Free Falling for You by Lisa Schroeder Page A

some space, okay? I’m still a little freaked out about yesterday. I need some time to think things over.”
    “No,” he said pitifully. “No, Rae, please.”
    I hugged my books to my chest and pushed myself to keep going. “Don’t call me every five minutes. Don’t come to my locker every chance you get. Don’t show up unexpectedly at my work. I need some space,” I pleaded. “Show me you can give me something I need for a change. Please?”
    I could tell pushing him away tore him apart. But I didn’t feel like I had any other choice.
    Nathan was quiet. People walked by, staring at us. School was the absolute worst place to try to have a serious conversation.
    “Okay,” he said finally. “As long as it’s temporary. If that’s what you really want.” He touched my arm. Begged me with his gorgeous blue eyes. “Please know how sorry I am. I want to make it up to you. Just let me know when you’re ready, and I promise, I’ll make it up to you.”
    Then he turned around and headed off down the hallway. A wave of relief washed over me. Until I remembered what he’d said.
    As long as it’s temporary .

that’s a first
    AT WORK AFTER SCHOOL, MISTER, SPENCER’S GOLDEN RETRIEVER, greeted me at the door, his tail wagging. Sweetest dog ever. The customers love him.
    I leaned down to pet him and realized I felt lighter than I had in a while. It felt so good to be in the one place I could relax, surrounded by people (and a dog) I adored.
    “Hey, boy,” I said, stroking his silky soft head. “How ya doin’?”
    “Our Rae of sunshine’s here,” Spencer announced. He was tallying credit card receipts at the front counter.
    I admired the scarf hanging around his neck, full of rich autumn colors—burgundy, gold, and forest green. “Make this yourself?” I asked, reaching out and taking the tassels at the end of the scarf in my hand. “It’s beautiful.”
    “Thank you. Just finished it last night. I had every intentionof giving it to my sister for Christmas. But, Rae, I love it so much! I’m just too selfish, aren’t I?”
    “You are,” I said, sliding behind the counter. “So make me one for Christmas and the universe will forgive you.” I checked the box marked “deliveries.” Nothing.
    “Rae. Dinner with Hitler or Stalin?”
    “Are you kidding?”
    “Come on. You know you have to choose one. That’s how the game works.”
    I don’t remember exactly how it got started, but we play “This or That” on a semiregular basis, to entertain ourselves. I took a seat on the stool next to Spencer’s. “Okay, Hitler. And I would serve hamburgers and french fries with a lovely side of arsenic.”
    Spencer laughed. I love his laugh. It’s deep and hearty, which is kind of surprising since he’s fairly petite. We have so much fun together, and he’s one of my favorite people in the world.
    “Snakes or spiders?” I asked him as a spider scurried across the counter. I grabbed his copy of People magazine, rolled it up, and . . . good-bye, spider.
    “Oh, dear God. Please. Two of the most loathsome creatures on the planet.”
    As I put the magazine back in its spot, after wiping it with a tissue, I noticed an envelope with my name on it. “Oh, yeah,” Spencer said. “Found that outside the door when I ran an errand for Nina earlier.”
    I ripped it open. “You didn’t answer, Spencer. Spiders or snakes?”
    He shuddered. “Fine. Snakes. Only because I love that scene with Indiana Jones and the snakes. He’s adorable covered in fear, isn’t he?”
    I laughed. “That he is.”
    Inside the envelope was a note and some cash.
Please deliver a nice flower arrangement to this address:
1925 Swiffer Street, Apt. 35D
The flowers are for Maddie. Sign the card “From a Friend.”
    I knew that apartment complex. I knew it because I used to live there. A shiver ran down my spine.
    “Spencer, have we ever gotten one of these before?”
    He stopped what he was doing and took the note from me. “No, I