Read Online 30 Nights by Christine D'Abo - Free Book Online Page A

legs. My eyes opened of their own volition and my gaze landed on the cards.
    Of course I would take them to work tomorrow.
    I would show them to Eric.
    And I would hope for the best.

7
    F or the first time all week, I slept like the dead. I didn’t know if it had been from the orgasm, or if the exhaustion had finally caught up to me, but either way I slept well. I also slept past my alarm.
    “Shit!”
    Getting dressed turned out to be an entire production. I wasn’t the type of person to typically freak out over my wardrobe. Get up, get dressed, go to work. Done. End of story.
    Oh no, today had to be the day that my inner teenager decided to come out to play games with my confidence. I wanted to look good for the barbecue, but not unprofessional. Sexy, but not desperate. Three sundresses and a pair of capris later, I forced myself to put on my navy blue flower-print skirt and a white dress T-shirt, grab the cards, and leave my apartment to catch the bus.
    Which I missed. Because of course I did.
    To make matters worse the light cloud cover turned dark by the time I was dropped off at my stop. The rain started with a light patter for all of thirty seconds before the heavens opened up and dumped their entire contents on me. I should have run to cut the amount of time I had to endure the rain in half. But there wasn’t any point. I’d chosen to wear my hair down, which was now plastered to my body. Thankfully I had a hair elastic in my desk so I could put it in a braid. I just needed to get there first.
    I was late and looked like hell, so there was no way I wanted to walk past Eric’s office. Given how this past week had gone, he’d be holed up there talking to his students or something, so he would be easy enough to avoid. I’d have time to hit the bathroom and clean up and dry off before I’d see him at the barbecue. For the first time in ages, I took the staircase closest to my office.
    The air in the building was cooler than outside. I hadn’t expected the rain and didn’t think to bring a jacket, so my damp clothing clung to my skin. My nipples were two bullets making their presence known from beneath my shirt for anyone to see. I pushed the door open and stepped out into the hallway of my floor.
    Eric had come out of the men’s washroom at the exact moment.
    We both froze and stared at each other.
    “Fuck.” I groaned.
    He was wearing a plum dress shirt, the shirtsleeves once again rolled up, exposing his forearms. Only one button was undone at his throat, making it impossible to see any of his chest. Oh, he had on the charcoal gray dress pants, too. That was a nice combination on him. Very sexy.
    “Glenna?”
    My gaze snapped up to his. “Yes?”
    “You look . . . uncomfortable.”
    “I can honestly say that’s the understatement of the week.” I looked down at my chest and shifted my purse to hide behind it. “It’s been a, well, a morning. A very wet and frustrating morning.”
    He nodded. For a moment I thought he might crack a smile, but instead he started to walk away.
    I wanted to die. An earthquake could have come along and shaken the building down around me and that would have made me happy. Or a giant sinkhole! Yes, that would have been much better. I sucked in a breath and took a few steps toward my office.
    “Glenna?”
    I shivered. Damn cold clothes. “Yes?”
    “Will I see you later? At the Social Committee event?”
    Water dripped from a wet tendril and landed on my purse. The cards were safe and sound from the wet deep inside. “I’m not sure.”
    “I hope so.” A beat of silence. “You better dry off so you don’t catch a cold.”
    “I will.”
    His words were chased with the clicking of his shoes as he walked down the hallway toward his office.
    Despite everything, he still wanted to see me.
    Another shiver got me moving again and into my office. Jasmine was at her desk, and Nell was sitting against it. I’d clearly interrupted something because they pulled apart and