Read Twisted By Love, Reincarnation Tales, Book 1 for Free Online Page B

her head out of her office. She was the last one.
Friday night was not a late night around Cumberland’s headquarters,
even on the last day of the quarter, and she had no further reason
to stick around. Burn had turned out to be Mr.
Man-who- wasn’t -going-to-call. So be it. She wouldn’t have a
Toni-style hissy fit. He’d call on Monday. Or he wouldn’t. She’d
call him again. Or she wouldn’t. She packed up her briefcase, shut
down her computer, and punched off the desk lamp.
    Toni had texted after lunch to say she was
hitting the town with her friends. Livie could finally have that
long soak in the tub. She’d use the time to read The
Fountainhead since she’d gone to the expense of a hardback
copy.
    Punching off the lights, she keyed in the
alarm code, and opened the front door.
    Burn Daniels stood across the hall by the
elevators. “I knocked, but I guess you didn’t hear.”
    The sight of him in a navy-blue suit and
striped tie curled her toes. “No, I didn’t hear.”
    “I got your message, but I wasn’t able to
call back. I thought you would have left already, but then I saw
your car down in the garage.”
    He’d seen her car and come all the way back
up. That was nice. She didn’t want to be a woman who read a myriad
of meanings into everything a man said or did. That was Toni’s
shtick. But returning to look for her, that had to mean real
interest.
    Behind her, the alarm screeched. “Damn. I
didn’t shut the door.” There was a thirty-second delay. She rushed
back and punched in her code to stop the awful wailing.
    Burn followed, the door closing with a snick
behind him. The quiet of the empty office fell over them.
    They were alone. The security lights bathed
his face in a soft glow. She wasn’t afraid. Jittery and excited and
breathless, but not afraid.
    “I thought we should start over. I’m Burn
Daniels.” He stuck out his hand.
    She set her briefcase down. “Livie Scott.”
She shook his hand, his grip firm and warm, sending a shiver up her
arm.
    “Livie. That’s short for...?”
    “Olivia. But everyone calls me Livie.”
    “I like it, both variations.”
    Silence again. The clock ticked loudly on the
wall. Burn didn’t back off, though he did let go of her hand. He
smelled of fresh fall air and an indefinable male something .
His eyes pulled at her, demanded something from her. Jade was such
a soft color, yet his gaze was compelling.
    “We got off on the wrong foot,” he went on.
“I want to apologize again for last night in the garage.”
    “Apology accepted.”
    “I want to be perfectly honest. I noticed you
a couple of weeks ago, and I haven’t stopped looking at you since.
I find you very attractive, and I’d liked to know you better.”
    Livie took a deep breath. She’d intended to
clear the air of everything. “You found me attractive so you
followed me on my walk the other day?”
    His eyes seemed to glitter in the dim
security lighting. “Yes.” She was taken aback that he admitted it
so easily. He went on. “But I figure that you’re feeling some of
the same attraction or you would have thrown me out by now.”
    She sighed. “That’s true. When I’m not
wondering if you’re some sadistic night stalker targeting lone
women in empty underground parking garages.”
    He didn’t smile, probably because she hadn’t.
“Sadistic night stalker, no, but I did feel a certain overwhelming
need to find out your name.”
    “Maybe you should have simply introduced
yourself.”
    “Yeah.” This time he smiled slightly. “That
would have been a good idea.”
    “I should have thanked you for helping me out
the other day by giving that guy twenty bucks. I should probably
pay it back to you.”
    “Not necessary.” He moved his jaw from side
to side, obviously considering his next words. “I have to admit
that I thought about looking your company up online after I saw
that flyer. Just in case you were on the website.”
    She should have found the idea scary.