Read Online Her Stolen Past by Lynette Eason - Free Book Online

streetlight provided a bit of light. Enough to see his profile and the wrinkles in his forehead. Then the wrinkles smoothed and he let out a small laugh. “‘Oh’? That’s it?”
    Sonya felt the heat flood her face and was grateful for the darkness. “I’m sorry. I just wasn’t expecting you to say that.”
    “I wasn’t, either.” He sounded almost bemused.
    “Why did she leave you?”
    “She found someone who didn’t have as much baggage, didn’t work as many hours and had money to spend on her.” The bemusement was gone. The flat, hard statement told her how much his fiancée had hurt him. “We were supposed to meet for dinner one night. I arrived at the restaurant. She didn’t. When I called to see if she was all right, she didn’t answer. I went to her house and she was having a candlelit dinner with my accountant.”
    Silence reigned in the car for a full minute.
    “Well...” She drew the word out, thinking of a response.
    “Well, what?”
    She gave a small shrug and struggled to find the right words. Unable to think of any, she settled on “That really stinks.”
    More silence, and then he gave another low chuckle. “Yes. Yes, it does. It did.” He finally turned his head toward her and she could see his eyes. Eyes that didn’t look hard or flat. Eyes that looked confused and maybe held a hint of surprise.
    She gave an embarrassed cluck of her tongue. “That was a dumb response, wasn’t it? I’m sorry. I just wasn’t sure what to say.”
    “Your response was absolutely perfect. Most people just offer platitudes or they get embarrassed and don’t want to talk about it.” He took a deep breath. “Or they tell me they know how I feel and I’ll recover with time. That last one is the one that bothers me most.”
    Puzzled, she cocked her head and frowned at him. “Well, I certainly wouldn’t say that. I don’t know how it feels.” She hesitated briefly. “And I don’t want to, either,” she blurted.
    This time he threw his head back and let out a belly laugh. She stared at him, wondering if he’d lost his mind. Then he leaned over and placed his lips on hers. Stunned, she didn’t move. The kiss was light, almost like a thank-you, yet with something more, something deeper, something that made her blood hum and her heart sing.
    When he lifted his head, he cupped her chin. “You never say what I think you’re going to say.”
    “And you just did something I never expected you to do.”
    A grin pulled at the corner of his lips. “I really like you, Sonya Daniels.”
    The present slammed her. She bit her lip. “Sonya Daniels? Or Heather Bradley?”

SEVEN
    B randon sat back with a jerk. What was he doing?
    “This is where you apologize, right?” she asked softly.
    He sighed. “Apologize? No. I won’t apologize for the kiss. I don’t know that I can explain it, but I won’t apologize for it.”
    She gave him a slow smile. “Good. And it doesn’t need an explanation.”
    “But we can’t let this go anywhere. Not yet.”
    “What?” she asked.
    “Huh?” He blinked.
    “Let what go anywhere?”
    “This. Us. You know what I’m talking about.” He felt the heat creeping into his cheeks. How had he found himself having this awkward conversation? He didn’t do awkward. He didn’t kiss clients, either.
    “Yes, I do.” She patted his hand. “Don’t worry about it, Brandon. I’m a big girl.”
    “Sonya—”
    “I’m going to get some stuff. I’ll be right back.”
    “I’m coming with you. I don’t want you going anywhere alone unless you just absolutely have to.”
    She climbed from the car and stopped. Stared. “That’s weird.”
    “What is?”
    “It’s dark and I know I left lights on. You think the power went off?”
    He frowned as he took in the house. No porch light, no soft glow coming through the blinds from the inside. Then he glanced around the neighborhood. “Your neighbors have power. Let me take a look.”
    He placed his hand on his weapon and