Read Online Burn Out by Cheryl Douglas - Free Book Online Page A

period.”
    “Right, of
course,” she said, blushing. She’d been so busy and distracted she hadn’t even
thought to look at a calendar. “Um, I’m not really sure.”
    Lucy pulled a
small calendar out from under the counter. “Why don’t you have a look at that?
See if you can figure it out.”
    “Right,” Erika
said, concentrating. Her last period had ended seven days ago, which meant she
was in the clear. “It was right here,” she said, pointing to the day on the
calendar.
    “And you had
intercourse last night?” Lucy asked, lowering her voice when a white haired man
stopped in front of the counter to peruse the cold medication.
    “Yes,” Erika said,
trying not to feel like an insolent child caught with her hand in the cookie
jar.
    “Then you should
be fine. Just take the pill you missed as soon as you get home and resume your
normal schedule thereafter.”
    “So I don’t need
the morning after pill?” She tried to ignore the pang in her stomach. She
couldn’t be disappointed she would never have the baby she didn’t even want
with a man who’d been out of her life for more than a year.
    “You should be
fine,” she said, smiling. “No worries.”
    “Thanks, Lucy. You
really put my mind at ease.” She turned to leave and ran straight into Evan.
    He grabbed her
arms to steady her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Your receptionist told
me you had to make a quick pit stop here on the way home.” He glanced at the
pharmacist and nodded.
    “What are you
doing here? I thought I told you-”
    “Why don’t we have
this conversation outside?” he asked, threading his hand through hers.
    She wanted to pull
away, but didn’t want to make a scene, so she allowed him to lead her outside
before withdrawing to put some distance between them.
    “What the hell was
that about?” he asked, hooking a thumb over his shoulder.
    “I wanted to make
sure I wasn’t at risk of getting pregnant after last night. You’ll be glad to
know you have nothing to worry about.”
    He narrowed his
eyes. “I wasn’t worried. In fact, I was kind of hopin’ you were pregnant.”
    She couldn’t
control the urge to laugh. “I thought it was women who usually tried to entrap
men with unplanned pregnancies, not the other way around.”
    “Would it really
be so terrible… havin’ my baby?”
    Erika could see
that she’d hurt him and that hadn’t been her intent. Touching his forearm, she
said, “I’m sure you’ll be a wonderful father, when and if you decide to commit
your whole heart to it.”
    “Like I committed
my whole heart to you?”
    She couldn’t deny
he had done that in the beginning and she’d been foolish enough to believe it
would last forever.
    “Why did you track
me down?” she asked as she started walking toward her car.
    A new black Jaguar
was parked beside her late model economy car and she had little doubt who it
belonged to. “Your ride?” she asked, trying to suppress a smile. That car had
Evan written all over it. Sleek, sexy, and expensive.
    “Yeah, you wanna
go for a spin?” he asked, dropping the keys in her hand.
    “Maybe some other
time,” she said, shaking her head. It was tempting. She’d always loved those
cars… “I better go. I’m tired and hungry and…” She tossed him the keys.
    “Actually,” he
said, holding his hand up as he walked around to the passenger’s side of his
car. “That’s why I stopped by. I was over at my parents’ place for dinner and
my mom made her famous lasagne and homemade bread.”
    Erika’s stomach
rumbled, making her grateful he stood several feet away, so he couldn’t hear
it.
    “I figured you
wouldn’t take the time to eat today, so I thought you might like some.”
    She couldn’t help
but smile. That was the Evan she’d fallen in love with years ago: sweet,
considerate, loving… “That was really nice. Thank you. And thank your mom for
me too.”
    He handed her the
paper bag. “You can thank her yourself when you see