TRACE (The TRACE Series, #1) Read Online Free
Author: Deborah Bladon
Tags: Contemporary Romance, new adult, new adult romance, new adult romance with sex, millionaire romance, man in power, man in control, lawyer romance, hot lawyer, garrett ryan, trace, deborah bladon trace, deborah blazon trace, deborah blandon trace
Ben about it this morning."
I cross my ankles as I sit on the edge of a chair. "What did he say?"
"He said I was out of it." His left hand jumps to his right bicep. "Apparently my blood sugar was low. I just remember being in a lot of pain."
"You hurt yourself when you hit the tree." I glance at my watch.
"I still have three minutes." He dips his chin towards me. "That's just enough time to apologize."
"You don't need to." I bounce to my feet, smoothing my hands over the wrinkled legs of the blue scrubs I'm required to wear since I work in the emergency room. "You don’t owe me anything. I was just doing my job."
"I'm worried that I said things I shouldn't have. I wasn't thinking clearly."
The cultured tone of his voice doesn't match the frenzied cries of the man who was in here last week, clinging to the edge of the exam table because of the pain he was. "You were in shock."
"If I was a jerk and I'd like to make it up to you." He taps his shoe on the tiled floor. "Can I buy you a coffee sometime?"
I'm wise enough to know when a man is wearing a hidden cloak of future regret around him. I've always based my decisions to meet men for coffee, or drinks, or even just sex on first impressions. He may have cleaned up remarkably well in every sense of the word, but the man standing before me, who is dressed impeccably and looks like he'd fuck me into tomorrow, is still the same jerk who I met last week.
"I don't think so." I move towards the waiting room door.
"You don't want to give it some thought?"
"I don't need to." I glance briefly at the plain gray, fabric colored chair where I left the flowers. "I appreciate the apology, but I'll pass on the coffee."
His full lips part slightly as he exhales loudly. "You forgot your flowers, Vanessa."
I narrow my gaze at him, noticing how completely in control he looks at this moment. It's the polar opposite of who I imagined him to be. "You should take them up to the nurse's station on the third floor. They took much better care of you than I did."
"I'd beg to differ." He walks across the room with confidence, scooping the flowers into his hand.
"You were only in my care for an hour." I swallow hard when he stands directly in front of me. "They took care of you the entire night."
"They may have watched over me through the night," he stops talking to lean down so his forehead is hovering close to mine. "But you're the only one I remember."
I inhale the luxurious scent of his skin combined with expensive cologne. He knows what he's doing to me. There's no way in hell that he's oblivious to the sheen of moisture on my lips or my labored breathing. I can't do this. I need to remember what a total ass he was when the paramedics brought him in. A bump on the head and hypoglycemia can't completely alter a man's personality, can it?
"I have to get back to work." I turn towards the door before looking back over my shoulder to catch him staring directly at my ass.
Chapter 5
"I went onto a few of the adoption reconnection forums that I was telling you about, but there wasn't anything." I scratch the top of my nose. "I think that is a sign that I shouldn't search for my birth mother."
"A sign?" Zoe pulls her fork through the salad she's been picking at for the past fifteen minutes. "It's a sign that you're wasting time doing that. We need to take a road trip to Maine."
I knew she'd say that. I thought it too. When I'd logged into the forum for Maine adoptees and birth parents, I had a sinking feeling that I'd turn up nothing. I based that prediction on experience. I've been on the forums on and off for months, and although a host of new members always pop up, I've never found a match for my birth date. The reassurance that I'd feel knowing that at least one of my birth parents is looking for me isn't going to come. I'm beginning to realize that now.
"I think I'll put the idea to rest until..." my voice trails. I can't bring myself to say the words even though the thought that
I cross my ankles as I sit on the edge of a chair. "What did he say?"
"He said I was out of it." His left hand jumps to his right bicep. "Apparently my blood sugar was low. I just remember being in a lot of pain."
"You hurt yourself when you hit the tree." I glance at my watch.
"I still have three minutes." He dips his chin towards me. "That's just enough time to apologize."
"You don't need to." I bounce to my feet, smoothing my hands over the wrinkled legs of the blue scrubs I'm required to wear since I work in the emergency room. "You don’t owe me anything. I was just doing my job."
"I'm worried that I said things I shouldn't have. I wasn't thinking clearly."
The cultured tone of his voice doesn't match the frenzied cries of the man who was in here last week, clinging to the edge of the exam table because of the pain he was. "You were in shock."
"If I was a jerk and I'd like to make it up to you." He taps his shoe on the tiled floor. "Can I buy you a coffee sometime?"
I'm wise enough to know when a man is wearing a hidden cloak of future regret around him. I've always based my decisions to meet men for coffee, or drinks, or even just sex on first impressions. He may have cleaned up remarkably well in every sense of the word, but the man standing before me, who is dressed impeccably and looks like he'd fuck me into tomorrow, is still the same jerk who I met last week.
"I don't think so." I move towards the waiting room door.
"You don't want to give it some thought?"
"I don't need to." I glance briefly at the plain gray, fabric colored chair where I left the flowers. "I appreciate the apology, but I'll pass on the coffee."
His full lips part slightly as he exhales loudly. "You forgot your flowers, Vanessa."
I narrow my gaze at him, noticing how completely in control he looks at this moment. It's the polar opposite of who I imagined him to be. "You should take them up to the nurse's station on the third floor. They took much better care of you than I did."
"I'd beg to differ." He walks across the room with confidence, scooping the flowers into his hand.
"You were only in my care for an hour." I swallow hard when he stands directly in front of me. "They took care of you the entire night."
"They may have watched over me through the night," he stops talking to lean down so his forehead is hovering close to mine. "But you're the only one I remember."
I inhale the luxurious scent of his skin combined with expensive cologne. He knows what he's doing to me. There's no way in hell that he's oblivious to the sheen of moisture on my lips or my labored breathing. I can't do this. I need to remember what a total ass he was when the paramedics brought him in. A bump on the head and hypoglycemia can't completely alter a man's personality, can it?
"I have to get back to work." I turn towards the door before looking back over my shoulder to catch him staring directly at my ass.
Chapter 5
"I went onto a few of the adoption reconnection forums that I was telling you about, but there wasn't anything." I scratch the top of my nose. "I think that is a sign that I shouldn't search for my birth mother."
"A sign?" Zoe pulls her fork through the salad she's been picking at for the past fifteen minutes. "It's a sign that you're wasting time doing that. We need to take a road trip to Maine."
I knew she'd say that. I thought it too. When I'd logged into the forum for Maine adoptees and birth parents, I had a sinking feeling that I'd turn up nothing. I based that prediction on experience. I've been on the forums on and off for months, and although a host of new members always pop up, I've never found a match for my birth date. The reassurance that I'd feel knowing that at least one of my birth parents is looking for me isn't going to come. I'm beginning to realize that now.
"I think I'll put the idea to rest until..." my voice trails. I can't bring myself to say the words even though the thought that
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