Trick and Treat - Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty Two
Lizzie peeled off her last lace stocking, trying to keep it away from Maddie, the black-and-white foster kitten, when her phone dinged with an incoming message from Vance.
Buckle up, buttercup. Maverick’s on the way.
What? Maverick’s on the way… Where? As she texted Vance’s back, her apartment buzzer sounded. No! Maverick? Here!
She glanced at herself in the mirror in a panic. She’d washed away all her makeup, her once-flouncy blond curls now sagged flat and she was wearing a thick, old white robe that was less sexy vixen and more tired librarian. Plus, she’d swapped her contacts for her tortoiseshell glasses, completing the look. Not to mention the kittens! She tucked them away in the guest bathroom.
Of course it could always be a very late trick-or-treater outside. She hit the app on her phone, connected to the video feed on her apartment buzzer and the live picture came up, showing her the porch. There stood Maverick, all right, still in his flight suit. Still looking as sexy as ever.
“Hey,” she called into the buzzer. “What are you doing here?”
“Vance told me where you lived. I thought if you were still up for it, maybe we could have a drink?”
“I’m…” She glanced down at her robe and bare feet. “Not exactly dressed.”
“Oh.” Maverick’s face fell. “You’re in for the night?”
That had been the plan. Lizzie thought about his ex then. Why wasn’t he with her? He’d certainly run when she’d called for help. “Is your ex okay?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry about that. Normally I ignore Tamara, but she got into a fight with her boyfriend and things got physical, and I just didn’t feel it was right not to help.”
Here Lizzie had thought he was off with his ex, but he was saving her from an abusive monster. He was a hero.
“I know it’s late. Maybe we could grab a drink sometime?” He glanced at the camera on her buzzer, and it was as if he was looking straight at her. Suddenly she didn’t care if she looked terrible. She just didn’t want to lose Maverick a second time.
“How about we have that drink right now?”