Free 9 1/2 Days by Mia Zachary Page B

silence got to him.
    “You’re being unreasonable, Jordan. You made an honest mistake. No one’s going to hold that against you, least of all me.”
    She jerked the steering wheel toward the curb and hit the brakes again. Ignoring the blare of horns behind her, she twisted in her seat toward him and pointed. “Out.”
    “Oh, come on. Let’s be adult about this, okay? We had sex. It’s not the end of the world. In fact, I thought it was pretty damned good.”
    “Out!”
    Danny returned her glare for a moment then scowled. “Fine. You don’t want to talk, we won’t talk.”
    “Thank you.”
    Having finally gotten the message, he stayed quiet for the rest of the ten-minute ride. He made one last effort before he closed the door to the Honda.
    “Can I call you later?”
    “What for?”
    Danny just looked at her for a moment, then nodded his head and got out of the car. She pressed the automatic door locks and sped off. When she glanced into the rearview mirror, Jordan saw him standing on the sidewalk, watching her leave.
    She managed to get to the law firm only a half hour late. She pushed through the glass double doors to Chase, Behr’s lobby, her heels clicking on the polished slate tiles. The receptionist greeted her with a thorough once-over and a raised eyebrow.
    “Whatever it is, it must be bad.”
    She stopped, taken aback by the amused tone of voice, and looked at Charlie. “What makes you say that?”
    “Honey, look at you. I’ve never seen you in a ponytail before.”
    Jordan smoothed a hand over her hair. “I was running late.”
    “Okay, that explains the lack of eyeliner or lipstick, but your suit jacket is buttoned wrong and you’re wearing two different shoes.”
    Jordan dropped her focus and, in the harsh glare of the fluorescent lighting, saw that one pump was indeed black and the other was navy. Damn. It was a good thing she didn’t have a court appearance.
    “I was sort of distracted this morning.”
    Charlie nodded sagely. “I’ll say.”
    Jordan fixed the buttons on her turquoise jacket as she continued through the lobby past the conference rooms. After dumping her briefcase by her desk and changing into the extra pair of black shoes she kept in the file cabinet, she headed straight for David’s office on the other side of the building.
    He looked up as she barreled into the room. “Hey, good morning—”
    “No, it really isn’t. Why didn’t you tell me, David?” She closed the door to give them some privacy. “Why didn’t you tell me that you’re gay?”
    He put down his pen and set the papers he was working on aside. “So you did know.”
    “Not until this morning.”
    His brows drew together. “How did you find out?”
    “Never mind that right now.” Jordan sank into one of the guest chairs across from him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
    David rubbed a hand over his face. “I needed time to sort out how I feel about everything. Us, the partnership, my future. I swear, though, I never meant to lead you on or hurt you.”
    “But I am hurt. You lied to me.”
    “I was lying to myself, about how I feel and who I am. I care about you more than any woman I’ve ever known. You’re a good friend and a wonderful person and I thought I could make it work.”
    There was no doubting the sincerity in his voice, the remorse in his eyes. Jordan sighed and offered him a little smile. “I guess this explains a lot. We’ve been together for almost a year and all this time I blamed myself for the lack of intimacy.”
    David stood up and came around the desk. “I’m so sorry, Jordan. It never occurred to me that you would think it was anything but my fault.” He reached for her hand. “After that one night we were together, I realized I couldn’t keep denying my homosexuality, that it wouldn’t be fair to keep dating you. Can you forgive me?”
    “Of course, I do.” Jordan stood up to return his hug. “In the back of my mind, I must have suspected, because as much as I