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much trouble am I in, and what can I do to get you to forgive me?
Huh? Forgive him? For what? I asked dumbly before it hit me. Oh, Lord. I d lost it. The date, of
course.
For Saturday? he asked, looking uneasy. Then he gave a nervous laugh and shifted in his chair.
You don t have to pretend it wasn t a big deal. I know I was unforgivably rude for not even phoning
you, but something came up and I was called out of town, and... He looked to be all out of excuses.
The helpless expression remained as he finished, What can I do to make this up to you?
I was already shaking my head and waving my hand before I began talking. Really, it s okay. I
mean, I had my own guilty burden at the moment. Who was I to be holding anything against anyone
else? I m sure your...uh, situation was unavoidable.
Plus I kind of felt bad about already forgetting our date that never happened.
He blinked and straightened his back. So...you forgive me? Just like that? He arched an
eyebrow and sent me an untrusting glance. Really?
His perplexity was adorable. I laughed. If it makes you feel better, I could give you twenty
lashes, but whips and chains aren t really my thing.
When his gaze turned heated with interest, I suddenly realized just how bad a double meaning
those words had sounded. God, why did I keep blurting out tawdry things today? Head heavy from all
the horrified blood rushing to my cheeks, I slapped my hand over my mouth before muffling out the
exclamation, Oh, my God. I just said that out loud, didn t I?
Chuckling in delight, Philip inspected me from a pair of brown eyes glittering with approval. I
didn t hear anything if you didn t want me to.
Clearing my throat and grasping for the last shred of my dignity, I dropped my hand and discreetly
murmured, Thank you.
He nodded. Does this mean we can try for another date again...soon?
I opened my mouth, startled by the question. Uh...I...Well, I m not sure. You did stand me up and
neglected to contact me again for two days.
My naughty whip slip-up must ve given him some confidence, though, because he merely winked.
I ll give you some time to think about it, then. So...call me whenever you change your mind.
I didn t answer. He waved and turned away, sauntering from my office. I stared at the empty spot
in my doorway where he d vanished, chewing on my lip, unsure if I should give him a second chance
or not. The man was pleasant enough with a good sense of humor and easy to talk to.
I d never been good at the dating scene, so he would be an ideal choice of guy to go out with. But
he had stood me up. He d abandoned me in a place where I d felt completely uncomfortable, and I d
ended up making the worst mistake of my life because of it. I should be totally pissed at him. I never
would ve drunk so much to ease my nerves if he d asked to meet at a nice restaurant or a boring
cocktail bar. And I wouldn t have let Noel Gamble drive me home if I d been sober. And I certainly
wouldn t have stuck my tongue down his throat and made out with him on my bed if he hadn t driven
me home.
Holy shit, I could blame this whole thing on Philip, couldn t I? Perfect. Except no, no, I couldn t. I
was too much one of those masochistic people who got off on taking all the blame for everything that
happened in my life. I d gotten myself in this mess. And I couldn t pin it on Philip Chaplain, no matter
how nice that might temporarily feel. The lucky jerk.
But seriously, the idea of going on another date with him just didn t...thrill me. I d only been
mildly interested the first time around. And now, with all that worry about my father and worry about
my job, and worry about Noel Gamble, no way would I be able to concentrate on Philip if we spent
any more time together.
Please don t tell me that s the douchebag who stood you up Saturday night? Dr. Chaplain?
Really?
I blinked, realizing I was staring right though a blurry figure standing in my doorway.
His voice hit me first. I knew exactly who d come to my office before my gaze cleared enough to
bring him into sharp, amazing focus.
Seeing him standing in the threshold of my office sent my nerves haywire. Lurching to my feet, I
glanced wildly behind him, expecting to see Frenetti charging forward to fire me.
What the hell are you doing here? I hissed in way too guilty of a tone.
He stepped inside and shut the door, sending my heart crashing against my ribs in a panic, like a
frightened bird desperate to escape its cage. I made a sound of denial in the back of my throat, but that
was all I could manage.
I came to talk about what happened...
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