Free Breaking Josephine by Marie Stewart

hear
you say it,” he said, still gripping me with ferocious intensity and staring at
me with a pained and pleading look. I saw the confusion and fear in his eyes
and wanted to do anything to take it away. He might have been scaring me at the
moment, but the look on his face made my heart ache for him, and for any pain
I’d somehow caused him.
     “Jo
Sinclair,” I answered. “I’m the woman who dropped her groceries all over the
sidewalk, the woman you kissed in the forest …” I paused, lowering my voice to
a barely audible whisper, “and the woman who broke into your mansion and broke
her promise. That’s who I am.” I let out a trapped breath and forced air into
my lungs. My heart pounded in my chest and my lungs heaved as if they would
burst. We continued to stare at each other for what felt like ages, him
scanning my face for some sign, and me imploring him to accept my answer and let
me go.
    As if in answer to
my silent request, his hands fell away from me, leaving searing heat where his
fingers had been. Before I could blink, he’d turned on his heels and walked
back through the house, out the door, and away from me into the night. I stood
there, dumbfounded and staring after him, unable to move, unable to react.
    “Um, Jo, are you
okay?” I heard Colin ask next to me. I rubbed my arms with my hands, still
feeling the afterburn of Dex’s hands on me.
    “I’m not sure,” I
replied, turning to look at him.
    “What was that all
about?” Colin asked, looking at me with a confused expression and running his
hand through his sandy blonde hair.
    “I have no idea,
Colin. No idea whatsoever.”

Chapter 6
    The rest of the
Memorial Day social went by in a drunken blur. Macy and William came up to me
after Dex left, shoving a glass of champagne in my face. Still in a state of
shock, I vaguely registered Colin stalking off down the beach and Macy wrapping
her arm around me and giving me a pat. The champagne in my hand never emptied
and Macy and William hovered around me. Later in the night, as the drinks
continued to flow, we ended up on the dance floor, dancing to the jazz band and
trying to forget the events of earlier in the evening. When the party ended and
the band packed up, I was bundled into the back of William’s Jeep and driven
home. I kicked off Macy’s shoes when I made it inside and collapsed on the bed,
a heap of icy blue chiffon and too much champagne .
    I
woke up to sun pouring through the window and a pounding headache reverberating
in my skull. I rolled over and looked at the time. “9:30 already?” I said, wincing
and holding my head. I sat up, blue chiffon billowing around me. I shrugged the
dress off, gathered it together and placed it in the laundry hamper. I pulled
on a robe and trudged into the kitchen to make myself some much needed coffee. As
the coffee percolated, I went into the bathroom to assess the damage. “Ugh. Well
don’t you look a sight,” I said to the puffy, hungover version of me staring
back in the mirror. My eye makeup had spent the night meandering down my cheeks
and my eyes were bloodshot and swollen. I washed my face, pressing a cold
washcloth to my eyes and forehead. I collected last night’s curls up into a
high ponytail, changed into a tank top and comfortable jeans and dragged myself
back into the kitchen for some coffee.
    I sat at my
kitchen table, hands hugging my steaming coffee cup, and finally gathered the
courage to think about the night before. I started with the things I knew. I
knew that Dex kissed me, voluntarily, in the forest. And I knew that the
chemistry between us was undeniable. I had been thinking about him almost
non-stop since we met two weeks ago. And all I wanted was to feel his hands on
my skin and his lips pressed into mine. I knew there had to be an explanation
for what happened at the social. He couldn’t be this crazy—at least I hoped
not.
    The more I thought
about it, the more I thought maybe he didn’t know whether I was