Free Fallen Into You by Ann Collins Page B

stomach was already in knots.
    “I’m not happy,” she said, her voice level even as her hands were shaking and her heart pounding even harder than it had been when Anders gave her that gentlemanly kiss in parting. “I haven’t been happy for a long time. I’m not sure why, Scott, but I need the time to figure that out. That’s why I need some space.”
    “And presumably, the man with the flowers is a coincidence.”
    “I need to figure some things out.”
    “You didn’t need to figure out a single damn thing until that man showed up. Now you need to find yourself. What is he, some cheap charlatan looking for his meal ticket? Or are you deliberately trying to get one over on me?”
    Kara took a long, deep breath. Her hands were trembling so badly that she pressed them down against the desk to keep them under control. Tears stung her eyes, but she wasn’t sure if they were tears of sadness or of anger. What came out of her mouth was a blend of both.
    “It would be best not to say anything else right now,” she said to Scott. “That goes for both of us. We are both on the verge of saying things we regret. Let’s just take a breath, and come back to this in a few days, when we can both think.”
    “In a few days, after you have had time to make a date with him?”
    “It’s not like that.” She was starting to regret she hadn’t taken Anders up on his offer. If you’re going to do the time, you may as well have done the crime.
    “Bullshit,” he erupted, and Kara’s eyes popped open. She stared at him. Had he ever yelled at her before?
    “You’re just moon-eyed over this guy. He’s a mechanic , for crying out loud! He’s got a list of bad credit a mile long and he probably has a rap sheet, too. Don’t deny that this is all about you wanting to explore some bad-boy fantasy.”
    Kara sat silently, afraid of what she might say if she opened her mouth.
    “And let’s not fool ourselves about what you’re doing here. You probably wonder what it’s like to hang out with the lesser crowd, don’t you? Wonder if the grass is greener on the other side of the fence? It’s not. It’s just a barren wasteland of dirt over there.”
    “Scott…”
    “What do you think your father is going to say? And your mother, she is rolling over in her grave right now! It’s like you have regressed to some thirteen-year-old girl who doesn’t know what’s good for her!”
    “Get out of my office,” she said.
    “Hell, you were always a little flighty, but never like this…”
    “Get out.”
    “You don’t want space, you just want to share space with someone else, and you don’t have the guts to say it to my face.”
    “ Get out!”
    She shouted the words at the top of her lungs, and that was what it took to finally break through. Scott stared at her with his mouth hanging open. It would have been comical if the situation hadn’t been so serious.
    “You’ll come to your senses,” he said, still condescending. “You’ll come around. That Wallace guy certainly will. And real soon, too. You’ll see.”
    He opened the door with a confident yank, and slammed it behind him when he walked out. Kara could feel the tears welling up, but she also felt angry and knew if she was going to react, it had to be now.
    She jettisoned her chair behind her, charged out of her office, across the hall and into the car park, her heels jarring on the asphalt. To her relief, Anders was still there, his truck parked up. He was sat with his arms resting on the wheel, staring into space.
    “Anders!”
    He jolted to attention, and began winding down the driver-side window, a smile forming on his face.
    “Change of heart?”
    She pulled a notepad from her suit jacket, scribbled her address on it and tore it off. Anders took the paper, his fingertips brushing hers and staying there for a beat longer than was appropriate.
    “My place, seven-thirty,” she said.
    “You sure?”
    “Never been surer.”

Chapter Nine

     
    A nders