LITMIR.BIZ

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crossed the floor, her shoes squishing. She wasn’t even going to glance at her reflection in the mirror next to the door. The drowned-rat look wasn’t becoming on anyone.

      Flicking the lock, Viv opened the door. Of course Jack didn’t have one drop of rain on him. The large black umbrella he held at his side was dripping.

      “You’re...”

      “Soaked,” she finished. “I know. Come on in.”

      She stood back so he didn’t have to brush against her as he stepped inside. Katie made noises and clapped when she spotted Jack. Inwardly, Viv tended to have that same reaction, but she wasn’t too keen on the fact that he was seeing her look so haggard and frumpy.

      She’d really been confident this morning when she’d left for work in her gray pencil skirt and fitted, pale yellow sweater. She’d even taken extra time with her hair, since Katie had slept in. Now Viv must look like all she’d done this morning was shower...with her clothes on.

      She was so over this winter weather. One day it snowed, the next it rained. Spring couldn’t come soon enough. But it was only February, meaning Valentine’s Day was fast approaching. A holiday she could totally live without.

      “I brought this for you.”

      Katie eyed the dish in his hand. She’d been too preoccupied with her looks to realize he held food.

      Glorious food. She didn’t even care if that domed plate held a bologna sandwich, her stomach growled at the sight. She’d skipped lunch because she’d left work late and had barely made it to Katie’s appointment.

      “Whatever it is, thank you,” she said, taking the covered plate. She headed toward the kitchen, cringing as her shoes made the most unpleasant noises.

      Of all the times Jack could see her, of all the times he had seen her, this was not her best moment. She set the dish on the counter and pulled the lid off. A laugh escaped her.

      “Cheesecake?” she asked, turning to glance over her shoulder.

      Jacked shrugged out of his suit jacket and hung it on the hook by the door...as if he’d done so a thousand times. Seeing a man’s jacket hanging next to hers did funny things to her belly. Her eyes locked on the two pieces beside each other, and she didn’t want to dwell on it too long, but couldn’t get over the fact that this simple gesture seemed so intimate.

      But he wasn’t staying, he was visiting, for pity’s sake. For a second, though, she wanted to pretend. He looked good in his all-black suit, with that rich, dark hair. He’d brought her cheesecake when she looked like a mess, and he didn’t seem appalled by her appearance. If he wasn’t the world’s most perfect man, then one didn’t exist.

      Would he ever see her as more than an ally? As more than his assistant?

      She hadn’t missed the way he’d sneaked a peek at her cleavage last night. He was a guy; they all did it. But when she’d caught his gaze on her, everything inside her had warmed, tingled. Because he hadn’t just looked and glanced away. No, there had been a hunger in his eyes she hadn’t seen before.

      “What are you doing here so early in the day?” she asked, turning to lean back against the counter. “Not that four o’clock is early, but you tend to work much later than this.”

      “I had a meeting today not far from here, so I thought I’d come by to see what happened at O’Shea’s today.”

      Katie clanged her blocks together and squealed as she flung them out of her Pack ’n Play. Viv ignored them. This toss and fetch was an endless game and one she wasn’t going to get sucked into.

      “I need to get out of these wet clothes,” she stated. “Can we talk after?”

      His eyes raked over her wet body. Jack never needed words to get his point across. This powerful man had such a hold on her emotions, and he had no idea.

      All this was her problem, she knew, but did he ever think of her outside of work? Not that she’d ever know. Jack’s personal life was never on the table for discussion. She knew of Tilly, his right-hand woman, but that was all. Anyone else in Jack’s life was there only because of work. To Viv’s knowledge, he didn’t even date...or if he did, he was extremely discreet.

      “I’ll wait in here,” he finally told her.

      Viv tiptoed through her kitchen and out into the hallway toward her bedroom. Once inside, she shut the door, thankful for the few moments to herself. She hadn’t expected him to just show up, with carbs and calories no less, so she was even more taken aback than usual.

      Before the O’Shea case, Jack had never showed up at her apartment. He’d texted and called after hours, but all pertaining to work. Granted, his recent home visits also centered around work, but he’d seriously stepped up his game in an attempt to bring the notorious family down.

      Viv closed her eyes and pulled in a shaky breath. The fact that Patrick O’Shea’s journal was hidden in her closet weighed heavily on her mind. Guilt, anxiety, fear...they all consumed her, making her question her next move.

      She hadn’t been lying when she said she had no one in her life. Keeping a relationship with Jack, no matter how platonic, was imperative.

      She needed to tell him what she’d learned, but how did she do that without hurting him? The FBI trusted Jack, was counting on him, and he was counting on her. He sought justice like he needed it to live, so telling him about her discovery would cloud his judgment...and hurt him in a way that would alter their relationship.

      She didn’t want to hurt him, and finding out Patrick O’Shea was his father would most certainly destroy Jack. Still, he deserved to know. The question was, when should she tell him?

      Viv made quick work of ridding herself of her wet clothes and shoes. She wasn’t telling him today. She couldn’t. There would be a right time, just...not now. Hopefully, a break in the case would come soon. Then she could give the journal to him and let him decide what to do with the information.

      She didn’t bother drying her hair, just twisted it up into a messy bun. After throwing on a pair of yoga pants and an off-the-shoulder sweatshirt, she headed back out into the living room.

      Jack still remained closer to the kitchen than the living room. His gaze was directed across the open space at Katie, who was oblivious as she chewed on the fingers of her plush doll.

      “Let’s cut into that cheesecake and talk,” Viv suggested. She needed something to occupy her hands, her mind, other than the journal in the other room and the unnerving effect Jack’s presence had on her. “How did your meeting go?”

      He didn’t answer her. He never even looked her way.

      “Do you think she knows the significant people in her life are gone?” he murmured, almost as if his thoughts had traveled out into the open without his knowledge. “I mean, she seems happy with you, but is she aware of the void?”

      Viv thought of that often since Katie had come to live with her. The older kids she had fostered obviously knew all too well the reality of why they were in foster care. But sweet little Katie would have no idea why her world was suddenly so different.

      “She says ‘Mama’ over and over, but I’m not sure if she’s just babbling or actually asking for her. But I’m certain she notices the absence.” Viv crossed her arms, stood beside Jack and watched his face. “Are you okay?”

      He blinked as if waking from a trance. “It’s been a long couple months. That’s all.”

      When he turned to her, Viv stepped back. That intense gaze landed directly on hers and she had no idea what to do with the emotions stirring within her, from the guilt and anxiety over when and how to tell him about the journal, to the tension and chemistry that couldn’t be ignored. It seemed unlikely she was the only one who felt the air crackling between them, yet Jack was in total control and never let on that he thought of her in any other way than simply his assistant.

      But

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