Pandora's Box (previously Worth the Wait, a Zebra print best seller) by Kat Attalla Page B
Authors: Kat Attalla
Ads: Link
the apartment door came flying open.
Erik breezed into the room and stopped dead when he saw Charlie. “You’re back.”
“You’ve got 20/20 vision,” she mocked. “Take a load off your feet.”
“You seriously need to get a cell phone. “ Erik pulled a director’s chair from the closet and dropped himself into it “Where the hell have you been? I’ve been checking hospitals and morgues.”
“I’m too nasty to die,” Charlie joked.
“Where were you last night?” Erik demanded.
Charlie shrugged. “I don’t answer to you. You wouldn’t want me to be one of those ladies who talks about her love life.”
“Be serious. I was worried.”
“Well, try not to be too shocked. I spent the night in a man’s apartment”
Erik waved his hand dismissively. “I don’t believe you.”
“Was I supposed to bring back a piece of his underwear as proof the way you guys in the dorm do? Maybe a description of the place will do. There is a fireplace in the far corner of the living room that doesn’t work. The wall of glass overlooks Central Park. The doorman’s name was Henry. And the study had a computer system I’d kill to own.”
Erik’s jaw sagged. “You were with Damian all weekend?”
“Did you ever try to get rid of him?” she asked.
“Brother Damian! That’s the last place I would have checked.” he repeated, apparently unable to believe his ears.
Charlie let out a puff of air. “Is there a problem with your hearing? He took me sight-seeing in New York. We rode the ferry. Went to the top of the Empire State Building. We even walked through Chinatown.”
“Mr. Conservative went sight-seeing like a tourist?” Erik mumbled. “Did you enjoy yourself?”
“Most of it. But he did something horrible to me, Erik, and I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive him,” Charlie said, her body shivering from the memory.
Red color crept up along his neck. He looked like a balloon about to pop. “If he did anything to hurt you—”
“He made me eat snails. I’m never letting him choose dinner again.”
Shelly burst out laughing. When her words sank in, Erik laughed, too. “They’re great. Didn’t you love them?”
Charlie let out a gagging sound. “No. It was like eating slimy garlic.”
“It’s funny. I was always worried about my mother. I never really considered how Damian might react to finding out about you. I should talk to him.”
“Please,” Charlie said. “And soon. He feels guilty. He keeps trying to give me things, as if he’s trying to make up for something.”
“Did you ever think he might be interested in you?” Shelly asked.
“Damian and I could never have that kind of a future.”
Not that she hadn’t fantasized about what it would be like to have him in her life. Charlie Simone, the ultimate realist, had actually begun to dream about happily ever after. Foolish move, she chided herself. For her own emotional safety, she should back away.
The deeper she fell for Damian, the more complicated their relationship would become and the more likely she was to get hurt. Monica would never accept her and Charlie didn’t want to put him in a position where he had to choose. In the end, she would lose. Blood was always thicker than water, and blue blood was thicker than most.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Damian stared out the office window at the majestic Empire State Building. He loosened the tie around his neck. In another two hours he would be leaving on an overseas business trip, and for the first time in a long time, he wanted to send someone else.
Never had a woman twisted his insides the way Charlie had. By the time he had realized she was heading out the door that morning, it was too late to stop her. At least she had had the good sense to take a taxi to the train station. He knew because she had left a note on his wallet, proudly admitting to the theft of ten dollars for that purpose, and an IOU to pay the money back. She had the most annoyingly stubborn pride
Erik breezed into the room and stopped dead when he saw Charlie. “You’re back.”
“You’ve got 20/20 vision,” she mocked. “Take a load off your feet.”
“You seriously need to get a cell phone. “ Erik pulled a director’s chair from the closet and dropped himself into it “Where the hell have you been? I’ve been checking hospitals and morgues.”
“I’m too nasty to die,” Charlie joked.
“Where were you last night?” Erik demanded.
Charlie shrugged. “I don’t answer to you. You wouldn’t want me to be one of those ladies who talks about her love life.”
“Be serious. I was worried.”
“Well, try not to be too shocked. I spent the night in a man’s apartment”
Erik waved his hand dismissively. “I don’t believe you.”
“Was I supposed to bring back a piece of his underwear as proof the way you guys in the dorm do? Maybe a description of the place will do. There is a fireplace in the far corner of the living room that doesn’t work. The wall of glass overlooks Central Park. The doorman’s name was Henry. And the study had a computer system I’d kill to own.”
Erik’s jaw sagged. “You were with Damian all weekend?”
“Did you ever try to get rid of him?” she asked.
“Brother Damian! That’s the last place I would have checked.” he repeated, apparently unable to believe his ears.
Charlie let out a puff of air. “Is there a problem with your hearing? He took me sight-seeing in New York. We rode the ferry. Went to the top of the Empire State Building. We even walked through Chinatown.”
“Mr. Conservative went sight-seeing like a tourist?” Erik mumbled. “Did you enjoy yourself?”
“Most of it. But he did something horrible to me, Erik, and I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive him,” Charlie said, her body shivering from the memory.
Red color crept up along his neck. He looked like a balloon about to pop. “If he did anything to hurt you—”
“He made me eat snails. I’m never letting him choose dinner again.”
Shelly burst out laughing. When her words sank in, Erik laughed, too. “They’re great. Didn’t you love them?”
Charlie let out a gagging sound. “No. It was like eating slimy garlic.”
“It’s funny. I was always worried about my mother. I never really considered how Damian might react to finding out about you. I should talk to him.”
“Please,” Charlie said. “And soon. He feels guilty. He keeps trying to give me things, as if he’s trying to make up for something.”
“Did you ever think he might be interested in you?” Shelly asked.
“Damian and I could never have that kind of a future.”
Not that she hadn’t fantasized about what it would be like to have him in her life. Charlie Simone, the ultimate realist, had actually begun to dream about happily ever after. Foolish move, she chided herself. For her own emotional safety, she should back away.
The deeper she fell for Damian, the more complicated their relationship would become and the more likely she was to get hurt. Monica would never accept her and Charlie didn’t want to put him in a position where he had to choose. In the end, she would lose. Blood was always thicker than water, and blue blood was thicker than most.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Damian stared out the office window at the majestic Empire State Building. He loosened the tie around his neck. In another two hours he would be leaving on an overseas business trip, and for the first time in a long time, he wanted to send someone else.
Never had a woman twisted his insides the way Charlie had. By the time he had realized she was heading out the door that morning, it was too late to stop her. At least she had had the good sense to take a taxi to the train station. He knew because she had left a note on his wallet, proudly admitting to the theft of ten dollars for that purpose, and an IOU to pay the money back. She had the most annoyingly stubborn pride
Similar Books
