Read Online Safe in His Arms by Vicki Lewis Thompson - Free Book Online Page A

yourself short, buddy.”
    “Oh, come off it, Will. I should never have taken the CEO position, and marrying Elise was a huge mistake. She had every right to kick me to the curb after I changed the rules of the game. Valerie’s put me on a pedestal and I don’t deserve to be there. I’m going to disappoint her, and then what?”
    Will leaned forward. “Sure, you might disappoint her, but not in the ways that count. You’ve made mistakes, sure, but we all do when we’re trying to figure out where we fit in the world. You’re a good man, and that’s what she values in you. She might be the first woman who sees who you really are and likes what she sees.”
    “I wish I believed that.”
    “I wish you did, too. I’m sure it’s damned unfamiliar, unfortunately.”
    “I don’t know, Will.” Adam sighed and picked up his glass. “I just have the awful feeling she’s built an image of me that I can never live up to.”
    “Maybe you already have lived up to it.”
    Adam shook his head. “Not a chance.” Then he changed the subject, because that one was too depressing. He and Will talked sports and politics, but his mind never strayed far from thoughts of Valerie.
    He planned to go to her apartment for dinner because he couldn’t stay away. And he’d make love to her, because that was what she obviously intended, and he couldn’t resist her. If he had any sense at all, he would resist, but he kept seeing that little twitch in her hips as she’d walked away from the elevator. Yeah, he would go to her apartment tonight. He could hardly wait.
    Will, who was as perceptive as most therapists, picked up on Adam’s underlying agitation. “Do you need to head back to the ranch? Is that why you’re fidgeting?”
    “Uh, no.” He should have realized that meeting Will for a drink was a tactical error. The guy could read him better than any human on the planet. “Valerie invited me to her place for dinner.”
    Will’s blond eyebrows lifted. “Did she, now?”
    “She did, and I’ll thank you not to comment on that fact.”
    “Wasn’t planning to say a word.”
    “No, but you’re thinking plenty. Should I cancel?”
    Will held up both hands, palms out. “I’m not about to make that call. But I’m glad to hear she invited you over. It’s a positive sign.”
    “Will, I haven’t . . . I’ve been off the market for . . . well, you know.”
    “I do, and I think this is also a positive sign for you.”
    “You’re looking entirely too pleased with yourself, buddy.”
    “All I did was put two people on the same path and let nature take its course.”
    “And if it all blows up?”
    Will shrugged. “Life is messy. But you’re both intelligent people with good hearts. I have faith that you’ll be able to work it out.”
    “Just so you know, I told her I was having a drink with you tonight before I came over to her place.”
    “Then tell her I said hi.”
    “Will, what if tonight is a disaster and she refuses to come out to the Triple Bar anymore? How will that affect her progress?”
    “First of all, I doubt tonight will be a disaster, and second of all, she’s doing well. If she never came out to your ranch again, she’d still have sessions with me, and I have every confidence she’ll recover. You can be proud of the help you’ve given her. She’s going to be just fine.”
    “Good.” Adam polished off his beer in three gulps. “That’s very good.” He didn’t say that the idea of Valerie never coming out to the ranch again tied his stomach in knots. If going to her place tonight could ruin that, then he shouldn’t do it. He shouldn’t take that risk.
    He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I’m going to cancel. I can’t take a chance that something will go wrong tonight and she’ll give up on coming out to the ranch. She loves it there.”
    “Don’t cancel.”
    “Why not?” Adam paused, the phone in his hand. “Give me one good reason.”
    “I could give you dozens, but