If You Hear Her: A Novel of Romantic Suspense Read Online Free PDF

forced herself to smile. “Maybe we can try again.”
    “Definitely.”
    She gave him her number and in less than two minutes, she was in the car, driving away. She didn’t want to leave, though. Actually, she’d rather have Ezra in the car with her, driving her home.
    Maybe next time … or the time after, she told herself.

     
    Except he didn’t call.
    Not the next day, or the day after.
    Lena thought maybe she’d imagined that heat between them and after a week passed without hearing from him, she gave up hoping she’d hear from him.
    It hurt, though. In a way she hadn’t expected.
    One lousy date, and he’d wormed his way past thick, near-impenetrable shields.
    A year ago, she’d casually dated a guy in town—Remy Jennings. Off and on for a few months. She’d liked him and they’d been compatible in bed, but when they broke it off, it hadn’t been a sharp pain in her heart.
    In college, she’d met a guy she’d fallen for—hard and fast—and she’d thought maybe she was falling in love with him, although he’d never once told her he loved her. Not even after they’d been together six months.
    Two semiserious relationships. That was the sum of her experience with guys, that and a few casual dates … and somehow, some guy she’d met exactly two times, some guy she’d had one date with, he’d managed to worm his way under her guard.
    Unreal.

 
    H ER PHONE NUMBER WAS STILL SITTING BY THE PHONE three weeks later. Mocking him.
    Ezra didn’t even need that little slip of paper there. He had her number memorized.
    He had almost called her a dozen times.
    Only to stop himself, because he had come out here to get his head straight and figure what he needed to be doing with himself.
    An occasional, casual date wouldn’t interfere with that, right?
    But as Lena had pulled away from him after that one intense, hot kiss, Ezra had almost grabbed her back—close. So close. The memory of her taste haunted him, and he could still hear the echo of her laugh.
    All in all, it added up to more than just a casual sort of feeling.
    His head was too fucked up for anything more than casual. He couldn’t sleep without nightmares. Too many nights, he woke up with a scream trapped in his throat, certain he’d find his hands covered with the hot, slippery feel of blood. He was a mess—the last thing he needed to be doing was getting involved with a woman.
    Especially after the last one …
    So he didn’t call.
    But he wasn’t throwing her number away, either.
    Maybe it was more to punish himself.
    Maybe it was more to remind himself.
    Maybe it was a little bit of both, he didn’t know.
    Or maybe it was because he just couldn’t bring himself to throw it away.
    “So what in the hell does it matter if he hasn’t called?” Lena muttered to herself after she listened to her messages.
    She leaned against the counter in her kitchen, drinking from a bottle of water.
    Puck was having a drink of his own, thirstily guzzling down the water she’d poured into his bowl. They’d just gotten back from one of their walks through the field. She’d wanted to take the woods path, but Puck hadn’t gone for it.
    Lately, he was reluctant, although she could usually talk him into it.
    Today, though? He’d sat down and refused to budge.
    So instead of walking in the relative shade the trees could offer, they’d been in the field, the September sun beating down on them. She’d returned home hot and cranky and the last thing she needed to do was push the button on her answering machine, hoping to find a message from Ezra.
    Nope. Two messages from Roz at the Inn, one from another friend, but none from the man who’d all but kissed her senseless three weeks ago.
    Grumbling to herself, she pushed the button again and dutifully listened to Roz’s messages—ordering problems with some of the ingredients she’d needed for that evening’s menu—she’d have to alter it. Fine. Another wedding—the bride had requested a specific