Soul Dreams Read Online Free Page A

her quilt and endless cups of tea, crying until her eyes were so dry she thought they’d fall out of their sockets. She cursed her naïve stupidity—something she would expect from one of the starry-eyed interns who worked for the agency. Well, Tom Ridgeway was the last man she would ever allow to take advantage of her again, ever get under her defenses. She was done. Finished. She would guard the remnants of her heart and never give a piece of it away again.
    By Monday morning, the initial shock had dulled, and she reached a decision. There was no way she could stay at Forrester’s and see Tom and work with him constantly. If she asked to be removed as his contact, Nate would want an explanation, and she had none she wanted to give him.
    She wasn’t sure she’d ever get past either the unbearable emotional pain or the abject humiliation of the whole situation. She also wasn’t sure what she was going to do exactly, but beyond a doubt, she wanted out of her job, her house, and the city. Even the state. She needed someplace where her mortification and heartache wouldn’t be in her face every time she turned around. Staying here, especially in the same business, would put her in contact with Tom too often for her comfort zone. Besides, at that moment she was sick of everything in her life. The agency. The so-called glamour and glitz. Everything. All of it. What had she ever gotten from it except a permanently damaged heart?
    She needed something brand new in her life.
    Her first order of business was making the break with Forrester. Taking the coward’s way out with Nate, she faxed her resignation to Diane. Making up a story about a family emergency, she apologized for leaving him in the lurch, blah, blah, blah. She asked them to deposit her final check in her account as usual.
    The house she lived in was a rental, and the real estate agent handling it was very understanding. The woman had been happy to give her an out on the lease as she had someone already lined up who wanted to rent it. Arranging for her things to be packed up and put in storage helped keep her from sinking into depression again.
    Her parents begged her to spend Christmas with them, and while the day had lost its luster for her, she could use the comfort of home and their love. They’d always supported her no matter what. Thursday night she loaded her car with whatever clothes and personal items she figured would hold her for a while. Since she had no idea where she would end up, she tried to pack as lightly as possible. When she settled down someplace, she could send for everything else.
    Friday morning she did a final check through the house, stepped out onto the porch, and locked the door. She lifted the lid on the mailbox to leave the keys for the rental agent. The clunk of metal hitting metal sounded like the death knell of the life she’d had such hopes for. And in a way, it was. She turned, every muscle in her body tightening when she spotted Tom standing at the end of her driveway.
    “Get out of here.” She walked around to the driver’s side of her car. “Get away from me before I have you arrested for trespassing.”
    When she tried to open the car door, he shut it and leaned on it.
    “I’m going to make you listen to me,” he insisted. “We can’t lose what we have.”
    She stared at him. “What we have? We have nothing. So, get the hell off my driveway.”
    “Nina, I don’t want to lose you. This is nothing more than a hoop I have to jump through for the time being.”
    “Yeah?” She cocked her head. “So I’ll be…what, your secret whore? Because that’s what you made me feel like.”
    “No, sweetheart, listen to me.”
    “I’m through listening. Get out of my way.”
    When he still hesitated, she brought her knee up and shoved it into his crotch.
    “Jesus!” Tom bent double, his face white.
    “Serves you right,” she spat, got in her car, and drove away.
    For the first time in her life, Nina had no plan, no