Free Living Dangerously by Dee J. Adams Page A

looked over Cal’s shoulder and gasped. “Oh, my God! That’s a kind of admiration I could do without. Creepsville,” she muttered before heading to the door. She shuddered and waved. “See you tomorrow, Julie.”
    “Bye,” Julie called absently. “Great. Now every time I meet a guy with the first initial A , I’m going to wonder if he hates me.” Or if he tried to kill me . She folded and replaced the note in the envelope.
    “Not everyone.” Cal tapped her arm. “We know Allen loves you. Apparently, getting shot brings out the crazies.” Cal gestured to the table. “You want to open the rest of these? There are only a few more.”
    Shaking her head, Julie snorted. “Nope. I’m done with mail for today.” Eyeing the remaining stack, she glanced at Cal. “Can you take it all and let Abbey sort through them?” It was easier to forget about it and stare at the flowers. The very unnecessary flowers.
    “Yeah, sure. What are you going to do with that?” Cal asked, referring to the letter.
    “Normally, it would go in the bin with all my other crazy mail, but I’ll call the detectives on the case and let them know. I’m sure they’ll want it. Can we drop it now?”
    “Whatever.”
    Julie stared at the flowers. A tickle started in her nose and she sneezed. The movement pulled her stitches and she gasped at the twinge of pain. “Fragrant, aren’t they?”
    “Very,” Cal teased.
    “Too fragrant,” she groused. She buzzed for the nurse and when Wendy came in, she asked her to take the flowers to the pediatric ward. Out of sight, out of mind. Whoever Allen was, she doubted he’d find out she’d given his flowers away. Besides, the only man with an excuse for sending flowers wasn’t the man who sent them.
    Didn’t that just suck?
    * * *
    Cal arrived the next afternoon to take Julie home. She showed up in another pair of sky-high wedges and capri pants that showed off her fabulous legs. Her tight T-shirt outlined every petite curve of her hard body. “Sorry I’m late. I had to make sure Drew got on the plane.”
    “Not a problem. I’m still waiting for the doctor to sign me out,” Julie said from the chair near the window, “but it should be anytime now.” Wearing loose sweats already gave her a sense of freedom. She wanted to take home her hospital gown with the sole intention of burning it. “I forgot, where did you say Drew was going?”
    “Connecticut. I set him up to volunteer building low-income housing for a few weeks. I’m hoping that the experience brings him out of his shell and gives him some perspective. I can’t seem to do it myself.”
    “I’ll bet it’ll be great for him. Drew will come back a new man.”
    Cal plopped into the empty seat. “I sure as hell hope so.”
    Julie’s cell phone rang and she checked the screen. “It’s Ari. I should probably take this.”
    Waving her to do so, Cal stuck her feet up on the end of the bed, pulled her iPad out of her bag and started playing a game.
    Julie answered the phone.
    “ Querida ,” Ari crooned. “How are you? I feel terrible that I wasn’t able to see you the last two days. Work has been taking all my time. When will you get out of there and when can I take you out for a special dinner, just the two of us?” His accent came from a unique blend of cultures. His father was Italian, but his mother was half Spanish and half Middle Eastern. Though his hazel eyes were striking, his dark shiny hair—slicked back with enough product for a fleet of Armani models—killed any possibility of attraction for Julie even if the man hadn’t been married.
    Julie imagined Ari sitting at his giant desk in his extravagant office, leaning back in his leather chair the way he did when he negotiated a deal. She’d seen him in action, during preproduction of Dangerous Race . As usual, she tiptoed through the minefield of Ari. As much as she wanted an answer about the film, she had no intention of sleeping her way to get it. “I’m fine.