Free Where the Heart Is by Darcy Burke

she was ready for that. There was something between them now. Something he didn’t understand. “What did you think I was?”
    She looked up at him, their eyes connecting. “A firefighter. A server. A simple guy. I . . . I liked that.”
    â€œI’m a volunteer firefighter and an occasional server and bartender. And I’m a CFO. I’m still a pretty simple guy.”
    â€œAre you? They said you were driven, that you work really hard.”
    Derek’s hackles started to rise. “And that’s a bad thing?”
    She shook her head swiftly. “Not at all. It’s just . . .” She looked away again. “I’m sorry, this is me, not you.”
    â€œThe old ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ speech? Sorry, I’m not buying it. There’s too much of a connection here for us to ignore it.” He moved a bit closer and tentatively touched her jaw with the tips of his fingers. “Or am I wrong?”
    â€œYou’re not,” she said, their gazes locking once more. “It is me. Six months ago I broke up with a guy just like you. Very successful, ambitious.”
    He tamped down a blast of jealousy by reminding himself that she’d dumped the jerk. But the emotion was replaced by a wave of insecurity. “‘Just’ like me? How do you know?”
    â€œI guess I don’t, not for sure. But I’m not interested in a relationship with someone who’s driven by their career, who works ridiculously long hours. Status means nothing to me.”
    He withdrew his hand from her face. “Whoa, status? Just because I lived here,” he spread his arms out at the oversized bedroom, just one of many in this house, “doesn’t mean I give a shit about that either. I work hard because that’s the way I was raised. I love my job, but it doesn’t define me.”
    Chloe blinked at him. She seemed a little speechless.
    He dropped his arms and exhaled. “Sorry, but you can’t make those kinds of assumptions. Yes, I’m successful, and yes, I’m ambitious. But I’m also lucky enough to be able to pursue those things where I want to be and with people I respect and admire.”
    Her gaze softened. “You are lucky. And I love that you know that.”
    â€œSo what does that mean?”
    â€œIt means I’m kind of dumb.” She blushed. “And judgy. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lumped you in with Ed.”
    â€œEd?”
    â€œMy ex. He’s mostly interested in being successful so that he can buy the Mercedes he really wants or so he can buy a house in Mount Lebanon.”
    â€œMount Lebanon?”
    She made a face. “ The place to live in Pittsburgh, according to Ed.”
    â€œPardon me, but he sounds like kind of a douche.”
    She laughed. “You see why I called off the wedding.”
    â€œYou were engaged ?” He realized there were a ton of things he didn’t know about her either and relaxed about her reaction to his job. Maybe they’d felt such a strong connection that they’d both thought they knew each other better than they did. Which was silly. They needed to take this a bit slower.
    â€œLet’s back up,” he said. He took a step back and held out his hand. “Hi, I’m Derek Sumner. I’m the CFO for Archer Enterprises. I started working for them after I graduated from Williver College. My mom died when I was in high school and I came to live here with the Archers, and I consider them my family.”
    Chloe shook his hand. “I’m Chloe English. My parents are rather, uh, concerned with their place in Pittsburgh society, which I find exceedingly dull. I graduated from Carnegie Mellon with a degree in design. I’m the middle kid—older brother, younger sister—and I’ve never quite felt like I fit in. So, I moved out here to find my own place, but, well, you know the rest.” The light in her eyes