Free Riding into Love by Nicki Night

too?” Cadence asked.
    â€œSpanish, a little Italian and I can understand German better than I can speak it.”
    â€œWow!” Cadence’s eyes grew wide.
    â€œNice,” Alana added.
    Drew had work to do with Alana. Wearing down the protective armor around her heart was his mission. He entertained them with his wit as usual. Alana’s smile sent signals to his brain, among other places. Drew kept them laughing just to see her pretty lips spread in happiness. He fancied the curves of her breast against her silk shirt.
    Drew wasn’t quite sure he was ready to settle down, but he did know that when he was, it should be with Alana. After watching her ex eyeing her at the premiere, he knew a woman of her caliber wouldn’t stay single for long. Somehow, he had to gain her trust and convince her that something between them could work. Then he’d have to deal with the issue of distance, which wasn’t going to change anytime soon.
    They ate sushi until they got their fill. Drew hadn’t had enough of their company so he convinced them to join him for a drink at a nearby bar before heading back to the office.
    â€œDrew, this behavior is not acceptable on a workday. You’ve got us out here slacking!” Alana laughed.
    â€œI know. We’re supposed to be working on strategies for attracting clients and researching PR teams who specialize in the legal field,” Cadence added.
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œHey! I didn’t force either of you into doing anything.”
    â€œThe magic words were your treat .” Alana laughed. “That’s hard to walk away from.”
    â€œWell, it was also my pleasure. What are you doing for dinner?” Drew eyed Alana, watching her demeanor shift from carefree back to guarded. “And I won’t take no for an answer.”
    Alana groaned. “Sure. Why not?” She’d given in.
    Drew smiled. To him that was a signal to move forward.

Chapter 11
    A lana had been looking forward to Friday from the moment she walked into her office on Monday morning. As much as she loved having her own business, it was exhausting at times. When she had worked for other law firms, the only thing she had to worry about was winning cases. Now, she and Cadence put in extensive hours to win the cases, pay the bills and keep the doors of the practice open.
    Alana planned to stay in her pajamas, snack, read and watch movies for the entire weekend. She’d get back to exercising and hanging out another time. The fact that five o’clock was almost here gave Alana a bit of vigor.
    Alana heard a tap on her office door. Before lifting her head, she began waving goodbye, assuming it was their intern, leaving for the day. But then she looked up into Drew’s face.
    Alana closed her eyes and sighed even though a smile spread across her lips. He was part of the reason she was so exhausted. Drew had picked her up for dinner after their surprise lunch outing the week before and they’d spent much of their free time together ever since. The past weekend had been a whirlwind of activity from exclusive red-carpet affairs to early-morning runs to pancake breakfasts. It literally took all week for Alana to catch up on her sleep.
    Drew never showed up without an adventure.
    â€œI can’t!” Alana slowly shook her head.
    Drew strolled in and sat on the edge of her desk. “You can’t what , ma belle ?”
    Alana both loved and hated when he called her ma belle in the perfectly accented way that he did. It sounded beautiful and she loved the special way it made her feel, yet hated that she was so affected by the deep timbre of his voice. Regardless, she had to admit she enjoyed being his friend again. She’d never deny the obvious tension that hovered in the air when they were close to one another, but she felt that she had the strength to fight that. She still wasn’t ready to date.
    â€œI’m tired, Drew. I’m going home