Free Heartless by Cheryl Douglas

favorite bakery and two tall takeout cups of steaming
brew. “I wasn’t dumb enough to come here at this time of mornin’ without an
entry pass.”
    Her heart
contracted when his sweet gesture reminded her of the man she used to know.
When they were dating, he’d sneak out to her favorite bakery so he could
surprise her with chocolate croissants and coffee before she woke up. They’d
sit in bed, sipping coffee and spilling crumbs as they talked, laughed, and
made love until they felt compelled to get up and face the day.
    “You remember,” he
said, smiling.
    How could he think
she would forget? No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t erase those
memories from her mind. “Of course I remember.” She was almost tempted to
suggest breakfast in bed for old time’s sake, but she didn’t have the guts to
tempt fate.
    He grinned. “So,
are you gonna invite me in, or do you plan to take the pastry and run?”
    She pretended to
size him up. “I don’t know. You look pretty quick, and you probably know how to
break a door down so…” She sighed dramatically. “I guess I’ll have to share.”
    He stepped inside
and closed the door. “I was hopin’ you’d say that.”
    Her spacious foyer
had never seemed cramped and airless… until now.
    Derek was crowding
her, between the bench butting against her bare legs and the solid wall of his
chest. His short-sleeve button-down shirt was untucked, slightly creased, and
open at the neck to reveal a smattering of dark hair dusting his tanned skin.
    More than anything,
she wanted to reach for the buttons tracing a line down the front of his shirt.
She longed to spread the fabric just enough to satisfy her curiosity. Was he as
spectacular without clothing as he had been the last time they made love? Had
the years been as kind to him as she suspected or had middle age claimed the
hard, muscular physique she remembered?
    He gaped at the
line of creamy flesh trailing down the front of her robe and she wished he
would take action, since fear and uncertainty were warring to render her
immobile and speechless.
    He closed his eyes
and drew a deep breath. “Why don’t we head into the…”
    She waited,
breathless, praying and fearing he would say the word she longed to hear.
    “Kitchen.”
    She cleared her
throat as she cursed herself for getting her hopes up. At least one of them was
still capable of thinking clearly. “Right… follow me.” She tried to ignore the
brush of her silk camisole and tap pants against her sensitive skin. One look
at him in torn, faded blue jeans and her body went on high alert.
    He set the
pastries and beverages on the breakfast bar and smiled at her. “Aren’t you
gonna ask me what I’m doing here at this obscene hour?”
    She glanced at the
neon clock on her stainless steel range. Three minutes past eight was a
respectable hour for most people, but since she was temporarily enjoying a life
of leisure, she didn’t count herself among the masses, especially since her
sleep had been interrupted by the image of broad shoulders, thick black hair,
and light blue eyes.
    Her cell phone
sounded, indicating she had new messages. “Excuse me,” she said, reaching for
it. She was surprised to see an email from Mike, with an attachment. The
subject line read, Enough said? Her eyes darted to Derek as she waited
for the attachment to download. “Sorry, it looks like a picture from Mike. I
just want to see what it is.”
    The color drained
from his face as he hooked his heel on the bottom rung of the stool. “Uh…”
    She could
understand why he suddenly seemed so nervous. The picture was obviously taken
at Jimmy’s bar. The buxom blonde was whispering in Derek’s ear while his eyes appeared
to be fixed on the cleavage peeking out of her low-cut top. The date and time
stamp indicated the picture was taken less than two hours after he said
good-bye to her. Now she understood why he was in such a hurry to leave; he had
another woman waiting on him at