“No. Don’tAnname. You don’t get to say my name. You don’t get to be in my life. You gave me up. You left me here. My world does not revolve around you and what you want. Not anymore.” Her voice was high and unstable, and she hated that she had to swipe at her eyes. “I had plans for tonight. I was going to go home with a really funny, decent, honorable guy, and instead, I’m stuck here talking toyou. We’re not even married anymore, and you’restillruining my sex life.”
Eyes wide, he worked his jaw up and down.
Exactly like the first pet they’d picked out together.
She slugged him in the arm. “And you haven’t asked about Walker. You want to have kids? You can’t even remember yourfish.Grow up, Neil. Grow up, and get out of my life.”
She stalked past him. He made another grab for her arm. “Where are you going?”
“To get a ride home from someone I trust.”
His grip tightened. “You think you know enough about him to trust him?”
“Of the two men who’ve offered me rides home tonight, he’s the one who’s never broken a promise to me.”
The weariness in Neil’s sigh combined with the tremble of his chin almost broke her indignation. “Let go,” she said.
He loosened his grip finger by finger. “Maybe this was a bad time.”
She flung her purse over her shoulder. “There was never a good time.”
She blinked back the stinging in her eyes and stalked back toward the party. Alone.
She rounded the corner onto velvety carpet, and the clickof her heels on marble faded away. The catering staff were cleaning the tables around the makeshift bar. Further, by the ballroom door, Jackson and Cheri were laughing at something.
Anna slowed.
Maybe he’d found something better to do after all.
But then he glanced her way. The smile slid right off his face. He moved toward her, and all she saw was six solid feet of highly intelligent, well-trained intimidation.
Her steps faltered. The normal strawberry taste in her mouth morphed into something richer. Internal suction pulled her ribs into her chest. Maybe a cab was a better idea.
But then he grabbed her into a fierce hug, cupped the back of her neck, and between the hint of Old Spice and the feel of his heart hammering through his uniform, she discovered she could take a real breath again.
“Okay, Anna Grace?”
Not yet. “Take me home?”
“Be my pleasure.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
A woman didn’t always know why she wanted a man, but when she had him, she knew she had what she needed.
—The Temptress of Pecan Lane, by Mae Daniels
Anna’s vision was hazy around the edges, from exhaustion, from stress, from tight neck muscles restricting blood flow to her head. She absently reached across her body and kneaded into her shoulder while Jackson steered the truck out of the parking lot. He’d been mostly quiet, but she hadn’t missed that he’d snagged her overnight bag from her car. When he spoke, his quiet voice rumbled right along with the engine. “Notice you didn’t mention whose home.”
“All I need is a bed.”
And his was closer.
A lot closer.
Neither of them talked much. When he pulled off the main drag fifteen miles too early to be taking her to her apartment, her breathing hitched.
“This okay with you?” he asked.
