Read Online Where Their Hearts Collide: Wardham Book #2 by Zoe York - Free Book Online

face as she moved toward the Camaro. If nothing else went her way, at least she had a wicked ride.
    You and me against the world, Hermoine . Her brothers hated the name. No amount of justification stemmed the ribbing, but she didn’t care. Her car was fearless, brave and bold. And she wasn’t embarrassed about the fangirl naming decision.
    As she trailed her fingers along the curve of the front hood, a sweet caress for her baby in advance of the goodness about to happen on the drive home, a faint trill sounded from inside her bag. A text message. She slid the phone out and warily eyed the screen. She hadn’t told anyone about the appointment, and she doubted Mildred would betray her confidence.
    You can do anything. Believe in yourself .
    A random message from a random number. There was no hyperlink, but it read like spam. She’d gotten a few of those the previous year, and put herself on the no-call list. Apparently, that no longer mattered to telemarketers and phishers. Delete .
    The phone and her bag stashed on the floor of the passenger side, Karen smoothly shifted into reverse and peeled out of the parking space.
    The fifteen minute drive down the county road back to Wardham took the edge off her mood, and she considered turning east and heading along the lakeshore for a while, but her pointy toed heels were pinching, so she headed home.
    As she screeched into the driveway, not going too fast but not being cautious either, she belatedly realized that Paul was in his backyard. He shot her a furrowed brow look, which promptly restored all grumpiness that had dissolved on the drive. She didn’t need any judgment on her driving today. Or ever, but definitely not today.
    And definitely not from Paul. Their lives couldn’t—wouldn’t—mix, so he could take his thoughts and stuff them.
    He moved toward her, but she waved him off with a snarky, “Sorry, Constable.”
    She stomped inside, regret niggling at the back of her head as she caught sight of his shocked expression. It wasn’t fair to take out her frustration on him. She’d have to find a way to apologize later. Without throwing yourself at him or sticking your tongue down his throat . 
    She’d barely made it through the kitchen when her phone rang . She yanked it out of her bag without so much as glancing at the screen. Enough with people already. “What?”
    “I like your skirt.”
    She whirled around and peered through the window. “Uh, hi?”
    He raised his hand.
    “What are you doing?”
    “Talking to you.”
    “On the phone?”
    “I thought it would be safer than approaching in person.”
    “ I’ve had a bad day.” She turned away from the window and headed for the stairs. She’d wanted to change into comfy pants since she’d left Essex.
    “Do you want to talk about it?”
    She stopped at the top of the stairs and dropped her head. “No.” It came out as half word, half groan. And it wasn’t really true. Ignoring everything else that was or wasn’t going on between them, Paul was surprisingly the one person with whom she felt safe sharing her secrets. “Yes, but not right now. Are you going to be around later? We could have a beer and commiserate on how much life sucks.”
    “I’ve got a shift tonight.”
    “Oh.” Hot pressure built behind her eyes and she swiped furiously at her lids, refusing the tears. For any reason, but definitely not because he wasn’t available for a backyard chat. That was ridiculous. She thought about turning around and going back outside for a few minutes, just to see him, but she wasn’t sure that wouldn’t just feed the monster inside her who wanted all that could not be had.
    “ You’re not at the window anymore. Where’d you go?”
    Fantasyland . “Upstairs. I’m done with the fancy clothes.” If she hadn’t been so wrapped up in grumpiness, she might have noticed his silence right away, but her blouse was half unbuttoned before she realized Paul hadn’t responded. “You still