Free Stranded by J. C. Valentine Page A

realized with startling clarity just how tired he was. He was tired of running around with a new woman every night, tired of the chase, tired of the games. He was just tired. His divorce had shaken his foundation and destroyed his confidence, because as was true with most newlyweds, he had expected it to last forever. But if there was one thing Felix had come to realize over the last couple of weeks, it was that life didn’t deal in absolutes and sometimes love didn’t last. But what really surprised him was that he didn’t want to be alone anymore.
    Playing the role of bachelor and playboy had grown old a long time ago, and until he met Poppy, he had been simply going through the motions. It was time he started thinking about setting down roots again, because life was slipping through his fingers faster and faster each day and he wanted to live what was left of it beside someone special.
    By the time Felix stepped off onto the thirty-fourth floor, he was set on a plan. After work he would stop by the florist and pick up a nice bouquet of…something pretty, and then he would head out of the city to the little house in the country and see about winning over the woman who had taken his heart prisoner.
    “Vera,” Felix said amicably as he approached the round desk centered in the office waiting area. The receptionist’s head snapped up and a plastic smile that he’d bet was responsible for the fall of hundreds of men before him, stared back at him.
    “Mr. Sinclair!” Lifting a hand, Vera smoothed her hair in that way she always did when she was trying to lure a man into her trap. “I was just getting ready to send the reports you asked for—”
    Felix raised a hand to stop her. “No rush. Just drop them on my desk before you leave for the night. Listen, I need you to do me a favor.”
    Vera brightened at his words. “Sure, Mr. Sinclair. Anything you need.”
    He smiled indulgently. “Thanks, Vera. As you know , Mr. Bradshaw had a very important meeting to get to, but he had scheduled an interview with someone equally important, and he asked me to fill in for him.” He checked his watch. “They should be here any moment. So when they get here, send them to my office.”
    “Oh , sure, Mr. Sinclair,” Vera agreed. “But Mr. Bradshaw’s interview is already here.”
    “Oh?”
    “Yes, sir. She arrived just a few minutes ago. There she is.”
    Felix turned in the direction Vera pointed, and felt his heart skitter in his chest. “Poppy?”
    Lifting her eyes to his, Poppy froze. “Felix?”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

 
     
     
     
     
    9
     
    “What are you doing here?” Poppy asked nervously.
                  She had just come from the bathroom. Being hot and tired from her morning jog up more than thirty flights of stairs, she wanted to take a minute to clean up and make herself presentable before sitting down to her interview with the Big Man.
                  Now, standing in front of Felix, who looked mouthwateringly handsome in his black designer suit and green silk tie, and the voluptuous receptionist beside him, she felt completely out of place.
                  Breaking away from the desk, Felix approached her, his expression guarded. “I work here,” he told her, watching her closely for a reaction.
                  Poppy fought to keep her jaw from dropping. Of course Felix worked here. It was a publishing company, and didn’t he say he worked for one? But this one? Could fate be any crueler, Poppy thought irritably.
                  “Well…” Poppy shifted her gaze to the floor and around the room, scouring her brain for something else to say. “It’s good to see you again,” she said lamely.
                  The receptionist, who had been sitting forward in her seat, raised her eyebrows at Poppy’s words.  
                  The corners of Felix’s eyes crinkled as he smiled in a way that made Poppy’s