Free At Any Cost by Mandy Baxter Page B

thoughts.
    â€œOh, um, yeah.” She drew her full bottom lip between her teeth and looked to her right. She rolled her shoulders as though trying to coax away some tension. “The doors are locked, though.”
    Her expression became pinched as though she waged some internal battle. Nick waited patiently. If he pushed her on the matter, she’d be suspicious. He was just making a friendly offer, being a good neighbor. He wanted her to trust him. Part of him needed her to.
    â€œIf you think he’ll be okay until you get home, it’s fine,” Nick said. “I’m not doing anything but sitting in the house, so I thought I’d offer.”
    â€œI’m sure he’ll be okay,” Livy said after a moment. “He ate last night before bed, so it’s not like he’ll starve to death.”
    â€œNo worries.” Shit . Nick hid his disappointment as he took a pull from the bottle of iced tea. The cold chill almost numbed his throat on the way down, better than the sting he felt at not being able to earn a small amount of Livy’s trust.
    Livy fidgeted in her seat, glanced toward the parking lot, over her shoulder, and again to her right. She leaned back to check the large clock that hung from the far wall. “I’ve got a group lesson in about fifteen minutes. I’d probably better go get ready.”
    It wasn’t a brush-off per se, but Nick’s offer to go into her house had made Livy nervous. She reached for her tray at the same time Nick did and their hands touched. The contact was electric and sent a rush of heat through his bloodstream that settled and pooled in his gut. Their eyes met and Livy’s full pink lips parted. How could a man spend any amount of time with her and not think about kissing her? Nick found himself thinking about it more and more and that was a huge fucking problem. “I’ll get your tray.” The words came out much rougher than he’d hoped. He cleared his throat. “You’ve got a lot more gear to get on than I do.”
    Livy pulled the knit beanie back on and pushed it up over her forehead before situating her goggles over the hat. Nick stood and gathered up their empty plates and stacked their trays but he watched from the corner of his eye as she put on her coat. Everything she did drew Nick’s undivided attention.
    â€œThanks for having lunch with me.” She reached down and fiddled with her ski boot before turning toward the exit.
    Nick stood there, holding their lunch trays, mouth slack like some sort of idiot. “How about dinner tonight?” The words left his mouth before he could think better of it. Nothing like coming on too strong to earn a woman’s trust.
    A frown marred her brow for the barest second. That sadness and regret, no matter how fleeting, tore a hole in Nick’s chest every time he saw it. She paused and a smile tugged at one corner of her mouth. “My place or yours?”
    â€œHow about we go out?” he suggested. “You could show me the town.”
    She worried her lip, unsure. Was Livy so afraid that besides work and the grocery store she never left her house? “All right,” she said after a moment. “I get off at four. How ’bout we eat around six thirty?”
    â€œI’ll be ready,” Nick replied. “Have fun on the slopes.”
    Her smile brightened. “Always. See you tonight.”
    This was research, Nick reminded himself. Nothing more. His interest in Livy didn’t go beyond how she could get him closer to Joel Meecum. And maybe if he kept telling himself that, like Livy, he’d start to believe his own lies.

Chapter Seven
    Livy checked her reflection in the full-length mirror one last time. On a scale of one to ten of bad ideas, going out on a date with Nick ranked somewhere around a fifty. She’d always been able to justify her decision to live like a hermit. Fear could be a hell of a motivator. And