It’d been the same thing Drew had said only Drew said it in a much nicer and subtler way. After several occasions of seeing Ella’s exchanges with Felix, Drew had come to the same conclusion Carmen had—there was something about the way Felix looked at Ella. She said Charlee had first noticed it during their night at Barros. Drew had been too busy writing things down and conducting her interview to notice, but Charlee told Drew she’d definitely picked up on something from Felix. Unlike Grayson, Charlee’s take on it was far more positive, even romantic. She said she’d never seen Felix like that and thought it was sweet. But then, like Drew said, Felix was the one 5th Street partner she and Charlee knew the least. They hadn’t been around him nearly as much as they’d been around the others. So Charlee could be way off.

Ella hated to admit it, but she’d begun to think the very thing Grayson said before she’d spoken to him about Felix. Despite the number of breathtaking moments she’d been caught in Felix’s incredible eyes and the times when she thought she’d seen some kind of glimmer in them like the day he’d held her hand, her opinion had been the same as Grayson’s. She was still sticking to her protective mode. If, by some miracle, she was next on his checklist of conquests, she had to be smart about this—think with her head not with her heart.

There was no denying his track record with women, and shamefully, after the day he’d held her hand, she had looked it up. Not once had the guy been in a committed relationship. The closest he’d had was with Bianca, and even that had played out painfully in the tabloids for the entire world to see how incapable he was of being committed. There’d even been a pregnancy as proof that it wasn’t all hearsay that he’d cheated on Bianca before she cheated on him with his own trainer and friend. Sadly, Ella had to side with Grayson on this one.

Felix turned to her apologetically as he finished up with the trainer and his trainee. That’s when she remembered.

Grayson. Shit!

Last night he mentioned dropping in on her at the gym today as he often did when he was patrolling alone. Usually, he’d text her to let her know he was outside and she’d come out and talk to him for a little bit. She slowed, glancing around as they nearly reached the front door.

“Did you forget something?” Felix asked.

“No, I was just wondering if maybe there was somewhere else we could talk.”

“I promise I’ll be better about not letting anyone else interrupt,” he said quickly. “But outside is probably better. We can sit in my car if you want.”

Great. As if Grayson wouldn’t spot the Bentley a mile away. Unable to come up with any reason why outside, in the privacy of his car, wasn’t better than in the gym where they’d be continually interrupted, she continued walking alongside him and prayed Grayson wasn’t already out there.

They walked to a car parked in the same spot he’d parked his Bentley the last time. Only this time it was a much less assuming BMW. She’d seen other cars parked in the spot all week, but she just assumed they belonged to someone else. He opened the door for her and she got in. The car may not be a Bentley, but it was nearly as fancy with every bell and whistle you could think of. It dawned on her that since he’d mentioned his main home was still in Los Angeles he might drive a different one of these fancy cars every day. Meanwhile, her dad had reminded her that one of her tires was low—again. Yep. Different galaxies.

At least they now had a chance of not being spotted by Grayson if he drove by. Grayson may not even give the BMW a second glance if he was looking out for a Bentley. Felix got in just as her heart had started thudding again. She chided herself for wasting the time it took him to come around to the driver’s side by admiring his car instead of getting a quick word in with her mom.

Already just having walked alongside him, she’d been treated to the incredible scent of his cologne. Now in such a confined space, it was utterly intoxicating. Unlike his cars, he wore the same cologne every day, and she’d since decided she loved it. It wasn’t overpowering; it was subtle—but it was so him. She still hadn’t been able to pinpoint what kind it was. Knowing Felix, it was probably one of the most expensive ones. She and Carmen had decided the next time they were at the mall they’d go through all the latest brands and try to guess which was his.

He stared at her for a moment after closing his door. The intensity in his eyes together with the twinkle that followed his smile that could melt an iceberg only made her decision to be strong about this that much harder. How did any woman stand a chance of denying this man whatever he asked for?

Reminding herself to breathe, she inhaled slowly and, as calmly as she could, waited for him to say something.

“I know you have to be back in there soon, so I’ll keep this simple,” he began, and she cursed the drumming in her ear because it was so loud it nearly drowned out his words. “I don’t want to make things awkward or anything, but I was hoping that maybe you and I—” She flinched so hard when her phone vibrated in her pocket that Felix stopped midsentence, his eyes going a bit wide. “Something wrong?”

Her face was already on fire as she reached in her pocket for her phone and shook her head. “I forgot it was in my pocket, and it startled me when it buzzed,” she said, pulling it out and showing him.

“Is that a call you need to take?”

She glanced down and saw she had a text from Grayson. “No,” she said, clicking on the little envelope icon. “Just a text.”