Free Every Breath You Take (Oasis Book 1) by Kenna Avery Wood Page A

flowers.
    Shaking off the memory, I left the office and waved at Tucker before pressing the elevator button. When it dinged and opened, I stepped in and jabbed the button for the main level. Before it could close all the way, Finn stepped in.
    “Hi,” he said with a smooth smile.
    “Hi.”
    “Where are you headed?”
    I narrowed my eyes at him. “To do some research.”
    “On what?”
    Shit. I didn’t want to lie to him. But telling him the truth meant questions I didn’t want to answer.
    “Charlotte,” he said calmly, leaning his shoulder against the wall of the elevator. “Why do I get the feeling you’re trying to come up with a story?”
    I sighed. “Just checking in with security.”
    “Good.” He smiled again. “I need to speak with them as well. I’ll join you.”
     
     
     
     
     

 
     
     
     
    Chapter Six
     
     
    Finn strolled like he didn’t have a care in the world. He made me believe he didn’t have an ulterior motive behind joining me on my way to security. But Finn was good at that. He had a storm of ideas, worries, thoughts–everything–brewing in his mind and you’d never have a clue.
    In the Commons, there were workers planting flowers alongside the path. I smiled at Finn. “Your idea?”
    He nodded. “I thought it might draw more traffic through here and instead of on the trams.”
    “Smart. Exercise, a chance to meet new people and get to know the place better. Business for the kiosks I see you’re planning on opening.”
    He smiled. “Coffee and croissants. Breakfast staples and afternoon pick-me-ups.”
    “Smart.”
    “Thank you.”
    I looked away from the easiness of his smile. “Should we walk, then?”
    “Let’s walk.”
    He slowed his long stride to keep pace with me. And if we hadn’t been colleagues, and hadn’t had the history we did, it might have felt like we were on a date. Walking around a park or out shopping like we used to. And Finn would take my hand and squint his eyes against the light of the sun and smile at me without a care in the world. I missed his hands. Strong. Steady. A little rough, even though he seemed like he spent all his time behind a desk.
    “Déjà vu, right?” Finn asked.
    I couldn’t help but laugh. “I have nothing to say about that.”
    He touched my back as he stepped to the side to allow a group of people past. I shivered at the warmth of his fingers on my lower back. Such an intimate spot, really. I forgot how intimate after spending the last year by myself. No boyfriend, no one of interest. It would have been too fast. Too scary. Even now, it was scary.
    “I think about it a lot, you know,” Finn said as we resumed walking side by side.
    “Think about what?”
    The moment I asked, I regretted it. I spotted the flash of amusement in his eyes, and something more. A twinkle. A spark, maybe. Definitely memories. Probably the same ones I’d remembered over the years. Not just holding his hand, but being enfolded in his arms. Of his lips on my cheek, my neck, my shoulder, and trailing lower.
    “Those days we spent together all those years ago.” He flicked me a glance. “The days, and the nights.”
    I frowned.
    He laughed. “This is where you say it.”
    “Say what?”
    “Mr. Moore. You say, ‘Mr. Moore, that’s unprofessional. We work together.’”
    “We do,” I insisted, though it hadn’t phased him before so I had no idea why it would now. At least he’d been listening, even if he’d decided to set aside what I’d been saying.
    “We talked about that once as well, if I recall.” He grinned at me. “We make a good team.”
    I didn’t respond. I didn’t know what to say to that. Yes, we made a good team. Yes, we’d been great in the past. Yes, we had both moved on. Starting over again meant going backward instead of forward. It meant visiting my past, and that wasn’t something I wanted to do. I’d worked so hard the last several months trying to erase my past, trying to start over, and trying to be