Kiss Me Crazy by Ednah Walters, E. B. Walters Page B

too juvenile.
    But Baron wasn’t the type to get gung-ho over a woman.
    She could be eating her heart out while he breezed in and out of her life. Kara groaned and puled the covers over her head. Why did it always come back to her and her feelings? Just once, she needed to let herself be swept away with lust without thoughts of tomorrow.
    Easier said than done.
    Kara punched the pilow to get more comfortable. Fretting about Baron’s proposal and guarding her heart wasn’t going to make her go to sleep, or solve her other problem—her sister.
    Her cals to Briana had gone unanswered, which wouldn’t have bothered her if her sister wasn’t expecting. Saturday night, Kara had caled twice and left messages. Today, she’d even texted her in between doing chores, rushing to and back from the gym, and eating dinner. No answer. Finaly, she’d caled her mother.
    “I’ve tried everything, Mom, but no one is picking up the phone.”
    “Maybe Jim took her out somewhere special. He has a game somewhere back east this coming week.”
    Kara did an online check on the schedule of the Padres.
    For the first half of May, the team had a lot of away games. Her mother got it right—the Padres had a game in Atlanta tomorrow evening. Briana often traveled with her husband, so maybe she was with him.
    Sleep finaly claimed Kara after midnight.
    ***
     

    The next morning, she studied herself in the mirror and groaned. She had bags under her eyes. Her mind sorted through remedies Chloe’s Spa recommended for puffy eyes as she hurried to the kitchen. Grated or sliced potatoes. She didn’t have time or potatoes, for that matter. Neither did she have cucumber or rose water. That left tea bags.
    Kara boiled water while she made breakfast—toasted slices of whole wheat bread and coffee—and checked her messages. Nothing from Briana. Oh wel, she was probably stressing over nothing. But she needed a caffeine fix so badly she didn’t bother with a creamer when the brew was finaly ready.
    Next, she steeped two tea bags, left them to cool and headed to shower while munching on a toast.
    She thought she heard her phone ring, but when she angled her head to listen, al she heard was silence. Not only am I tired; I’m imagining things now. When it happened again, she turned off the water, grabbed a robe and ran to the bedroom. The phone stopped ringing before she could grab it.
    Why hadn’t she invested in caler I.D.? She picked up the phone and dialed Briana’s number, just in case her sister was the caler. When the phone went unanswered, Kara slammed the phone down and went to get the cold, soaked tea bags. Now I’m really in a shitty mood. She flopped on the bed and placed the bags on her eyelids.
    Instead of the usual fifteen minutes, she yanked the bags off her face after seven, saw how late she was, and swore under her breath. Baron Fitzgerald, this is your fault. She usualy took responsibility for her actions, but not this time. If Mr. Hunk-a-luscious hadn’t screwed with her head, she wouldn’t have overslept or woken up with bag-lady eyes. Her mood shifted from shitty to don’t-mess-with-me-today as she got dressed and hurried out the door, a coffee mug in one hand and keys in the other, a bag under her armpit and a piece of toast between her teeth.
    Someone up there had it in for her because as she stepped out of her car outside the galery, Baron’s SUV puled up. Their eyes met. He flashed his pearly whites and waved. Why did he have to be in such a happy mood? She gave him a brief nod and hurried into the building.
    He caught up with her before she entered the halway leading to her workroom. “Morning, Kara.”
    Why can’t you just let me be? She took a deep breath and turned to face him. He looked glorious in a thin striped charcoal power suit, a white shirt, and a maroon tie. From the twinkle in his eyes, he must not have lost sleep over her decision. He probably thought he had everything figured out, including