Page 34 of Unraveled

“What’s that?” The older woman turned an inquisitive gaze on him as he pulled up a chair and took a seat.

“I need you to call Dr. Stanton and have her come in.”

Her graying eyebrows drew together. “Whatever for? I believe everything has already been settled and⁠—”

He shook his head. “I need to speak with her.”

Her eyes narrowed, then took on a speculative look as she tipped her head to one side. “Mr. Cross⁠—”

“Please,” he said when he knew she was about to balk. “I need to see her in person. It’s important. Whatever you want for Christmas this year, it’s yours.”

Her lips pressed into a thin line. “Dating clients is against our policy, let alone our ethics⁠—”

“She isn’t technically our client any longer,” he argued. “And this isn’t some whim. I promise,” he added when she opened her mouth to admonish him again. “Tell her anything to get her in here. I just need to see her.”

“I don’t know why you can’t just talk to the poor woman yourself,” she groused.

“I don’t want to scare her off,” he admitted. “Her husband cheated on her, and she doesn’t want to go through that again.”

“Poor dear.” Mrs. Hodges’s eyes softened, and he knew he almost had her. “She’s the sweetest thing.”

He almost choked on his reply. Audrey and sweet weren’t exactly synonymous—in fact, her red-headed temper was one of the things he loved most about her. He managed to force down the laugh that had sprung to the tip of his tongue.

“She’s… incredible,” he amended. “Isn’t your husband a fan of the Stars?”

He knew Mr. Hodges was an avid hockey fan, and he’d give them season tickets if he could just convince her to get Audrey in here. It was underhanded, he knew, but there was no way she’d come if he asked. Not after last time. He knew she still hadn’t forgiven him, hadn’t thought he was sincere. He needed to apologize, but he had to get her in here first, somewhere private so he could speak with her one-on-one.

“Oh, all right.” Mrs. Hodges threw up her hands, then shook a finger at him in warning. “But you’d better not hurt that poor girl.”

He grasped her fingers and grinned widely. “Thank you, Mrs. Hodges. I owe you. Anything you want, let me know.”

She pulled free and waved him off, a tiny smile curving her lips as she turned her focus back to the computer screen. “I have work to do.”

Still grinning, he stood and strode from the room, already thinking about how he was going to convince Audrey to give him a second chance.

CHAPTER

SEVENTEEN

Audrey settled back against the imitation leather of their usual corner booth and peered out the window. She and Hannah used to have lunch together every Friday, but with the craziness of the past few months, their routine get-togethers had fallen by the wayside. Audrey had spoken with Hannah a few times, and they had had dinner that disastrous night at Eros, but she was dying for some girl time.

Hannah seemed to be truly happy with Luke, and Audrey was excited for her—really, she was. But she couldn’t help the little pang of envy that assaulted her when she thought of their relationship. Audrey loved Hannah, and though she had only spoken with Luke a few times, she felt that he was a genuinely good person. After all, he saved Audrey’s life after the incident at the health center last month. That in itself told her just about everything she needed to know about him.

After everything Hannah had been through, she deserved someone like him, someone who would love her and treasure her for who she really was. Audrey thought she had found that in Scott, but she was wrong. They had similar interests, and for a while, it was enough.

Unfortunately, their attraction and lust didn’t have the power that Audrey saw between Luke and Hannah. When Luke watched Hannah, his face softened, and admiration and adoration filled his eyes. Audrey wanted someone to look at her that way, like she was their single focus, the one person they would put before anything else.

Her thoughts turned inexorably to Carter and their chance meeting at the hospital nearly a week ago. It seemed that everywhere she went, Carter just happened to show up. It felt like a kind of sign, but she wasn’t sure what it meant. Either he was a sociopathic stalker or fate was trying to push them together. She had a gut feeling it was the latter.

Audrey couldn’t stop thinking about the night they spent together. The way he made her feel was terrifying. She had a sneaking suspicion that if she ever truly gave herself over to the sensation, she would never recover.

The front door of the café opened, and her eyes were drawn to Hannah’s familiar form as she stepped inside and pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head. Hannah held the door for the person behind her, a pretty young brunette with a baby in tow. To Audrey’s surprise, both of them headed in her direction.

Audrey slid from the booth and greeted Hannah with a hug. Hannah pulled away and gestured to the woman standing just behind her. “I hope you don’t mind, but I invited Adalyn to have lunch with us.”

Audrey smiled and held out her hand. “Audrey Stanton.”

“I’m Adalyn,” she introduced herself, “and this is Jaclyn.” She jiggled the little girl propped on her hip.