Free Snapped by Laura Griffin Page B

evening.
    “Are you sure I can’t get you anything?” he asked, offering her a hand out of the car. His voice was genuinely concerned, and she felt bad for doing this to him.
    “I’m fine. Really. Usually just a few aspirin and a good night’s sleep do the trick.”
    They walked up the stairs together and her nervesbegan to jump. She hated this part. Was he going to try to kiss her, or was he perceptive enough to let it go?
    They reached her door, and she made a production of fishing for her keys.
    “Well,” she said lamely. “Thanks for dinner.”
    “You barely ate anything.” He smiled down at her, making sure she knew he wasn’t criticizing. More manners again. This guy was perfect, really. He was smart, courteous, interesting to talk to. He had a warm smile, and—an added bonus—he was two inches taller than she was. With all those pluses, she could get past the overly large Adam’s apple.
    “It wasn’t the food,” she said. “I just don’t feel myself tonight.”
    “You don’t have to explain. You’ve had a trying week. To be honest, I was surprised you didn’t cancel.”
    Now she realized that she should have. At least then she wouldn’t have wasted his money on a piece of salmon she hardly touched.
    He bent down and kissed her forehead. “Good night, Sophie. We can try this again when you’re feeling better.” And then he stepped back, ending the awkward good-night-kiss moment before it even began. This man was a prince.
    Sophie gave him the first genuine smile of the night. “Thanks,” she said, and slipped into her apartment. She leaned back against the door and listened as his footsteps faded away.
    Alone at last. Another night with just her thoughts and her nervous energy for company. Despite what she’d told Mark, she knew a good night’s sleep was not in her near future.
    She tossed her purse on the chair and flipped on the TV to keep her company as she retrieved a Diet Coke from the fridge. She downed a few aspirin and stood there, waiting for the pills to slide down her throat.
    Her head was throbbing. It had worsened after Jonah’s visit. Was it the construction noise at the lab or the stress of talking to him? Probably a combination of both.
    Sophie pulled off her high-heeled sandals and went to change from her date clothes into her most comfortable sleepwear—an old Austin City Limits tank top and a pair of boxers. Then she scrubbed the makeup off her face and looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror.
    What had Mark seen tonight? The cut on her face, obviously. It was a reminder that she’d been caught up in yesterday’s shooting. Maybe it was also the reason he’d been so understanding when she’d bailed out early on him. She hoped she hadn’t hurt his feelings. Nice guys were few and far between, and she didn’t want to discourage them.
    Still, she couldn’t fake it. Despite her hopes when she’d agreed to go out with him, there had been no chemistry between them—no shiver when he touched her waist, no flutter in the pit of her stomach when he smiled at her. It was just … flat. It had been a long, long time since she’d felt anything but flat around a man. Yesterday had been an exception. She’d felt a flicker of that warm, tingly feeling she’d been missing. And so she’d acted on it, much too impulsively. But as usual, acting on impulse when it came to men was a bad idea—evidenced by the fact that Jonah now clearly thought she was up for some casual sex.
    Which was not what she needed right now. Or ever.
    Sophie looked at her reflection and sighed. Maybe Mark would have been good for her. He was different from the guys she usually dated. Not that she’d done much dating lately. Mark was bright, successful, a scientist. Her parents would fall in love with him on sight.
    But they’d never get the chance, because there wasn’t going to be a second date, much less a meet-the-parents. If the tingle wasn’t there, what was the point?
    Tom