Read Jealous in July (Spring River Valley Book 7) for Free Online Page B

anytime.”
    “Thanks…I…um…I’ll think about it.”
    He hesitated for a second, lingering while the wicked side of his brain tried to convince him to just go for it and kiss her. His more pragmatic side won out, and with a half smile, he turned and made his way down the steps.
    She remained on the stoop until he pulled away, and he had to wonder if he’d disappointed her. Had his plan worked better than he imagined? Had she forgotten about Riley long enough to give him a chance?
    Time would tell. It was going to be a long weekend, waiting for her call.
     
    *
     
    Even after Chase’s car disappeared around the corner, Brenda remained standing on her front step, wondering what she was doing still thinking about him. He’d been a charming date, attentive and funny and completely there . She hated to compare him to Riley, but she’d never had a conversation with her dream man in which he’d actually asked her a personal question or made eye contact for more than a few seconds. She’d convinced herself this was because he had no idea she was in love with him and because he was a busy man who wasn’t thinking about romance while he was working.
    Maybe it was really because he wasn’t capable of being interested…maybe not in her, maybe not in anyone at this point in his life.
    For the first time in two years, she considered what it might be like to give up the fantasy that one day she would lock eyes with Riley and he’d realize he loved her, too.
    Sighing, she opened her door and let herself into her apartment. Even with the windows open, the place was stifling. Briefly, she considered calling Chase back, but how would that look, using him just for his air conditioning?
    She pictured herself sitting in front of him, running a melting ice cube over her sweating skin, down the curve of her throat , and between her breasts, then bringing the ice cube to her lips to suck on it and watching his eyes pop out of his head.
    “No, we’re not going there.” Annoyed by her thoughts, she hastily ran a cool shower and stripped off her clothes, throwing each garment into her hamper with enough force to make the wicker basket nearly topple over. Maybe a friends-with-benefits relationship had worked for Samantha and Aiden, but she refused to substitute Chase for Riley. It wasn’t right.
    She stepped into the shower and let the tepid water banish the heated thoughts from her mind. If she had to sleep in the bathtub to stay cool this weekend, she would, but she couldn’t allow her sudden desperation for some male attention to lead her into a phony relationship. Chase was a nice guy, but her heart still belonged to Riley, and she hadn’t given up on him just yet.
     
    * * * *
     
    Brenda let out a long, appreciative moan as the first breath of cool air hit her at the threshold of EBD’s lobby on Monday morning. With the super of her building working on the A/C, she could hope to have cool air by the time she got home, but at the moment, she’d never been so happy to get to work.
    Geraldo, the daytime security guard , gave her an odd look as she passed his station, and she thought about explaining that she’d spent the last two days lying in a half-melted heap on her couch while a rotary fan pumped lukewarm air over her nearly naked body.
    She decided against it and simply waved to him and headed for the elevator. A stab of guilt hit her when she realized that sometime today she’d run into Chase. Through sheer force of will, she hadn’t called him, though some wicked part of her still wished she had. It had been a monumental struggle to avoid letting herself think about what she might have allowed to happen if she’d seen him again.
    “Hold the elevator, please!” A familiar voice echoed across the building’s cavernous lobby , and Brenda instinctively stepped forward to hit the door control.
    Riley jogged into view a second later in a crisp white shirt and tan pants, his matching jacket thrown over his