Spitfire in Love (Chasing Red 3)

I miss you.

Two seconds.

I hate you.

Three seconds.

I fucking miss you.

Then I yanked my gaze away and looked down at the files in front of me, seeing nothing but his face in my mind.

God, he looked so damn beautiful. That black T-shirt again that molded to the contours of his upper arms and chest, the dark, dirty jeans, the steel-toed boots, the hard hat. A working man’s clothes. A beautiful archangel’s face.

Of course he’d be here. This was his workplace too, but I hadn’t seen him at school or at work all day. To see him now was so unexpected.

My phone vibrated.

Thomas: Be there in ten minutes. Finishing up my charting. There’s a café close by. Let’s go there and you can tell me all about the progress of your friend’s problem.

I focused on Thomas’s text message, but my brain wasn’t absorbing it. I read it again. His work was a three-minute drive from The Yard. Since I was done with work, I agreed to meet him for coffee. He texted back and said the café was hard to find and offered to pick me up instead, so I wouldn’t get lost. I’d save on gas money, so I agreed.

I looked up again, but I couldn’t find Cameron anywhere. When it was time, I gathered my things and clocked out. I stepped out of the building, my heart skipping a beat as I remembered that moment when Cameron covered my eyes when the sun was too bright.

This time there was no sun. And there was no Cameron.

Thomas pulled up in front of the office. He waved to me, smiling. I waved back. I was just about to walk to his car when a firm hand wrapped around my wrist. I looked up and found an angry Cameron.

“Are you getting in that guy’s car?” His eyes looked hard, his voice cold.

I raised my chin. “Yes!”

“Who is he?”

“It’s none of your—”

“Kara,” he said softly. Was it my imagination or was there pleading I heard in his voice? “Don’t go.”

My heart. My heart. Please don’t give in now.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want you to go with him.”

There was a ringing in my ears. The hope and delight I felt from his

words only made me angrier. More at myself now than him.

“Sorry, boss. I’m done with my shift. Now let me the hell go.”

I shook him off, and he released me. With wooden legs, I walked to Thomas’s car and got in the passenger seat. I could feel Cameron’s eyes drilling a hole in my back.

“Kara,” Thomas said carefully. “Is that your boyfriend? I mean your friend’s boyfriend?”

“Yeah.” I strapped my seat belt on, refusing to look to see if Cameron was still there. My hands were shaking. “That’s him.”

“I think I made a huge mistake,” Thomas whispered.

“What do you mean?”