Jealous in July (Spring River Valley Book 7) by Clarice Wynter Page A

feels.” The words slipped out. God, that was how it had been last night. Thoughts of Riley had fled in the instant Chase’s lips met hers, and she’d been transformed. She’d never wanted a man more…and if the ache in her chest was any indication, she still did want him. More than ever.
    Mitzi leaned forward. “So then you know —it’s not something you can ignore. It’s primal. You can’t just walk away from it. Well, if you’re smart you do, but your brain stops working. Everything you thought, every logical plan you had goes out the window, and the next thing you know…you’re waking up next to him.”
    Brenda shivered now. It was eerie to hear Mitzi describe her feelings so accurately. Was it really love or just an attack of lust? “How do you know it’s really right?” she found herself asking. “When it means your whole outlook on life gets turned upside down , and everything you believed you knew or believed you felt isn’t what you know and isn’t what you feel anymore? Can you trust that feeling?”
    A soft laugh broke through Mitzi’s frown. “Oh, you do know exactly what I’m talking about.”
    “But are you saying it’s wrong to allow that feeling to take over? Should I ignore what I want?”
    “Is he married?” Mitzi asked.
    “No.”
    “Then go for it. I should have ignored the feeling. Hell, I should have quit the firm and run screaming in the other direction , and if I’d known I’d feel like this…oh my God, is this mascara?” She eyed the dark smudges on her hands and arms. “I’m a complete mess. I can’t believe I let this happen to me, all over a man!”
    “But you love him,” Brenda cut in.
    “But I don’t trust him. That’s the horrible part. Until yesterday I would have…” Mitzi cut herself off, and her expression changed. For a moment Brenda feared the woman would be sick again, but when Mitzi rose from the couch, it was with stony determination in her eyes. “Brenda, let me apologize again for putting you in this position. I have no right…no business telling you any of this. I hope it won’t get around the office.”
    Brenda shook her head and rose also. Maybe this was her chance to escape. “Of course not.”
    Mitzi straightened her blouse and swiped at her bloodshot eyes, then glanced at the scattered files on the coffee table and the bloodred wine spot on the carpet. “I have to get some things done. Thank you for coming over. I appreciate everything you’ve done. Would it be too much trouble to ask you to copy those affidavits and have them messengered to me at the court house by noon tomorrow?”
    “Of course I can do that. No problem.” Brenda jumped up, grabbed her purse , and scooped up the file she needed from the mess on the table. It was after six now, but maybe she could get in touch with Chase and tell him what she now understood she needed to tell him.
    “Thank you again.” Stone-faced, Mitzi led Brenda to the door of the condo and saw her out. “Again, I hope none of this gets around the office,” she repeated when Brenda stepped over the threshold.
    “You can trust me, Mitzi. I’m not a gossip.” It bothered Brenda a little that she had to assure the woman of her loyalty. She’d worked for Mitzi for almost two years and had always been discreet and professional. She chalked this sudden rudeness up to emotional upheaval and pasted on a smile as Mitzi pulled the glass door shut. “Call me if you…” The rest of her sentence died unspoken when she realized she was talking to a closed door. Okay, fine.
    It was certainly no mystery why Mitzi had no female friends, but regardless, Brenda promised herself she wouldn’t say a word about this to her co-workers as much as she knew they’d kill to hear every detail.
    Before she reached her car, she dialed Chase’s cell number. It rang and rang and finally went to voice mail. “Hey, I’m done at work. Call me…um…if you’re free.” For a long moment before she started her