just as a potential alternative if Rex balked at the ten-feet rule.
“Have you thought about time splits?” Sadie flipped over to the next page of her yellow legal pad.
They couldn’t move the fish frequently without shocking their systems, so Tonya proposed that both parents (Sadie used that term loosely) would share custody by moving in and out of the home.
“They’re accustomed to me most of the time.”
“Are you thinking every other weekend for Rex?” That worked often in custody arrangements that involved children where one parent was the primary caregiver.
“That would work.” Tonya dipped her cookie into her coffee, the liquid dribbling off the tip.
Sadie glanced away, giving the cookie a moment to get itself together.
“I also don’t want him to bring women over. It’ll totally confuse the kids.” Tonya chomped down on the end.
“And you won’t have men over either?” Sadie tried to keep her focus on her pen and paper—really, she did.
Tonya shook her head, dipping and lapping up the coffee from the cookie.
“Eventually, you’ll both probably have new partners,” Sadie pointed out.
“Then we’ll need to take time to explain to the kids how things are.” Tonya shifted uncomfortably. “Also, can you add that we can’t have…” She made a motion with her cookie and Sadie got the message. “…in view of the tanks.”
“To be clear, you mean sex.”
Tonya nodded.
Sadie wrote a side note—a subsection to number two—that there shall be no liaisons where the fish could see.
Of course, number three stated that no sushi or other fish-based ingestible products—including fish oil—are allowed in the home, under any and all circumstances.
Of all the points, this one made the most sense to Sadie.
They wrapped up the meeting, Tonya went on her way, and Sadie headed to meet Roman.
Her phone rang. She paused her trip down the sidewalk and glanced at the caller ID—her office line.
She seriously needed that space. Also, a receptionist.
“Law Office of Sadie Howard, Sadie Howard speaking,” she said, once again ducking to the side.
“Hi Ms. Howard,” a female voice replied. “I’m looking for a divorce attorney and our mutual friend Marlee suggested I call you.”
God bless Marlee.
Also, yay, another client.
A maybe client.
“Absolutely.” Sadie fished a notepad out of her purse. “Let me just get some details and we can schedule a consultation.”
Sadie restrained her excitement as she jotted down the woman—Karen’s—details.
“Let’s sit down face-to-face and go over everything,” Sadie suggested. The sidewalk in Cherry Creek wasn’t the best place to be delivering any sort of personal legal advice. Sort of like the birthday room at Heather’s Cookie Co.
“Where’s your office? I can come there?” Karen asked. “Today would be great if you can spare some time.”
“I’m actually all booked up today, but let me see if I can squeeze you in tomorrow?” Sadie asked. “I can come to you?”
“Oh, I don’t have an office. I’d be more comfortable meeting at your location.”
Looked like it’d be another cookie meeting.
“Sure,” Sadie said. “Let me just see how tomorrow looks, and I’ll be in touch.” Sadie walked purposely toward the flower shop where she was set to meet Roman.
Hanging up with Karen, she strode through the doors of Jase Dvornakov’s shop, The Flower Pot. A cowbell clunked against the glass door when she entered, and the whole place held a fresh floral scent, an insane amount of flowers, and the undertone of eau de hot Dvornakov men.
Roman, Jase, and their brother, Zach, were all shooting the shit, sitting on stools around the flower-arranging station in the middle of the room.
Three Dvornakovs in one room? Wowsa.
She paused, her heart beating faster at the sight of Roman.
He looked rather rested for getting no sleep.
The weight on her chest pressed harder against her lungs. All three sets of Dvornakov eyes focused on her.
She forced a bold smile. The office was the priority, not her body’s reaction to Roman.
“Hey, all,” she said.
“Sadie. What can I do you for?” Jase asked, standing.
Wasn’t he supposed to be on his honeymoon?
“I’m just meeting Rome,” Sadie said. “Are you supposed to be here?”
“Yup.” Jase nodded. “I own the joint.”
“I meant the honeymoon thing.” Sadie dropped her purse on the stool next to Roman.
“They did the weekend away in Estes Park thing,” Zach said.
“Followed by the upcoming three weeks in Italy thing,” Jase added.
“Sadie,” Roman said, moving to face her. “Long time.”
“Ha,” she replied.
Zach glanced between Roman and Sadie. He seemed to catch the vibe. Really, the chemistry was hard to miss, even for someone as averse to it as Sadie.
It clearly dawned on Zach that there was more than what met the eye between Roman and Sadie, because he shoved his brother’s arm and said, “Nice.”
Roman shoved him back harder. Zach had to catch himself and not biff it by falling off the stool onto the floor.
Aside from the predatory smile, Roman seemed unaffected by her appearance. His heart rate was apparently not going bananas the way hers was. Nope, he was all calm, cool Dvornakov. How was that possible?
“What are you and Rome up to this fine morning?” Jase asked.
“He’s showing me some office space.” Sadie moved toward the crew as though Roman and his proximity didn’t affect her at all.
“It’s Babushka’s building,” Zach chimed in. “He should probably disclose that. If you don’t know Babushka, you definitely need a briefing before you decide to go all in with one of her spaces.”
That was definitely noteworthy. Sadie noted it.
“She knows Babushka,” Roman said. He still had that monotone quality to his voice. The one that made her edgy.
“What’s with you?” Zach asked. “Somebody piss in your cornflakes?”
“I didn’t get much sleep last night.” Roman kept that stare tucked tight on Sadie.
Jase took in his brothers, then Sadie. “This is gonna suck—”
“Office is up the street.” Roman cut off his brother. “My grandmother went in on property with a bunch of her friends. They live next door at the retirement home and manage the place. I help them out with that.”
“What he means is they give him a master key and he lifts heavy shit,” Zach said cheerfully. “Shit they can’t lift.”
Roman stood, ignoring his brother. “Let’s head over. I’ll give you a tour.”
“Seriously, dude,” Jase tried again. “You need to reconsider how this is going to affect the rest of us—”
“Knock it off.” Roman finally broke his monotone. “Before I kick your ass.”
“I’d like to see that.” Jase didn’t seem to think that Roman could do it.
Sadie wasn’t really sure who she’d put her money on. They were evenly matched when it came to size and height, but Jase seemed a little spunkier, while Roman was certainly more serious about his commitment to kick butt.
“Sadie, you might want to back up,” Zach sug
gested, standing and moseying over near her. “Sometimes it gets bloody when these two start in on each other. No one wants to have to get blood out of cotton.”
No, Sadie did not want to get blood out of cotton. She took a step back. She’d witnessed one Jase-versus-Roman brawl in her lifetime, and that was plenty.
Come to think of it, that one had pretty much been a draw once their mother got involved.
“I’m not gonna kick his ass right now. I’ve got an office to show.” Roman strode past Jase and gave him a friendly little shove in the center of his chest. “I’ll save it for later.”
Jase shoved back. Hard.
Roman shoved back. Harder.
Okay, so clearly this was a thing between brothers. Sadie wouldn’t know since she only had the one. Plenty of sisters though. The Howards weren’t really a push and shove kind of family.
“Later,” Roman said. “C’mon Sadie.”
Roman held the door as she slipped through the opening. Now that he was close, it only took one burst of Roman’s masculine scent for Sadie’s breasts to suddenly feel heavier. Her skin itched to reach out and touch him, and her breaths were shallow. To top it all off, there were totally unnecessary butterflies flitting through her body and finally settling in her belly.
This was ridiculous. Her body was responding to him and he wasn’t even touching her.
“I really appreciate you showing me the space,” she said, ignoring her body’s response.
“No problem,” he replied.
He didn’t say anything else.
She trotted beside him, keeping his pace.
“It was nice hanging out with you last night,” she said, a strange need to fill the silence taking precedence over her desire to keep distance from him.
“I like Luke.” He shrugged and kept walking.
She gulped. “Your favorite Howard?”
He shrugged and his voice took that middle-of-the-night quality that soothed her so well. “Depends on the day.”
He moved double-time, but Sadie kept pace. He’d been muscular before. She hadn’t thought it would be possible for him to become more muscular, but here he was, proving her wrong.
Age agreed with Roman.
The little crinkles that fanned beside his eyes gave him an air of experience. The black T-shirt he wore stretched over his broad chest and covered part of that new tattoo she’d noticed before.
Do Me a Favor: A second chance, hilarious rom com! (Mile High Matched Book 4) Page 11