Free Behind Closed Doors by Sherri Hayes

woman downstairs. He still didn’t know what he was going to do about her. His attraction to her had not diminished, but no matter how difficult it would be for him, he was determined to be her friend. She deserved that much from him.
    Feeling a little better now that he was not only clean, but had resolved to set things right with Elizabeth, he slipped into bed. Closing his eyes, he felt his mind begin to float toward the same dream that had been haunting him for the last week, but this time he didn’t fight it. This time he let the feeling of her in his arms override everything else.

“Good morning, Elizabeth.” Chris smiled in greeting as he paused to pour himself a cup of coffee before walking past her into his office Monday morning.
    She sat there with her mouth open and stared at his retreating back.
    What the . . .
    Chris had not spoken more than a handful of words to her since they’d returned from Columbus. He’d been distant, moody, and insisted that they start driving the short fifteen-minute drive to work separately—this after they’d driven to work together for over a month. Now he greeted her as if the last week hadn’t happened.
    Before she could put too much thought into it, she jumped up and followed him. Entering Chris’s office had always been a little nerve wracking for her. No matter how many times she done it, the act left her with that nervous fluttering in the pit of her stomach. Over the last week, however, she’d realized that she’d been disappointed every day when he didn’t come in. It was frustrating, and she didn’t understand it. She found she’d missed seeing him every day.
    She set his messages on his desk, just to the right as she always did. Before she was able to retract her hand however, he stopped her. The gesture was innocent, just a light touch to halt her movement, but she could feel the heat of it seeping through her skin.
    “Thank you, Elizabeth.”
    She swallowed nervously. His hand felt warm and comforting while making the anxious feeling in the pit of her stomach explode. “You’re welcome,” she managed to say.
    “Do you have a minute?” His hand didn’t leave her wrist.
    “Y-yes. Sure.”
    Chris stood, releasing her, but her stomach didn’t settle. He still seemed so close, and yet not.
    She wasn’t even making sense to herself. Maybe she was going crazy.
    “I wanted to apologize. The way I’ve been acting is inexcusable. I hope that you can forgive me.”
    “There’s nothing to forgive,” she said, unable to meet his eyes. No matter how you looked at it, the last five years of her life hadn’t been pretty. She wasn’t surprised by his reaction, just disappointed. He’d been kind and had listened to her talk about her past. She’d opened up to him about things she’d never told anyone but the police. The budding friendship they’d started to build had been ripped away and left her with that feeling of abandonment again . . .
    Chris stepped closer. The look on his face suddenly made it hard for her to breath. “You’re wrong,” he whispered back.
    The space between them disappeared, and he was so close she could feel his breath on her face. Her head was spinning.
    His gaze lowered, and she thought for a moment that he was looking at her lips. Is he going to kiss me? she wondered.
    They just stared at each other for a few moments before the phone rang breaking the connection holding them.
    “Excuse me,” she said, nearly tripping over her own feet and her mortification on her way out of his office.

     
    Chris was in a daze as he watched her scurry away as fast as her feet could take her.
    What just happened?
    He honestly had no idea. One minute he’d been trying to apologize, and the next he’d felt this overwhelming desire to kiss her.
    Falling unceremoniously back into his chair, he buried his face in his hands. This was not good. He didn’t want a relationship, not with Elizabeth, not with any woman right now, maybe ever.