Return to You by Samantha Chase Read Free Book Online

Selena, it’s like you’ve been living in isolation or something. Did you at least have fun last night?”
    She nodded. “Definitely. I can’t remember the last time I went dancing. I had forgotten how much fun it was.” Oddly enough, it was the truth. She had been completely surprised at how much she had enjoyed herself.
    â€œYou’re killing me.”
    â€œBut you know what the weirdest part was? All the years we were too young to get into those places, I had built them up in my mind, and going into them now is kind of disappointing.”
    â€œIt wasn’t at twenty-one, I can tell you that.”
    It didn’t need to be said that they wished they had the opportunity to explore those things together back then; no sense in beating a dead horse. With a night of fun under their belt, the businesswoman in Selena automatically went back into work mode. “What do we have planned for today? Can we go and take a look at the venue?” It would take a Herculean effort to get herself to the point where she’d feel like she was human again and ready to face the public, but there was work to be done and Selena didn’t like the feeling that she wasn’t pulling her weight.
    â€œUgh…why are you like this?” Jen groaned and banged her head on the kitchen table, her blond hair hiding her face. Then she groaned at the force with which she’d hit her head.
    â€œLike what?”
    â€œWhy can’t you just go back to sleep, eat ice cream for dinner, and not think about work or anything until Monday? You know, like us mere mortals. Come, join us on the dark side. We really do have cookies.”
    â€œBecause I want you to go with me, and Monday you’ll be at work. Come on, Jen, a shower and some food will help you feel better. I can call the manager and see if we can come by around three. That will give us some time to pace ourselves. What do you say?”
    â€œThat you’re the devil.”
    â€œYeah, but you love me.”
    * * *
    James was scanning the report in front of him without really seeing it. The creep who was bothering Jen was a bit elusive, and he was being careful about staying under the radar and not doing anything too radical to draw attention to himself. Biding their time and waiting was getting old, and he knew Jen was anxious for it to be over. He’d tried to convince her to get a restraining order on her last visit, but she was forever optimistic that Todd would get bored and move on. James doubted it.
    He was on edge—had been for days. Besides the conversation about a restraining order, Jen had mentioned that Selena was going to be staying with her while she was here for the reunion. By all accounts, she was probably there now. It wouldn’t be completely out of line for him to stop by and check on Jen in person, especially considering how much time they had spent discussing her situation.
    While it all sounded good enough, the real problem was what he was going to say once he actually got there and saw Selena. How was he supposed to act in front of her? The whole damn situation was making him crazy. He couldn’t focus on his job, couldn’t relax at home. No. Nothing was going to get better until they finally faced each other. Then maybe…
    â€œJames? You got a minute?”
    Looking up, he saw one of the beat cops who had worked with him on a homicide earlier in the week standing next to his desk. He needed this—to be forced to think about something else other than Selena and seeing her again. Tossing Jen’s file down, he leaned back in his seat. “What can I do for you?”

Chapter 3
    While it could hardly be called eventful, the tour of the venue went exactly as Selena had hoped, and although she had to move at a much slower pace than she was used to, she was confident that everything was going to run smoothly the following weekend. After a very slow start to the day, she and Jen had somewhat