Hidden Scars by Amanda K. Byrne Read Free Book Online Page B

drily, and she grinned, bouncing in her seat with anticipation. “You got your tickets yet?”
           She snorted. “Of course I do.” She’d bought her tickets weeks ago and spent hours poring over the program, picking movies. There were a few she’d have to sneak out of work in the middle of the afternoon to see, but she was willing to risk it. If anything, they’d be a well-deserved couple of hours alone after having to deal with whatever the latest fiasco Jeremy, the exec she was most often paired with, had managed to create.
           Skaters pushed and shoved their way around the track, tapping out or falling on their asses, speeding up and slowing down by turns. Jammers searched for the smallest openings and shot through them, lapping the other skaters, weaving their way around the track.
           The hour-long bout sped by, and at the break, her friends decided to troop over to a nearby bar for some pool instead of sticking around for the second half. She shot a glance at Taylor. “Coming?” He’d probably say no. They hadn’t spoken much since they’d sat down, and she’d spent most of the time when she wasn’t yelling her head off tossing insults back and forth with David and Rob.
           There was that slight, quiet smile again, and she found herself wishing for the grin he’d given her in Stumptown, the one that caused her heart to stutter and her mouth to go dry. He nodded toward the aisle. “They’re waiting.”
    * * *
           A few days later, Taylor sat in his office, scrolling through a report and replaying the events of that weekend in his head. Watching Sara with her friends had been too good an opportunity to pass up. The way she’d joked around with the two guys had Taylor watching closely, searching for subtle cues, hints at what they did to make her relax. She was getting there with him, the tension leaving her body quickly whenever he approached her, but he wished it would happen faster. Going slow when he wanted to know what she’d feel like in his arms was driving him nuts.
           Time. It was nothing more than time and history. She’d known both men for a while, she’d said, almost as long as she’d known Megan. Watching Sara chat with Brian was different. She’d been stiff, but unafraid. The other man had clearly been attracted to her, and Taylor didn’t blame him. Her smile alone made him want to kiss her brainless.
           The hissed conversation he’d overheard between Megan and Sara had been the most informative thing he’d picked up on Sara yet. Pretty, friendly Sara had no interest in being set up. He heard something about a guy named Nate and he’d walked off to the bar, fighting with his temper. Hearing about Sara dating pissed him off and made him want to push harder, faster.
           He still wasn’t certain pursuing her was the best thing for her. He might not have heard from Tony since he left Boston, but the man’s reach could be long, and Taylor wouldn’t put it past Tony to tap him for a favor even when he’d been out of the life for over a decade. Until he was certain Sara would be safe, being with him, he’d have to take his time.
           He scuffed a hand along his jaw and glance at his door. Sara hurried past his office, head down. It was the second time this week she’d done so. The film festival. She’d been positively gleeful over getting that poster at the roller derby bout, and he figured that’s where she had to be sneaking off to.
           The report stared back at him as he pictured her standing in front of the elevator, anxious to escape unnoticed. He glanced at the door. A few hours not speaking, doing one of her favorite things, would go a long way to making her more comfortable around him. Or he hoped it would, and it would give them something to talk about. It had the added benefit of giving him an afternoon off in the middle of the week.
           Without stopping to