lost your mind? I would expect you, of all people, to tell me to stay the hell away from him!”
“Why? Because I’m a lesbian?”
“No, because you helped clean up the wreck he left behind!”
Bonita’s expression was reproving. “Crystal, you weren’t a wreck—you were a teenager discovering her sexuality. I will admit that the whole psychic thing was complicated, but you handled it. And you’ve been indispensable at Come Again for years now, and Get In Touch really helps people. Don’t you tell your clients not to deny their feelings? Why are you denying yours?”
“Whoa!” Crystal said, stung. “Hey, whose side are you on?”
“Yours,” Bonita said firmly. “But you’ve been running from this guy for ten years—”
“I haven’t been running anywhere!”
“Metaphorically speaking. He looks at you like he wants to take you apart and put you back together piece by piece. That guy’s focus is so tight, I can almost see laser beams coming out of his eyeballs. He makes you burn, sweetie. You were hot this afternoon. It turned me on just watching you two look at each other. And I haven’t looked at a man in…” Bonita paused. “Well, ever.” She nailed Crystal with a direct look. “Don’t you want to hear what he’s got to say for himself? Aren’t you curious?”
“I can’t believe I’m hearing this.” Crystal leaned back it her chair and stared at the sky. “It was scary in the shop today,” she finally admitted. “I can feel him. Even with my shield up, he gets in. I can’t think about anything but him, and when I do manage to get my brain under control, a stiff breeze rolls by and my body reminds me that it hasn’t forgotten him, either.”
“All the more reason to give it another shot. Maybe you can get him out of your system.” Bonita leaned forward in her chair. “Or maybe not. But at least you won’t be running anymore. If I had to make a guess from looking at him, the harder you run, the faster he’s going to chase you. He reminds me of a bull pawing the ground, getting ready to charge. Someone once told me that when a bull goes into a rage, they have to hit him in the nuts with a steel baseball bat to get him to snap out of it. No kidding. A baseball bat. Ryan Anderson may have disappeared for ten years, but he doesn’t look like the type to give up easily when he wants something.”
Crystal shook her head. “My whole day was shot after I saw him at the wedding. I couldn’t concentrate with my client. I opened up and got clobbered by my own damn emotions. If I can’t keep my feelings under control long enough to help my clients, then I can’t work. Ryan already ruined my life—I will not let him ruin my business.”
“He didn’t ruin your life, sweetie. He made it.”
“Yeah, well, now he’s screwing it up.” Crystal bit her lip as she exposed her underlying fear. “What if it all goes away?”
“That’s pretty damn ironic considering you’re pissed at him for making you psychic in the first place.”
“You’re not helping.”
“Just keeping you honest, sweetie. I know he hurt you, but what if spending some time with him now can help you? It’s been ten years, Crystal, and you’re still hiding, still healing. It isn’t going to go away. Accept the risk on your terms.” Bonita took her hands and gave them a squeeze. “Look on the bright side—if you have sex with him again, maybe you’ll be able to teleport.”
“Very funny.” Through the window, she saw Ryan enter the ballroom. A jolt of energy hit her body like a triple espresso shot.
He had exchanged his khakis for a dark blue pinstriped suit, and several female heads turned to admire him as he crossed the room. He looked like a marauding Viking with his wild blond curls and dark, piercing eyes. She smacked down a stab of jealously. This was so not the time to get in touch with her repressed feelings. “Bonita, please, I’m desperate. I’ll think about what you said, but I need
“Why? Because I’m a lesbian?”
“No, because you helped clean up the wreck he left behind!”
Bonita’s expression was reproving. “Crystal, you weren’t a wreck—you were a teenager discovering her sexuality. I will admit that the whole psychic thing was complicated, but you handled it. And you’ve been indispensable at Come Again for years now, and Get In Touch really helps people. Don’t you tell your clients not to deny their feelings? Why are you denying yours?”
“Whoa!” Crystal said, stung. “Hey, whose side are you on?”
“Yours,” Bonita said firmly. “But you’ve been running from this guy for ten years—”
“I haven’t been running anywhere!”
“Metaphorically speaking. He looks at you like he wants to take you apart and put you back together piece by piece. That guy’s focus is so tight, I can almost see laser beams coming out of his eyeballs. He makes you burn, sweetie. You were hot this afternoon. It turned me on just watching you two look at each other. And I haven’t looked at a man in…” Bonita paused. “Well, ever.” She nailed Crystal with a direct look. “Don’t you want to hear what he’s got to say for himself? Aren’t you curious?”
“I can’t believe I’m hearing this.” Crystal leaned back it her chair and stared at the sky. “It was scary in the shop today,” she finally admitted. “I can feel him. Even with my shield up, he gets in. I can’t think about anything but him, and when I do manage to get my brain under control, a stiff breeze rolls by and my body reminds me that it hasn’t forgotten him, either.”
“All the more reason to give it another shot. Maybe you can get him out of your system.” Bonita leaned forward in her chair. “Or maybe not. But at least you won’t be running anymore. If I had to make a guess from looking at him, the harder you run, the faster he’s going to chase you. He reminds me of a bull pawing the ground, getting ready to charge. Someone once told me that when a bull goes into a rage, they have to hit him in the nuts with a steel baseball bat to get him to snap out of it. No kidding. A baseball bat. Ryan Anderson may have disappeared for ten years, but he doesn’t look like the type to give up easily when he wants something.”
Crystal shook her head. “My whole day was shot after I saw him at the wedding. I couldn’t concentrate with my client. I opened up and got clobbered by my own damn emotions. If I can’t keep my feelings under control long enough to help my clients, then I can’t work. Ryan already ruined my life—I will not let him ruin my business.”
“He didn’t ruin your life, sweetie. He made it.”
“Yeah, well, now he’s screwing it up.” Crystal bit her lip as she exposed her underlying fear. “What if it all goes away?”
“That’s pretty damn ironic considering you’re pissed at him for making you psychic in the first place.”
“You’re not helping.”
“Just keeping you honest, sweetie. I know he hurt you, but what if spending some time with him now can help you? It’s been ten years, Crystal, and you’re still hiding, still healing. It isn’t going to go away. Accept the risk on your terms.” Bonita took her hands and gave them a squeeze. “Look on the bright side—if you have sex with him again, maybe you’ll be able to teleport.”
“Very funny.” Through the window, she saw Ryan enter the ballroom. A jolt of energy hit her body like a triple espresso shot.
He had exchanged his khakis for a dark blue pinstriped suit, and several female heads turned to admire him as he crossed the room. He looked like a marauding Viking with his wild blond curls and dark, piercing eyes. She smacked down a stab of jealously. This was so not the time to get in touch with her repressed feelings. “Bonita, please, I’m desperate. I’ll think about what you said, but I need
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