Learning to Breathe Again by Kelli Heneghan Read Free Book Online

beer
bottle and the hallway to her room. “What do you mean?” A guarded
look came down over her features as one of her hands went to her
lap.
    Jack would bet money that she had pepper
spray in her pocket. Her other hand that was still resting on the
table was flexed, as if she were ready to sink claws into skin to
defend herself if needed.
    “ It’s not a trick question,”
he pushed his chair back and stood up, tossing his beer bottle into
his recycling bin before resuming what had become his ‘normal’
stance around her: across the room, arms at his sides, feet crossed
at his ankles and leaning back against the counter. As
non-threatening as he could make himself. “I have a few
suggestions.”
    “ I just bet you do,” her
voice had an edge to it.
    He raised an eyebrow before continuing. “I
have a hot tub, which after the last few days that I’ve had, and
after the day you’ve had, would feel pretty damn good, I think. But
I also can see where that might not appeal to you. I’m just giving
you your options,” he rotated his neck on his shoulders,
emphasizing his own need for the stress relief.
    “ I also have a pretty
extensive DVD collection, if you want to watch a movie, and there’s
even microwave popcorn we can make. Or, there’s always the simple
quiet of your own room, with the lock on the door.” He crossed his
arms over his chest. “It’s all up to you.”
    “ And if I choose my own
company, alone in my bedroom with the door locked?” her eyes
narrowed as she studied him from across the kitchen.
    He wasn’t sure why she was testing him but he
knew she was. He tilted his head to the side a bit and shrugged his
broad shoulders. “I’ll go ahead and use the hot tub, read over a
few briefs, catch the news and then head to bed, just like I always
do. If you want to join me in the hot tub, it’s through that
sliding glass door. Or if you’d rather wait until I’m done, feel
free to use it later.” He pushed away from the counter, moving
towards the hallway.
    “ Nicole always leaves an
extra bathing suit in the dresser in your room. She won’t mind if
you borrow it,” he called back over his shoulder. He was hoping
she’d join him but knowing now what she’d just been through, he
wasn’t going to hold his breath.

    Bayleigh made her way back to her bedroom and
closed the door but stopped short of locking it. She eased down
onto the edge of the bed, across from the mirror on the dresser,
and stared at her reflection.
    Now why did I act like that?
He’s just trying to be nice. Jason said I could trust him. She glanced down at her hands, which were gripping
the edge of the mattress so tight, her knuckles were white. Not all men are assholes. I have to learn to trust
again. She took a deep breath, trying to
force herself to relax. She closed her eyes and thought about the
man just down the hall.
    She knew that he had figured out what had
happened to her. It wasn’t like her reactions fell into the
‘normal’ category. She was well aware of the articles on the
Internet. There wasn’t much about the attack, but a few of the
tabloids had jumped on the story: American singer attacked and
beaten in her rented apartment, and the guilty party was the owner
of a popular nightclub; it was the stuff that sold newspapers. But
he wasn’t acting any different towards her.
    He was still courteous, even
protective of her. And she was being rude, staying in her room like
this. He was letting her crash here, without prying into any of her
personal story. And all she’d done was pull back from him, and just
now out in the kitchen, she’d pretty much accused him of having
ulterior motives when all he’d been trying to do was ask her
what she wanted to
do for the night.
    With a heavy sigh, she stood and pushed
herself off the bed, walking over to the dresser. He’d said Nicole
kept a bathing suit here, maybe it’d fit her. She found it tucked
into the top drawer, and she pulled it out, holding it