Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 49530 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49530 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
“Elizabeth? Buttercup? Are you in here?”
Two sets of footsteps sounded on the floor. He wasn’t alone.
Holding her breath, she watched his boots wander through the apartment even checking in the closet and the shower. Please think I went out the back door. Please think I’m driving away now.
“Are you sure that was her car?” a feminine voice asked.
“Definitely. Her briefcase was inside. I’ll call her.”
After a second of sheer panic, Elizabeth realized she’d forgotten her phone in her car. It wouldn’t give her away. She blew out her breath silently in relief. Hearing the door open, she sagged against the floor. That feeling didn’t last for long.
“Storm? Are you sure you talked to my Elizabeth?” Talon called from the doorway into the hallway.
“Petite, blonde, dressed in a power suit. She’s been the one sitting on your lap and giving you hugs, right?” Storm joked. “Is she playing hide and seek?”
“I don’t know. Did she look upset?” he asked.
“Stressed. She had that line between her eyes,” Storm said, and Elizabeth imagined him drawing a vertical line between his eyebrows. That was her worst stress wrinkle.
“That sounds like Elizabeth. She wasn’t in the library, was she?”
“Nope. It’s quiet in there today. I just got a bottle of water from the fridge, and it was empty,” Storm reported.
“Could you help me knock on doors and see if she’s visiting someone?”
“Of course.”
Elizabeth stayed where she was until she heard the guys in the hallway going from door to door, searching for her.
Slowly, she slid out from under the bed and grabbed Puff and Borscht from the cozy spot she’d left them. Everything else didn’t matter. She just needed her stuffies. Pausing to listen, she noticed their voices were much quieter. The guys must have turned the corner. This was her chance. She darted to the door.
“Hi. You aren’t leaving now, are you?”
Elizabeth whirled at the sound of the woman’s voice. Sitting with her legs tucked underneath her in the corner of couch sat a woman with brown hair and almost black eyes. “Yes. I’m leaving now.”
“I think Talon wanted to introduce us.”
The woman gracefully uncurled herself from the couch to approach Elizabeth and hold out her hand. “I’m Margaret.”
“I can’t touch your hand. I’ll throw up. How can you be so brazen?”
Elizabeth reached for the doorknob behind her and opened the door. She dashed out, only to smash into a hard obstacle. The two stuffies tumbled to the ground as the air rushed out of her lungs. Looking up, Elizabeth saw Ivy’s Daddy. Dragging oxygen into her lungs, she scrambled to pick up Puff and Borscht. Elizabeth forced words out of her mouth. “Dammit, Steele. Don’t block the hallway.”
“Grab her,” Talon called, and Steele’s hands closed around Elizabeth’s shoulders, holding her in place.
“Steele, he’s cheating on me. Let me go!” Elizabeth pleaded.
“Talon? You’re cheating on her?” the woman now standing in the doorway asked.
“No, I’m not cheating on her. The only other woman I’ve hung out with since I met Elizabeth is you,” Talon explained as he jogged down the hallway to reach Elizabeth.
He stroked a hand down her back, and she couldn’t help flinching away.
“Let. Me. Go.”
The absolute power in her voice made Steele lift his hands from her body and step back. “Sorry, Elizabeth. Listen to him, please.”
“I listened to one man explain how it was my fault he cheated on me. I’m not listening to another. Go back to that floozy you spent your afternoon with,” she said, mentally pulling the shreds of her dignity around herself as she shifted to the side to step around Steele.
“That was my mother, Elizabeth,” Talon said quietly from behind her.
Elizabeth turned her head to stare at the woman who looked at her with such concern. “Your mother?” she repeated. “I saw you dancing together. You moved so well together. Like you’d known each other for years.”
“Twenty-five years,” the woman filled in for her. “I’m so sorry we scared you. Would you stay so we can get acquainted? I’ve been looking forward to meeting the woman who captured my son’s heart.”
“I feel so stupid. It’s probably best that I leave,” Elizabeth said, shaking her head.
“It’s all my fault,” Margaret said quickly. “I showed up without any notice to see if I could sweet talk my son into dancing with me at a ballroom competition. His father sprained his ankle and will be on crutches for a week.”
“I thought of the big dance floor at The Hangout. We went to practice there this afternoon and came back here so Mom could meet you when you got off work. I texted you.”
“I haven’t looked at my phone.”
“I’m sorry, Buttercup. I don’t want you to be hurt even by a misunderstanding. Can I hug you now?” he asked, stepping closer.
“I think I’d like that,” she answered, walking forward into his arms.