Free Into the Storm by Ruth D. Kerce Page B

her. "Thank
you."
    A slight smile tugged at his lips, and he
nodded, then he served himself a slice. "I think I'm totally
embarrassed now and should crawl out the door and back into the
storm. I should have double-checked with you instead of just
showing up when Janine said."
    Val laughed. "Don't be embarrassed." She
popped an olive in her mouth. "Janine is seriously in need of
therapy. She can't stand to see a person without a mate. Strange,
considering she doesn't have one herself."
    He shrugged. "Well, I haven't been so lucky
in the mate department either. But then, you probably know that,
gossip being what it is." When she simply nodded, he visibly
cringed. "And you're not terribly impressed, I gather."
    "It's none of my business." She avoided eye
contact, while sprinkling grated cheese over a pizza slice.
    He leaned forward and covered the fingers of
her other hand. "I'm really not a bad guy."
    She looked up. "I never said you were." She
pulled her hand out from under his.
    He sat back in the chair. "But you're
thinking that a man who's been married more than once must have
some severe character flaw."
    "Severe never entered my mind." Nathan
laughed at that, and the deep sound washed over her. He had the
cutest dimples when he smiled. She couldn't help but wonder what
the truth was, what had happened to cause his marriages to
fail.
    "You want the dirty details?"
    "Only if you want to tell me."
    He glanced out the window, before once more
meeting her gaze. "If it'll keep me out of the storm, I don't mind.
I hate storms."
    "Me, too." Val smiled, feeling like she'd
actually found someone who understood at least one small part of
her. "Why don't we just chit-chat and enjoy dinner first? After we
eat and clean up the dishes, we can go into the living room for a
more serious discussion."
    "Sounds good."
     
     

Chapter 2
     
    What had he been thinking? Nathan settled on
the couch and took the pint of ice cream Val offered. He'd totally
agreed, even offered, to expose himself and his private life. He
must be nuts.
    Val sat on the other end of the couch and
took a big spoonful of chocolate ice cream from her pint. "Go
ahead." She slid the spoon into her mouth and closed her eyes.
    As he watched her savor the creamy treat,
talk was suddenly the last thing on his mind. She opened her eyes
and actually blushed, as if she could read his seductive
thoughts.
    Val cleared her throat. "Sorry. Chocolate
fetish."
    He laughed, and she blushed even deeper.
"That's okay." Even though he held a pint of frozen ice cream, his
body felt on fire. Sexual fire. "I was enjoying the view."
    She shifted and averted her eyes.
    Man, she was gorgeous. He'd always thought
so. They worked in different divisions in the management firm, so
they'd never really spoken in depth. Just a few words here and
there in the hallways or during departmental meetings. He'd had his
eye on her for a long time and would have made a move by now, but
he'd heard she was dating some asshole -- his buddy's description
of the guy -- in the research department. He hadn't known they were
no longer together until Janine told him.
    "So," she finally said. "Are you going to
spill your guts?"
    He supposed so. He'd almost hoped that she'd
forgotten about his failed marriages, especially since the evening
had turned quite pleasant over dinner. They'd talked about their
mutual love of travel and rock climbing, and they'd made a real
connection.
    "There's really not that much to tell."
Reliving the past seemed useless to him. He couldn't change
anything that had happened and normally didn't like talking about
those bygone years. But for Val, he'd do it. "My first marriage was
right out of high school. We were young and in lust more than love.
Once the realities of life and handling responsibilities hit us,
well, we both knew we'd made a mistake." He hesitated, thinking
back. Maybe if he'd tried harder. "At least it was an amicable
divorce."
    "And the second marriage?"
    He watched as she