Page 11 of Mountain Security

Fuck.

Color rose to Alex’s cheeks. He was tempted to disconnect the call, but of course, that wouldn’t do any good at that point.

Yvette cleared her throat loudly.

And still Alex didn’t say anything.

What’s there to say?

“Shit,” Ry said, now sounding completely sober. “She’s there with you, isn’t she?”

“Yeah,” Alex said. “She’s right here. I was just about to say you were on speaker phone.”

Fuck.

“Shit. I’m sorry. There’s no way for me to dig my way out of this hole, is there?”

Not likely.

“Talk to you later, Ry.”

Alex pressed the button on the steering wheel and disconnected the call. At the next traffic light, he turned to look at Yvette. There was only one way to say this.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

He’d expected anger. For her to storm out of his car and slam the door, maybe. But the corners of her mouth were curling up, with something that looked like amusement.

Is she trying not to laugh?

“I’m sorry,” he said again. “That was totally inappropriate. We’re … I don’t want you to think we’re like that.”

She raised her hand to stop him. Finally, she gave up and let out the laugh she’d been holding in.

“It’s okay,” she said. “Tell your friend I’m not angry. I’ve heard the ice princess thing before.”

And it suddenly struck him, how far off the mark the words were. If anything, she was more like afire princess. She looked like someone who felt things more than usual, who thought through things more than usual, even if she usually did a good job of hiding it. There was nothing icy or casual about her.

Nothing at all.

5

* * *

Yvette

The cuckoo clock followed her from the moment she stepped into the office.

Five minutes to nine.

At nine, the damned thing would start bleating, which wasn’t going to help the raging headache that was building up behind her eyes.

She took another sip of the triple-shot latte in her hand, unsurprised to find the cup almost empty. She set it down on a corner of her desk to throw out later.

She hadn’t slept well.

If at all.

Last night, Alex had surprised her by waiting for her outside the school where the mentoring event was being held, even though she’d told him she would take a taxi back home.

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