Free All I Need (Hearts of the South) by Linda Winfree Page A

miserable she could handle, because that had been her new normal for nearly two years.
    The guilt was the real bitch.
    She propped her other elbow on the desk and buried her face in her hands. If some guy had treated Amy the way she’d treated Emmett, Savannah would be ready to cut his balls off. Besides, she might not want him to matter, but he was a decent guy and hadn’t deserved to be treated like he was nothing—an object to be used.
    She really needed to apologize to him.
    On a sigh, she straightened and fished her phone from her pocket. She tapped out a quick can-we-talk text to Emmett and sent it before she could rethink.
    The day passed slowly, with no reply. Late in the afternoon, after she’d finished treating a middle schooler who’d fractured a wrist in a fall at PE, Lorraine waved her toward the waiting room. “One of the boys from the sheriff’s department is here to see you.”
    “Thanks. I’m going to take a quick break.” She walked through to the waiting area, expecting to find Rob. Instead, Emmett leaned on the wall near the entrance. Her breath hitched as her gaze collided with his.
    Unsmiling, he straightened from the wall. “You wanted to see me?”
    “Yes.” Although she’d all but given up on him today, she was unreasonably pleased to see him. Warmth flushed her neck, and her pulse flickered in her throat. She cast a quick look around the nearly empty room and gestured to the walkway beyond the entrance. “Let’s go outside.”
    An afternoon breeze scattered leaves across the sidewalk. Resting against the railing, Savannah fought down a flutter of nervousness, complicated by flashes of remembered pleasure at having him inside her.
    “I owe you an apology.” The words wanted to stick in her throat. She rubbed her thumb over the metal rail, rough with flaking paint. “I was trying to deal with something, and I used you to do it. I am sorry, Emmett.”
    His face expressionless, he remained quiet a moment. He looked at his feet, then lifted his gaze to hers. “What do you really want from me, Savannah?”
    She swallowed. Trust him to cut right to the point, when she didn’t know what the point was. “I’d like for us to be friends.”
    Arms folded over his chest, he pinned her with a look. “What about the attraction?”
    Somehow, having him acknowledge an attraction still existed made her feel better.
    “We just…we deal with it.” She rolled one shoulder in a shrug. “If we decide to sleep together, okay. But I promise—there won’t be another incident like the other night.”
    He gazed at her so long she wanted to shift uncomfortably, but finally he nodded. “Okay.”
    She flicked a paint flake away with her thumbnail. “Georgia’s playing this weekend, and I usually go to my sister’s for those games if you’d like to do that together. We have a family baby shower to attend that morning, but we could go over for the game about five.”
    “I can do that.”
    The atmosphere hung heavy and uneasy between them. She wanted to throw up. She’d damaged something precious and fine, when her life was about helping, repairing, saving . And she’d done this with her own selfishness, a trait she’d berated Amy for over and over.
    He glanced away, his jaw tightening. A muscle flicked in his jaw, and he swung his gaze back to hers. “The apology—it means a lot, Savannah. It really does.”
    She nodded, her throat too tight to speak, and he tucked a stray lock of her hair behind her ear. A memory flashed in her mind, of the easy gentleness of a similar gesture, an easy, budding friendship, before she’d ruined it all.
    “I’ll see you Saturday.” He let his hand fall away and turned to make his way down the steps. She watched him go, remembering the feel of his lips against hers.
    * * * * *
    Subdued music and muted laughter spilled from the storefronts along Broad Street. A hint of coolness tried to dispel the day’s warmth, and the spiced scent of apple cider wafted