1022 Evergreen Place - Debbie Macomber [46]
Chad snored softly close to her ear. Taking care not to wake him, Gloria slid out of bed. Her clothes were scattered across three rooms. She collected everything in the dark and quietly dressed.
She left Chad a note and propped it against his coffeepot, then tiptoed silently out of his apartment and walked back to her own. The early-morning chill seeped into her bones.
This wouldn’t happen again. It couldn’t. They’d been in such a hurry, so hot for each other, they hadn’t even taken time to use birth control. They’d behaved with complete irresponsibility. Not once, but twice. They were a doctor and a cop—two people who certainly knew better. Her face burned.
Chad had some mystifying, incomprehensible hold on her that stripped away all logic, all reason. It was this quality of his that frightened her—his ability to leave her powerless, vulnerable. She’d never experienced anything like it with another man.
Not that she didn’t blame herself just as much for ceding control to him. When she talked to high school girls, didn’t she tell them that was exactly what they shouldn’t do? Some role model she was! She’d put herself in a situation she couldn’t handle, one she knew she couldn’t handle.
The only option, the only way to make sure this wouldn’t be repeated, was to tell Chad she never wanted to see him again. She’d written a note that made it clear once and for all.
Twelve
Mary Jo had dinner in the oven when she heard Mack’s truck pull into their shared driveway. Despite everything, her heart beat a little faster but she tried to ignore the way he made her feel. Falling in love could be dangerous, as she well knew, and she refused to put Noelle and herself at risk again. As much as possible, she ruthlessly shoved aside every bit of tenderness she felt for Mack. He made that difficult, however, and she’d started to weaken….
As he climbed out, she opened her front door and stood on the small porch.
“Hi,” she called. She couldn’t forget the kiss they’d exchanged when he’d found Joan’s diary. She tried not to think about it and yet it popped into her mind at the most inopportune times. Like now…
“Hi.” Mack walked over to where she stood. “Something smells good,” he said, attempting to look around her and into the kitchen.
“Is that a hint?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.
“Could be. What’s cookin’?”
“I call it Reuben casserole. Linc had me make it at least every other week.”
“What’s in it?”
“Sauerkraut and corned beef.”
“Sauerkraut.” Mack wrinkled his nose in distaste.
“You don’t like sauerkraut?”
“Not particularly, but if this is Linc’s favorite, then I’d be willing to give it a try.” His gaze held hers, and Mary Jo had the impression that even if she’d baked rocks he would’ve been happy to come for dinner. The thought made her feel light-headed. They’d kissed before, plenty of times. But the night he’d discovered the diary it’d been different, more intense…deeper. It was as though the barriers between them had vanished. Together they’d found a missing piece of the puzzle that intrigued them both. And perhaps a missing part of their puzzle, as well, a connecting piece that brought them together.
“You’re welcome to join us,” Mary Jo said, and had to admit she hoped he would.
“I’ll go clean up and be back in ten minutes,” he said.
Mary Jo watched him walk into his own place and then turned to look at her daughter, who sat in her baby seat, chewing on her tiny fist. Noelle was teething, which made her irritable and a bit feverish. “Mack’s coming for dinner,” she announced giddily. She’d fed Noelle earlier and the baby had fussed, not really interested. Mary Jo didn’t blame her.
The previous Sunday, Mack and Mary Jo had gone to the movies. It’d felt more like a real date than the other times they’d gone places together, perhaps because they were on their own, without Noelle