Page 31 of Hold on Tight

“And for the record, youcanget it up. I can definitely attest to that.”

He was on her so fast he startled her, backing her up until her shoulder blades hit the wall, pressing himself close so she could feel the long, hard line of his erection against her hip. He kissed her, fierce, hard, and mean. It hurt her, and she pressed back, needing more.

Then it was over. He stepped away, and the loss of his body heat, the loss of that long, solid line of muscle, felt like plunging into cold water.

“I gotta go,” he said.

She leaned her head against the wall and listened for the crunch of the front door easing shut, her heart beating a harsh, uneven rhythm in her ears.

Chapter 9

“You’rereallyquiet.”

That was Opal, Mira’s new friend at work. They were eating lunch on one of the benches outside the office, their paper-wrapped sandwiches balanced on their knees. They were in the middle of an unusually long run of sunny days, and it was warm, too, near 80, Seattle bliss.

Mira had met Opal on her first day of work after she’d been publicly disemboweled in her aurally exposed cube by her new boss for showing up a week late. Opal had launched a piece of crumpled paper over the wall to Mira:

“We want to be as accommodating as we can of your life. Just see that you keep your personal problems from interfering with your ability to get the job done.” Does she listen to herself? —Opal, next door

Mira had felt a thrill as sharp and poignant as she would have in seventh grade if a witty and popular girl had passed her a note.

I don’t think so!

She tossed the note back over the wall. She prayed she had its source correct—she thought it had come from the cube directly to her right. She’d noticed that desk was occupied by a woman about her age.

A head peeked around the corner. “Hi,” said the woman. “I’m Opal. I’m in the marketing department, and I’m supposed to work closely with you on the accessories launch.” Opal didn’t look like an Opal. She had a lot of red curly hair, like Little Orphan Annie, and freckles so closely packed on her face they were almost a continuous tan. She also had the nicest smile Mira had ever seen, big and totally unreserved. It was like a gift after Mira’s last run-in.

“I’m Mira.”

“Welcome.”

Opal was also, officially, the first person to make an overture of friendship to Mira since she and Sam had arrived in Seattle. Mira had met one old friend, who also had kids, at a playground the first week after the move, but then Sam had taken his spill, and that and unpacking had consumed most of her resources since. Mira had nearly forgotten how much fun it was to make a new friend.

“I can’t possibly express how relieved I am to discover that you’re normal-looking,” Opal said. “Do you want to have lunch?”

Mira smiled. “Sure.”

“I love your shoes. Are they ours?”

“Yeah.” One of the perks of the job was 30 percent off a new pair of shoes every month. These were Mira’s first—cork-heeled, strappy, red patent sandals.

“Do they come in any other colors?”

“Lime green, lemon yellow, orange, purple.”

“Would I be treading on your toes—no pun intended—if I bought a pair in a different color?”

Mira wanted to hug her. “No. I’ll send you a link.”

“Would you?” Opal grinned, a mouthful of straight white teeth. “Thanks. Hey, if you have any questions about anything, you know, how to do stuff, or just—well, you know where to find me.” And she ducked back behind the wall. A moment later, a crushed wad of paper flew over.Glad you’re here.

This was the fourth day she’d eaten on this bench with Opal, who was a relentless talker, an excellent feature at the moment since Mira hadn’t felt much like talking since she’d kissed and dismissed her emergency babysitter.

She was still having hot flashes of stupid shame several days after the fact. First, because she’d let anything happen in the first place. She had seen it coming, had seen the look on his face, felt the combustion when anger turned to lust. She could have backed off. She could have made herself busy, made excuses. And when he’d said those words, “This is a bad idea,” she could have said, “Damn straight,” and run the other way.

Instead, she’d let him kiss her. She’d more than let him; she’d dived straight into the center of it, thrown herself whimpering at him.Hmm, let’s see … I’ll fly across the country to get some space for myself and then serve myself on a platter to the most complicated man on earth.

And then, when he’d given her the perfect out,she’dgone and taunted him into one more kiss.

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