Free Wanted (Addicted Trilogy Book 3) by S. Nelson Page A

to come out of this debacle was I would be
away for a few days trying to work everything out with the developer. Which meant
I wouldn’t be tempted to do or say anything rash, something I might regret
later on.  
    Since I’d been acting like such a dick lately, the least I could
do was stop by to see her the following day before I left town.
    It was close to noon when I walked through the front door of Full
Bloom. I was met by a stranger manning the front counter.
    Who the hell is she?
    The woman instantly made eye contact, but the look she gave me
mirrored my own.
    Truth be told, I wasn’t used to such a reaction from women, so
looking at the annoyance written all over her face threw me.
    Actually, the way she looked at me was as if I’d killed her dog.
    “Where’s Sara?” I asked, still doing my best to figure out who
she was.
    Realizing she should appear to be somewhat professional, she
plastered on a fake smile before answering me. “Is there anything I can help
you with, sir.” The Sir tumbled from
her lips as if it was poison.
    Before I came back with a retort, Sara walked into the front of
the store, her head thrown over her shoulder as she yelled something back at
Matt about an order.  
    When she turned her head in my direction, she stopped dead in her
tracks. Looking at me as if she’d seen a ghost, she grabbed onto the edge of
the counter top to steady herself.
    What the hell is wrong with
her?
      “Alek? What are you doing
here?”
    I walked closer and reached for her hand. “Can I talk to you? Outside?”
    I didn’t even give her a chance to respond before I pulled her
out the door and away from the woman shooting daggers my way. Ushering her
toward the back seat of my town car, I opened the door. Without reservation,
she stepped inside, scooting across the seat to give me some room.
    The air instantly changed. I hadn’t realized how much I missed
Sara until she was two feet away from me. The skirt she was wearing rode up on
her thigh when she tried to situate herself on the smooth leather of the seat. My
eyes were immediately drawn to her supple skin, remembering her on top of me as
she rode me the last time we were together.
    “What did you want to talk to me about?” she asked, pulling the
hem of her skirt lower. Her breathing quickened when she noticed me ogling her,
but she tried to seem unaffected.
    I thought she’d be all smiles and hugs and kisses when she saw me
but weirdly, she looked annoyed to see me. I couldn’t blame her, really. I’d
basically pulled a disappearing act on her over the past week.
    My lips parted to answer her question, but she cut me off before
I could say a word. “Oh, and thanks for basically causing a scene back there,
too.”
    “What are you talking about? I didn’t cause any scene.”
    What the hell is she
talking about?
    “You dragged me out of there like you were pissed. Anyone can
tell by looking at you that you’re annoyed and itching for a fight. So what? What’s
the big problem this time?” Oh, great. I wasn’t with her two minutes before she started in on me.  
    Well, let’s go, sweetheart.
      I should have allowed her
the time to settle down and not fueled her bad mood because I knew I was the
cause for it. It was all my fault, so I should’ve kept my mouth shut. But I didn’t.
Of course.
    Instead of delving into the fact I was going away on business, I
chose another topic altogether.
    “Who’s the woman?”
    “What woman?” she asked, irritation laced around each word.
    “The strange woman working the counter in your shop.” My eyes flashed
anger and my body tensed as the seconds ticked by. But I kept my temper in
check, knowing damn well Sara didn’t deserve any of it.
    “She’s my new employee. Her name is Megan and I hired her on part-time,
on a temporary basis. If it’s any of your business,” she chided.
      I leaned a little closer to
her. She was hiding something from me but then again, wasn’t I keeping my