Within Reach by Sarah Mayberry

Author:Sarah Mayberry
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Tags: Romance, Fiction, Contemporary, Adult
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

ANGIE DROVE AROUND THE block twice before parking in

front of Michael’s house the next morning. Her first in-

stinct on waking had been to not go to work at all. She

didn’t want to see him. Not yet. Not until she’d gotten

past the hurt and anger she felt at his baffling, unwar-

ranted attack. But she had clients coming midmorn-

ing to brief her on a new commission and she needed

to prepare.

She didn’t understand what had happened, why he’d

spoken so harshly. As she’d said to him at the time, Eva and Charlie had seen far more at the beach. Nothing that shouldn’t have been on show had been on show. She’d

been perfectly decent, even if she had felt more than a

little exposed, given the circumstances.

The only conclusion she could come to was that it

had been about a lot more than the fact that he’d busted her in her underwear. Michael’s reaction had been so

strong, so visceral, and responses like that didn’t come out of nowhere.

She sat in her car long after she’d turned off the en-

gine, hands tight on the steering wheel. She felt absurdly wounded by what had passed between them. Which went

to show how much she’d invested in Michael and Eva

and Charlie.

Given that, and given her… issues around Michael, 9780373717958_CS5_txt.indd 149

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150

WITHIN REACH

maybe her first instinct to retreat had been the right one.

Maybe she needed to start putting a bit more distance

between them. She’d allowed herself to become so ab-

sorbed with Michael and the kids that she’d let her own

life slide. Maybe she needed to address that.

The engine ticked, cooling in the morning air. She

grabbed her bag and got out. For the first time since

she’d moved into Billie’s studio, she used the side gate to access the backyard, walking the long way around.

Feeling more than a little cowardly and furtive, she let herself into the studio. She didn’t relax until the door was closed behind her, then she let out a heavy sigh.

Pushing her hair off her forehead, she dropped her bag

onto the table and shed her jacket and prepared to very

deliberately lose herself in her work.

She was using the flexi-drive drill, buffing work

marks from an almost completed ring when a short,

sharp rap sounded on the door. She glanced at the

clock. It was a little past nine, which meant Michael

had dropped Eva off at school already.

She let the drill fall silent and pushed her chair back

from her desk. She took a deep breath, let it out, then

swiveled to face the door, bracing her legs and resting

her hands on her knees. “Come in.”

The door opened and Michael filled the frame. His

gray-green gaze was troubled when it met hers. He

looked tired, his face pale and tight.

“Have you got a minute?”

“Of course.”

He entered, his body stiff with tension. She clenched

her fingers and forced herself to maintain eye contact

with him. She might feel awkward as hell right now,

she might be hurt and confused by what had happened,

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SARAH MAYBERRY

151

but this man was her friend. She wanted to hear what

he had to say.

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