Perfect Partners(7)
Author: Carly Phillips

Thankfully, Alix didn’t know the difference. Her restless nights were constant with or without her grandparents’ presence in her life. Chelsie was a different story. Whether Griff liked it or not, and he definitely did not, Alix responded to her. Chelsie obviously created a sense of security the little girl lacked otherwise. That the cold lady lawyer could do for his niece what Griff could not aggravated him. He’d like to think the one peaceful night in a troubled month was mere coincidence. But deep down, he knew better. The child’s smiles and giggles had been freer around Chelsie.

He punched the pillow and lay down with an arm tucked beneath his head. The one person Griff needed to stay away from was the one person Alix needed to put her on the road to emotional recovery. His niece had to take priority over his own feelings.

But could he be around Chelsie and not replay her role in the custody battle, not compare her to the selfish women in his past, his mother and fiancée? He thought about the tattered yellow book Alix carried around with her and exhaled deeply. Chelsie fit the mold… and yet she didn’t.

Alix’s cries pierced the night. Griff was halfway out of bed before he remembered Ryan was on duty. He lay back onto the mattress and groaned aloud.

Chelsie Russell. Could he be around her and not want her? He was about to find out.

* * *

Chelsie turned on the television and inserted an exercise video into the VCR. She preferred her own company to the patrons of the health club around the corner from her office. Her secretary and next-door neighbor, always a reliable source, had informed her that most women went there to meet eligible men. Since Chelsie had decided to steer clear of the male species, her apartment was as good a place as any for working out.

She secured a rubber band around her hair and unlocked the door for her neighbor. Though an efficient worker, her secretary was always late and sometimes a no-show for their exercise sessions. Since Chelsie had spent the last two days tied up in court, her friend’s schedule was anybody’s guess. Chelsie decided to start without her.

She began with a tough series of stretches before settling in for serious relaxation. After such a long day, she could use both. Almost running into Griffin Stuart hadn’t helped. She raised her right arm above her head and counted aloud. “And one… and two…” Though she knew Griffin had begun working out of his home, she hadn’t figured him for a family-court type of practitioner. After his go-for-the-jugular display the other day, she’d pretty much decided he’d stick to cut-throat litigation or hard-ball corporate law. She lowered her right arm and lifted her left “And one… and two…”

Dealing with broken families and children required a heart. Though he displayed his heart for Alix, Chelsie had seen Griffin’s other side. In an effort to avoid him, she’d headed for the nearest door. When she ended up in the cafeteria, she succumbed to a chocolate craving. Now she was working off both stress and sweets, courtesy of a man who obviously didn’t understand the meaning of forgiveness.

Leg lifts, she decided, as she raised her right leg in the air, were more painful when she skipped a week between sessions. She ought to cut back on her caseload, but knew better than to think she could turn away a needy client. Despite her heavy breathing, she felt good, as if she were exorcising all the demons that Griffin Stuart had brought back into her life.

Experience had taught Chelsie to learn her lesson the first time. “I’m sorry” only counted when the person uttering the words had the ability and the desire not to repeat his mistakes. “I didn’t mean it” was the coward’s way of not accepting responsibility for his actions. Chelsie had believed her husband one too many times. She’d stayed in her marriage and paid the ultimate price. Abuse wasn’t only physical, and one such relationship was one too many.

With Griffin, she’d slipped, but never again. She didn’t intend to give him a third chance to insult her. Nor did she want to be reminded of her own painful past, something he’d managed to do quite easily and without much remorse. No, she could find time to see her niece when he wasn’t around.

She tucked a stray strand of hair back into her ponytail, switched sides and lifted her left leg. Chelsie didn’t need another slap in the face. She’d made a huge mistake. She’d also apologized. His penetrating eyes and sexy looks didn’t entitle him to treat her like dirt.

He wasn’t worth another thought.

So why have you wasted an entire workout session obsessing about him? She wouldn’t dignify that thought with an answer. Chelsie lowered her leg, lay down on her back, and began the deep breathing session of the tape.

* * *

“Hello?” Griff knocked lightly and pushed the door open further. Though he felt like an intruder, he entered anyway and peered inside. One glance at Chelsie stretched out on the floor and he rushed in, kneeling beside her for a closer look.

Her chest rose and fell in steady intervals. Once he realized she was okay, he noticed more than her even breathing. A cranberry-colored bodysuit and tights molded her lithe body. With each breath she took, her full br**sts became more evident. Damp tendrils of hair clung to her slender neck. His body hardened at the sight. She looked sated. The word brought sensual images to mind. Images of those long legs wrapped around him as he…

What the hell was wrong with him? He tore his gaze from her body and noticed the TV had faded to black-and-white fuzz. Grateful for the diversion, he popped the tape out of the VCR and shut down both it and the television. He glanced at the video in his hand. “Exercise and Relaxation.” He shook his head in disbelief. She’d fallen asleep mid-exercise with her door open and unlocked.

His gaze drifted to her sleeping form. Her cheeks were flushed pink from exertion, her full lips parted slightly in repose. With a shake of his head, he tried to clear his thoughts. He’d have to do better if he intended to have her around. For Alix’s sake, he had no choice. He snorted in disgust.

The sound woke her. She took one look at him leaning over her and let out an ear-piercing shriek, loud enough to deafen him for life.

“Calm down. I’m not a stranger.” Stupid words, but what else could he say to a woman whose apartment he had entered uninvited and whom he had wakened from a sound sleep? Especially when he was fairly certain he wouldn’t be welcome under ordinary circumstances.

She scrambled to her knees and scurried backwards, placing a large distance between them. Her eyes seemed wide and unfocused. Fear. She appeared paralyzed by the emotion. If he wasn’t mistaken, she didn’t recognize him.