Read Online When Dreams Cross by Terri Blackstock - Free Book Online Page B

Two cars were parked ambiguously on the street between his house and the one next door—making her uncertain if he had visitors or if his neighbors did—but the lack of lighting, except for the faint yellow one through the front curtains, gave the impression of inactivity.
    An instant of cowardice flitted through her mind and almost made her reconsider. Why had she come? Wasn’t she just making herself an open target for pain? She picked the coat up, squeezed the fabric in hands that trembled slightly, then brought it to her face. It did smell of him, clean yet exotic, the same unique scent he had worn years ago. Funny how she had never forgotten that smell.
    Draping the coat and tie over her arm, she walked over the lawn still soft from the last rain and went up the porch steps leading to his front door. Swallowing back her fear, she rang the bell.
    The vibration of footsteps on the hollow wooded floor told her someone was coming. She braced herself and mentally rehearsed her greeting. But when the door opened, it was not Justin who confronted her but a petite brunette with spaniel eyes and a smile that seemed on the verge of laughter. “Can I help you?” she asked, pushing back the riotous curls that were slightly subdued by the bright scarf tied in a bow at the top of her head.
    Feeling foolish with the coat and tie over her arm, Andi tried to find her voice. “Hi. I’m—”
    “Who is it, Madeline?” she heard Justin call as he came up the hall.
    The woman stepped back as Justin approached the door in his usual jeans and T-shirt. He probably couldn’t wait to get out of that dress shirt today, she mused.
    “Andi.” His eyes widened in surprise. “I wasn’t expecting—”
    “I know,” she cut in, suddenly regretting the whim that had brought her here and vowing never to take Wes’s advice again. “I wouldn’t have just dropped in like this, but you left your coat and tie in the boardroom and I—”
    “Come in,” he said, but Andi shook her head, a dappled pink flushing her cheeks.
    “I can’t. I just wanted to bring this by.” Awkwardly she held out the arm over which the coat and tie were draped.
    “Is it the pizza?” a man’s voice called from the kitchen.
    Justin’s eyes locked intimately, almost apologetically, with Andi’s, and he reached out and took the coat off her arm. From somewhere deep in the house she could hear music and other voices, and another man appeared behind Justin. “Nope, not pizza,” he said.
    “We were having a little celebration,” Justin said quietly, leaning toward her as if blocking out the others. Lowering his voice to an almost whisper, he said, “Please come in. I want you to meet my staff.”
    Feeling that a refusal would cause more of a scene than simply stepping inside for a moment, she acquiesced. “I really don’t want to interrupt your celebration.” She glanced at the other two men who had drifted curiously into the living room.
    Justin gave her a soft smile, the first truly soft smile he’d given her in years. “This is Andi Sherman, everybody,” he rumbled softly.
    With subdued smiles, as if they were in the presence of the wizard who had granted them passage home, they stepped up one by one to shake her hand. Madeline, with her pixie smile, and B.J. and Nathan and Gene.
    “As you’ve heard, we’re waiting for pizza,” Justin said. “You could help us eat it.”
    The thought of kicking off her shoes and relaxing with these people who seemed so comfortable around each other was more appealing to her than she wanted to admit, but they were his friends, not hers, and it was his celebration, and she was quite sure that the invitation had been extended out of politeness. He would probably be horrified if she took him up on it.
    “No, I really can’t. I have to go. It was nice meeting all of you.” She started toward the door, and Justin followed her out into the darkness, his back dismissing the others. Leaning his wrist on the jamb