Read Only in Her Dreams for Free Online Page A

was cleaning. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I didn’t realize you were deep in thought.”
    Julie raised an eyebrow, as if she was shocked that Lucessa was capable of deep thought. A smile followed close behind the raised brow.
    “He’s no one. Just a guy who likes to follow me.”
    Lucessa knew she’d misspoke the second it came out of her mouth. Julie loved a good mystery. Now she wouldn’t stop until she knew exactly who ‘Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome’ was. Lucessa should’ve made something up to make him sound like no one special, but she had to respond to the question with an evasive answer. Maxim must be rubbing off on her.
    Lucessa sighed. “His name’s Maxim.”
    Ever since Greg had passed away, Julie and her husband had taken her under their wings and looked after her. Dr. Applegate, for all she was worth, had pushed her to keep her job at The Queen Bean. It would keep her from turning inward and shutting the world out. Julie had agreed and let her work a few hours a week right after Greg’s death, she increased Lucessa’s hours as she acclimated to life on her own.
    Now, this was the only time she got out. Sure, she worked at the advertising company eight to five, Monday through Friday, but that wasn’t the same. It wasn’t a therapeutic atmosphere.
    “You want me to have Bret get rid of him?”
    The Queen Bean was her refuge. Here no one but Julie and Bret knew about the loss of Lucessa’s husband, so she wasn’t pestered with the continuous questions about how she was doing and the insincere ‘call me if you need anything’ that she got at her day job. For a few hours she could just be herself.
    Lucessa shook herself out of her thoughts, “I’m sorry, did you say anything else?”
    Julie’s teasing expression turned to one of concern. “No, it isn’t important. I’ll see you inside.” She headed inside but stopped and turned back toward Lucessa. “Make sure you leave some dirty tables out here for Bret, okay?”
    Lucessa chuckled. “Sure thing, boss.”
     
    # # #
     
    Maxim followed her progress through the coffee shop from the corner of his eye. After a while, he feared she wouldn’t return, she’d been on the back patio for a long time. He’d had the foresight to inspect the safety of the area. The only way in and out was through the screen door about ten feet from him.
    When she finally returned, her hands were full of coffee mugs, and it took a great inner strength not to jump up and relieve her of her burden.
    The feeling struck him out of nowhere. She was a burden to him, had been for years, and his responsibility was only growing daily. He couldn’t help but notice how she’d matured over the years from a scared child of eight to a confident woman of thirty-one. She possessed a resilient spirit to have overcome all the hardships she’d experienced in her short life.
    It hadn’t escaped his notice how attractive she was as well. The eyes of several men in the room followed her as she served drinks. He restrained himself from asking them what they were staring at. Why he felt so possessive over a human he didn’t know. And he didn’t want to explore the attraction either. Guy sent him to protect her, not seduce her.
    He stood and walked over to the counter where she wiped spilt coffee.
    “Can we meet after your shift?” he asked casually, trying not to attract any undue attention.
    “If I say no will you break into my house again?” Her whispered question made him smile.
    He knew she couldn’t say no. If she was like the man who’d raised her, she would be too intrigued to deny him another meeting.
    He decided to further stoke her curiosity. “Possibly...”
    Her eyes widened. Shock evident in the way her mouth formed a small ‘O’, then relaxed into a smile.
    He’d used the right tactic on her.
    “Well, then you’re not really asking to meet with me since you’re not giving me an option,” she stated the obvious.
    “That may be