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She shook her head as she realized the irony of her rerumpy—Cole Sommers had been a part of her dreams and fantasies for more years than she cared to recall She’d met him for the first tiht hiht after his dad, John Sommers, had been killed She could still distinctly remelanced at her with those dark, velvet-blue eyes of his, the way her entire body tingled whenever he was near, and how her heart skipped a beat when he talked to her in that deep, smooth voice of his

Twelve years later and he still had that same sensual effect on her And she was still s of him—and he was oblivious to her, other than her position as his faithful, efficient secretary

Not only did she want Cole to notice her as a wo to prove her capabilities in the PI business beyond her secretarial duties She’d been intrigued by the various cases fro Cole, Noah, and Joelle research cases—doing background checks, and learning the ins and outs of the business Now, she was ready to take that next step, and ready to show Cole that she could handle more than front-end paperwork

Noah entered the reception area frohter in her chair, shoved her personal secrets away for the ti and focused on the pulled up the payables on her computer that she needed to process

“Hey, sweet stuff,” he said, calling her by the flirtatious nickname he’d christened her with the first week she’d come to work for the fir on a case, so if you needimportant, just hit me up on my cell”

She senuinely liked Noah He was one of those men who had charisma aplenty and liked all wonet” as his sister was fond of saying, though Melodie had never thought of hiate brother “Will do”

He glanced at his atch “It’s almost five thirty Why don’t you take off early?” he teased, knowing full well she usually didn’t leave the office until after six hts “You deserve the break”

Take off early and do what, she wondered Her nights were so routine and boring it was pathetic—pick up fast food on the way ho TV, take a shower, slip into comfy pj’s, check in with her dad, then read a book until she fell asleep Occasionally, on the weekend, she’d go out to dinner and a ain, having been raised by a police sergeant, she’d never strayed from as expected of her—discreet, proper behavior, in public and in private

“Even Joelle enjoys the benefits of leaving on tihts out for the evening

“Joelle has a handsoo home to,” she countered

Noah feigned a shocked look “Youfor you to get hoht so he can ravish you?”

Didn’t she wish She rolled her eyes at his exaggeration “Hardly, and you’re a big tease”

“Well, here’s a little tip for you” He leaned close, as if sharing a well-kept secret, and gave the end of her braid aall your time here”

Melodie blinked, unsure whether to take his re about his brother, a little friendly advice, or if he was just hu nature

He strolled toward the front door “No ood one, sweet stuff” With a playful wink over his broad shoulder, he was gone