Page 23 of Storm's Embrace

“No. That was all,” he said, focusing on her again. He rose from his seat and then came around the desk where he leaned back against the front edge of it, his eyes cast down and his lips in a tense line. She hastily stood and stepped away from him as he lifted his questioning—almost longing—gaze to hers, whispering, “Miriam…”

Heat pooled low in her belly at her name on his lips in that tone and the intensity of his stare, while an awareness she could almost taste filled the space between them. “Yes?” She took a step toward him and thought for a moment he was going to straighten and do the same when his body tensed.

“I…” He closed his eyes and relaxed his shoulders before opening his gaze at her again.

The moment was gone.

“Why don’t you head on out.” That couldn’t have been what he was about to say—or do—but maybe leaving was a good idea.

Oh god…

“O-okay. If you’re sure?” She backed away from him with a slight wave while he didn’t take his eyes from her before she turned and made fast tracks out of his office. Any other time, she’d have felt guilty for leaving even these few minutes early, but this wasn’t like most days.

Because most days didn’t find her having a revelation slamming home like the one she’d just had.

Her heart raced as she gathered her belongings and headed toward the exit with just a passing, “Have a nice weekend,” to their transcription clerk, Bonnie, standing by the nurses’ station.

This can’t be happening.

She made it outside and to the parking lot, then hazarded a glance at Eli’s office window before she got into her car. She wasn’t sure, but she thought he was standing there…

Watching.

She shook her head. Eli had no reason to be watching her. He had Ms. Bennett, and it was obviously serious if the missing picture of Josie was anything to go by. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, her mind whirling with thoughts and feelings she’d never put a name to until the past couple of minutes.

“What am I going to do?”

She kept her eyes trained on the trees and the few leaves falling to the ground alongside the parking lot through her windshield for several moments. Then she started her car and left the parking lot while a rising panic gradually began to take over her mind as she made the ten-minute drive to her house.

“Okay, Miriam,” she muttered as she pulled her car to a halt and turned it off—her heart hammering. “You’ll take the weekend. Get some perspective. Then maybe Monday, things will go back to the way they used to be.”

Right.

She gripped the steering wheel and laid her head on her white-knuckled hands.

“And then maybe Monday I won’t still be in love with my boss.”

* * *

“Zoë, get ready for your bath,” she told her sluggish daughter when she let them into their home late that Sunday evening after a long day at the Birmingham Zoo and drive home.

“Do I have to?” Her daughter took a few exaggeratedly slow steps farther into the living room with the stuffed gorilla almost as big as she was dragging behind her, and then looked up at her with her usually bright blue eyes drooping and her lips in a pout.

“Yes, you do.”

There was no way she was letting her worn out daughter go to bed without one. If for no other reason than to get the bits of giraffestuffleft in her hair after the unfortunate sneezing while she’d been feeding one.

“Okay,” Zoë said, letting the gorilla drop to the floor before falling on top of it. “But JoJo and me are gonna wait here.”

“That’s his name?”

“Mmm,” she said, wrapping her little arms around the gorilla and burrowing her head in its neck.

Sleep was minutes away. And if Miriam didn’t get her daughter in the bath now, it was going to be too late. She hated to make her get up, but she really needed t—

Her phone ringing interrupted her thoughts. She reached into her purse and pulled up the screen to see Leah’s face, and then walked toward the kitchen and swiped it to answer. “Hey, we just got h—”

“Have you heard?”

---