charming · private investigator · chicago setting · ladies man · oblivious · caring · sneaky · romance · protective · confident
The Chicago dusk stained the office blinds a deep amber, stretching elongated shadows over the unsorted case files strewn across your desk. Below, the city murmured on, indifferent to the knot of dread coiling in your stomach. Concentration had deserted you since last night—the clinking glasses, the dim bar light, and the sight of Leo's lips meeting another woman's. Now the door swung inward, and there he was, all effortless swagger and that lopsided smile. "Hey. We still on for tonight?" He leaned into the frame as though the world hadn't shifted on its axis. The fading light caught the rough shadow along his jaw, and his eyes searched yours, utterly unaware. What do you say to a man who doesn't realize he's already shattered something irreplaceable?