Safe in His Arms by Vicki Lewis Thompson Read Free Book Online Page A

posted certification said it had been recently checked out. He hoped the damned thing wouldn’t malfunction.
    Thinking about the elevator had distracted him, but once he was walking down a carpeted hallway to the law offices, his chest grew tight. What the hell was he doing? Was he ready for this? He’d tossed the lunch idea out in a moment of insanity when he hadn’t been able to imagine her riding the elevator alone, at least not the first time.
    Now he was committed to an actual date, and most women expected that would be followed by a second date, right? He had no trouble imagining himself in bed with the gorgeous Valerie Wolitzky. He’d fantasized that many times, and his dreams about her had become super erotic. But this dating thing sucked. He was woefully out of practice.
    Too bad. It was game time. He opened the door to the suite of offices and walked over to the receptionist’s desk without hesitation. He wasn’t going to let some cute blonde who didn’t look more than twenty, max, see him sweat.
    “I’m here for Miss Woltizky.”
    She smiled, revealing even white teeth. “You must be Mr. Templeton. If you’ll have a seat, I’ll tell her you’re here.”
    He didn’t want to sit, but pacing the reception area would send the wrong message. So he lowered himself onto a brown leather sofa and picked a magazine from the ones arranged across a glass coffee table. He didn’t bother to look at the title.
    When he realized what magazine he’d grabbed—
Career Woman’s Weekly
—he put it back. He wasn’t going to be found reading
Career Woman’s Weekly
when Valerie walked into the reception area. Inspiration hit and he pulled out his phone. He could check his messages. Brilliant.
    Except he had no messages. Earlier this morning he’d deleted everything he didn’t need, and no one had texted or e-mailed him since then. There was a time when he couldn’t keep up with his messages, but ever since he’d changed direction, he had no trouble whatsoever.
    Normally he loved that. Not having a ton of messages was evidence that he had indeed taken control of his life. But while he sat in the reception area waiting for Valerie, he would have liked to have some messages to answer.
    “Adam?”
    He glanced up from his messageless phone and leaped to his feet.
Wow.
It wasn’t that he’d expected her to come out of her office in jeans and a T-shirt. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but the short black skirt, paired with a emerald green blouse and black jacket, was a knockout. That wasn’t even taking into account her sexy heels and silver jewelry.
    She hadn’t worn jewelry to the barn, which made sense, but the silver teardrops looked great with her short hair, and the layered necklace emphasized her slender throat. Several silver bangles jingled when she moved her arm. He couldn’t stop staring at her.
    “Ready for lunch?” She adjusted the strap of her black shoulder purse and gave him a quick smile.
    That’s when he really looked into her green eyes and saw the anxiety there. She might be dressed like a confident professional, but she was afraid to get in that elevator. Thank God he was here.
    “Yep, we’re all set,” he said. “I’ve found a little place that should get us in and out fast, in case you have an early afternoon appointment.”
    “Thanks for that, but my afternoon is pretty clear.”
    “That’s good.” He tucked his phone in his pocket. “Let’s go.”
    “You two have fun,” the receptionist called after them.
    “Thanks, Carol!” Valerie sounded breezy and carefree.
    But when Adam rested a hand against the small of her back, he could feel her trembling. “You’ll be fine,” he said in a low tone as they walked out of the office.
    “I’ll be better, now that you’re here. It’s such a small thing, but I’ve been worried about it since we made the plan on Saturday.”
    She reminded Adam of the skittish horses he’d worked with at the ranch. “Let’s not get on