Pandora's Box (previously Worth the Wait, a Zebra print best seller) by Kat Attalla Page A
Authors: Kat Attalla
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wasn’t what I meant”
“I know,” she said softly. “But I can’t accept anything else from you.” Anything that could be used to assuage his guilt. His time was the only thing he could give her that came from the heart. And that’s what she really wanted from Damian Westfield. She wanted his heart.
* * * *
The train pulled into the station at 8:30 A.M. Not bad for rush hour, Charlie thought. She’d left Manhattan less than an hour before. Although the room in Damian’s apartment was one of the most comfortable she’d even stayed in, she’d had difficulty sleeping. In the past eight years, she had never spent the night in another person’s home.
At six o’clock she had awakened and begun pacing the room. By six-thirty she had tried to make as much noise as possible to awaken her host. Finally, at seven o’clock she had given up and decided to take the train back home.
She slung the knapsack over her shoulder and briskly walked the half mile to her apartment The morning sun hung low in the sky. Yellow and red tulips lined the row houses in the small college town. It was hard to imagine that in a few short weeks her college life would end.
Getting a degree had been her one dream, her singular goal for the past four years. She had never expected that she would feel melancholy about graduation. With the exception of Erik and Shelly, she had made no close ties. Why did she suddenly feel sad to be leaving a place that had no apparent emotional hold on her? Maybe she wasn’t so different after all. Like every other senior, graduation meant growing up and moving on.
With her thoughts preoccupied, Charlie strolled right past her apartment building. She was half a block beyond before she realized her mistake. It could happen to anyone, she tried to convince herself. Anyone who was thinking about a man instead of concentrating on where she was going, a tiny voice mocked back. She ran up the sidewalk, cursing her own foolishness.
She entered her apartment, disappointed to find Shelly sitting in the living room. With exams so close, she had hoped to get a few hours of studying in before her first class.
“Hi, Shell.” She tossed her knapsack on the kitchen counter.
“Don’t you ‘hi, Shell’ me. You’d better have a damn good excuse for staying out all night. Your maniac brother dragged me all over the place looking for you.”
Charlie caught her bottom lip in her teeth to stop from laughing. She should have known Erik would try to see her. “I’m sorry, Shelly. I didn’t think he’d go off the deep end because his older sister didn’t come home for the night.”
Shelly slid over to allow Charlie to share the sofa. “He thinks you’re off somewhere in a fit of depression.”
“About what?”
Shelly frowned. “Then you haven’t spoken to Damian yet?”
“Oh, that.” So much had happened since Damian had come to see her on Saturday. She’d forgotten that she intended to kill Erik for spilling the truth.
“Oh, that,” Shelly mimicked incredulously. “Erik’s been making himself sick with worry and you aren’t upset that he told Damian about your relationship?”
“I didn’t say that. I want to make him sweat. I mean, Damian isn’t big in the tact department I nearly passed out when he dropped it into the conversation. Why didn’t Erik warn me?”
Shelly’s face dropped. “He was very upset over the argument with his mother. By the time he was ready to talk, he couldn’t get in touch with you. When you didn’t answer the phone all day Sunday he figured you were mad at him; so he decided he’d better come speak to you in person, but you didn’t come home all night”
Charlie smiled. It hadn’t occurred to either of them that she might have gone on a date. She slouched down into the sofa in a most unladylike way and sighed.
“You’re not going to tell me where you were, are you?” Shelly complained. “I thought we were friends.”
She was about to begin when
“I know,” she said softly. “But I can’t accept anything else from you.” Anything that could be used to assuage his guilt. His time was the only thing he could give her that came from the heart. And that’s what she really wanted from Damian Westfield. She wanted his heart.
* * * *
The train pulled into the station at 8:30 A.M. Not bad for rush hour, Charlie thought. She’d left Manhattan less than an hour before. Although the room in Damian’s apartment was one of the most comfortable she’d even stayed in, she’d had difficulty sleeping. In the past eight years, she had never spent the night in another person’s home.
At six o’clock she had awakened and begun pacing the room. By six-thirty she had tried to make as much noise as possible to awaken her host. Finally, at seven o’clock she had given up and decided to take the train back home.
She slung the knapsack over her shoulder and briskly walked the half mile to her apartment The morning sun hung low in the sky. Yellow and red tulips lined the row houses in the small college town. It was hard to imagine that in a few short weeks her college life would end.
Getting a degree had been her one dream, her singular goal for the past four years. She had never expected that she would feel melancholy about graduation. With the exception of Erik and Shelly, she had made no close ties. Why did she suddenly feel sad to be leaving a place that had no apparent emotional hold on her? Maybe she wasn’t so different after all. Like every other senior, graduation meant growing up and moving on.
With her thoughts preoccupied, Charlie strolled right past her apartment building. She was half a block beyond before she realized her mistake. It could happen to anyone, she tried to convince herself. Anyone who was thinking about a man instead of concentrating on where she was going, a tiny voice mocked back. She ran up the sidewalk, cursing her own foolishness.
She entered her apartment, disappointed to find Shelly sitting in the living room. With exams so close, she had hoped to get a few hours of studying in before her first class.
“Hi, Shell.” She tossed her knapsack on the kitchen counter.
“Don’t you ‘hi, Shell’ me. You’d better have a damn good excuse for staying out all night. Your maniac brother dragged me all over the place looking for you.”
Charlie caught her bottom lip in her teeth to stop from laughing. She should have known Erik would try to see her. “I’m sorry, Shelly. I didn’t think he’d go off the deep end because his older sister didn’t come home for the night.”
Shelly slid over to allow Charlie to share the sofa. “He thinks you’re off somewhere in a fit of depression.”
“About what?”
Shelly frowned. “Then you haven’t spoken to Damian yet?”
“Oh, that.” So much had happened since Damian had come to see her on Saturday. She’d forgotten that she intended to kill Erik for spilling the truth.
“Oh, that,” Shelly mimicked incredulously. “Erik’s been making himself sick with worry and you aren’t upset that he told Damian about your relationship?”
“I didn’t say that. I want to make him sweat. I mean, Damian isn’t big in the tact department I nearly passed out when he dropped it into the conversation. Why didn’t Erik warn me?”
Shelly’s face dropped. “He was very upset over the argument with his mother. By the time he was ready to talk, he couldn’t get in touch with you. When you didn’t answer the phone all day Sunday he figured you were mad at him; so he decided he’d better come speak to you in person, but you didn’t come home all night”
Charlie smiled. It hadn’t occurred to either of them that she might have gone on a date. She slouched down into the sofa in a most unladylike way and sighed.
“You’re not going to tell me where you were, are you?” Shelly complained. “I thought we were friends.”
She was about to begin when
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