Free Crazy Love by Nicola Marsh Page B

desk for more than a few hours, though she couldn’t help but wonder why he hadn’t come to see her yet. It hurt. A lot.
    Flo nodded and leaned forward as if about to divulge a trade secret.
    “Yes-sirree. I served him last night at the diner and then saw him first thing this morning as I was heading down to Amor for some ciggies.”
    “He was out walking?”
    Not only had Marc abandoned his precious work for longer than a day, he’d taken up strolling? Her son had never walked anywhere in his life unless it involved getting from the boardroom to his glass-enclosed office.
    Flo’s grin turned positively evil. “If you call sneaking out Sierra’s front door and strolling to his car walking.”
    “ What ?”
    Flo folded her arms, annoyingly smug, as if she’d delivered the Gettysburg address.
    “Looks like your son and Sierra hit it off over dinner last night and continued their discussion into the night.”
    “Hard to believe.”
    Olivia shook her head, torn between wanting to ring Marc to discover the truth and wanting to wring his neck for not seeking her out first.
    She’d admired her son’s independent streak as a youngster though wished he’d turned to her more as he grew up. Not that she blamed him. In the Fairley household it had been every man, woman and child for themselves and though she’d loved him the best way she could she knew she’d fallen short as a mother.
    She’d been too wrapped up in self-preservation mode to pay attention to Marc and though they shared a close bond now she sure wouldn’t win any Mother of the Year contests.
    “Believe it. Looks like your son has a new girlie friend.” Flo refilled their cups and nibbled on a cookie. “Mmm, these are good. Face it, Liv. He could do a lot worse than the Kent girl.”
    In an instant, Olivia’s mood improved. Hadn’t she been thinking yesterday she wished Marc would settle down with a nice woman? So he hadn’t rushed to see her as soon as he hit town? At least he was here and that could only mean one thing. He cared enough to want to meet Hank and to give them his blessing.
    As for being sidetracked by lovely Sierra, she couldn’t have planned it better if she’d tried.
    Now all she had to do was get him to stick around long enough to ensure this wasn’t another of his slap-dash flings like he had with those trashy LA floozies he usually hung out with.
    “You’re right.” Clinking porcelain with Flo, she raised her cup in salute. “How good are your matchmaking skills these days?”
     
    Outside the market, Sierra sat on an old wooden bench and tilted her face up to the sun, savoring the warmth caressing her skin. She usually loved strolling around the stalls, checking out the fresh produce and haggling with familiar faces.
    Today, she’d dragged her feet until Belle banished her to take a breather and she’d gratefully agreed, aware her lethargy had everything to do with the sleepless night she’d spent and cursing the cause as she’d trudged to the nearest seat.
    Damn Marc Fairley .
    She wondered what he was up to as she watched Ripley bound through the park. Probably terrorizing his poor mom and bailing up Uncle Hank, trying to impose his will on them like the rest of his well-organized world.
    She’d seen his type before, had even managed to match a few guys like him. Personally, uptight, money-driven, businessmen weren’t her thing.
    Liar ! You were willing to make an exception last night .
    “Yeah, but I didn’t,” She argued with her conscience, wondering how much more pathetic she could get than sitting alone and talking to herself.
    Not for any lack of trying .
    “Shut the hell up.”
    Deciding silence was easier than squabbling with herself, she slid her sunglasses in place and closed her eyes, wishing she could shut out the image of Marc as easily. However, six-four, black wavy hair, chocolate eyes was burned into her retinas, no matter how hard she tried to ignore it.
    A blaring horn made her jump and her