Free Falling for Fitz by Katy Regnery Page A

back to him: Not everyone gets a second chance, Fitz. This is
yours . She had her hair in a braid that
sat forward on her shoulder, and he reached out for it, staring at
the light crisscrosses of hair. Holding her eyes, his fist closed
around the braid, gently tugging so that she leaned closer. He’d
barely need to do more than drop his neck, and his mouth would fall
flush on hers.
    She didn’t pull away, and her eyes,
wide and luminous, didn’t warn him to stop. His breathing was so
shallow he felt dizzy, the silkiness of her hair in his palm like a
talisman, possessing him, urging him forward, telling him to
reclaim what had always been his.
    And he’d never wanted anything in his
life as much as he wanted to kiss Daisy Edwards in that moment, but
at the same time, he knew he shouldn’t. She was getting married and
Fitz had no right to take anything else away from her, and yet, and
yet, and yet… he closed his eyes, leaning closer to her, depleted
of the energy it would take to fight the all-consuming longing he’d
never lost for her.
    “ Fitz…” she sighed in a
half-sob, her breath hot against his lips.
    His hand still held her braid tightly,
and he panted, his breath mingling with hers, the space of a hair
left between them.
    “ We can’t,” she whispered,
the sound tortured and throaty.
    He froze, holding his breath, opening
his eyes to find hers closed tightly before him, her breasts still
heaving as she took one ragged breath after another. He unfurled
his hand and let her braid fall back, leaning away from her as he
swallowed the uncomfortable lump in his throat.
    “ I’m sorry,” he
said.
    “ Fitz,” she breathed,
opening her tear-brightened eyes as she crossed her arms over her
chest. She looked dizzy and uncertain, as though coming out of the
throes of a dream. “That summer was perfect—I mean, I was… no, I
think I am in—”
    “— gaged,” he finished. He
took a deep, gasping breath, turning away from her. “I know. That
summer was a long time ago and you’re engaged now. I don’t know
what’s wrong with me. I’m sorry.”
    She whimpered softly beside him.
“That’s not what—”
    “ No. There’s no excuse.” He
bit his bottom lip, shaking his head. “When I’m with you, all
common sense seems to fly out the window. I act foolish,
ridiculous.”
    Her eyes flashed and her tone had a
bite to it. “It would be foolish and ridiculous to kiss
me?”
    “ An engaged woman? Yeah.
Not to mention unethical, immoral, and just plain wrong. You’re not
available.” He winced as he said this, wishing like hell it wasn’t
the case. “It’s just hard to forget, you know? You’re right. That
summer was perfect.”
    Her shoulders slumped, and she turned
back toward the pool. “Mostly.”
    “ Completely.”
    He felt her gaze on his face, staring,
searching. He deliberately kept his eyes trained on the pool
because if he looked at her, he wouldn’t have the willpower to stop
himself from kissing her.
    “ We should get back,” she
finally said. “Your mother will wonder—”
    “ Last night,” he blurted
out, “you mentioned something about wanting to start a
bakery.”
    She scoffed lightly, cocking her head
to the side as she glanced at him. “Someday. Sure, I
guess.”
    “ How about now?”
    “ Right
now ?” She righted her head to stare at
him. “I wouldn’t know the first thing about getting
started.”
    “ What if I said that the
groundwork was done? The loan was approved, the real estate was
secured, the contracts for incorporation had been filed, the
permits approved. Everything done. All you’d need to do is
customize the space and start baking.”
    Her lips tilted up and she wetted
them, which was so goddamn distracting, he purposely dug his elbows
into the fence to ground himself.
    “ What are you talking
about, Fitz?”
    Her face was a mix of worry and
anticipation, and suddenly, he knew what he had to do. He took her
hand off the fence, lacing it through his