Perfect Fling Read Online Free PDF Page A

mouth before her exuberant friend could scream her reaction.
    Macy’s eyes opened wide.
    “Got a grip?” Erin asked her.
    She nodded and Erin released her hand. “How the fuck did that happen?” Macy asked in her usual outspoken way. “I thought you said you used protection?”
    “Shh!”
    Macy nodded. “Okay, we need to talk,” she said, this time in hushed tones.
    “Nobody knows except Trina, who bought the test because I was too stupid to face reality, and Alexa. And now you.”
    “Oh, honey, what are you going to do?” Macy asked, her hand on Erin’s arm.
    “I’m having the baby, of course!”
    Macy smiled. “I figured that. I just meant with the rest of it.”
    “I’m taking it one day at a time. I have to tell him, but I thought maybe I’d wait until I’m past the first trimester.” Which wasn’t much longer. “You know, relatively safe and all that.”
    “You’re young and healthy. I’d say you’re going to be fine, and the longer you wait, the harder it will be. Yes?” Macy asked.
    Erin nodded, tears forming. “Sorry. I’m just so damned emotional, on top of everything else.”
    “You know it takes two to make a baby, so don’t be afraid to tell him. That man’s bark is worse than his bite, and if you slept with him, I’m sure you’d agree.”
    “Yeah. Except we’re not even friends. Ever since that night he’s gone out of his way to avoid me.” And Erin refused to admit out loud how much it hurt.
    “He’s got demons. He has to. Between how his father always treated him and the fact that nobody knows where he’s been . . . You’ve seen the shadows in his eyes.”
    Except that night,
Erin thought. All she’d seen in those dark orbs had been heat and passion. She shivered in her seat.
    “Tell him,” Macy said, patting Erin’s hand.
    Erin nodded. “I’ll figure out when. And how.”
    She sat at the counter and drank a cup of tea, which helped settle her stomach. Then she paid, hugged Macy, and headed for work.
    The district attorney’s office building was located adjacent to the police station and across the street from the courthouse. In the center sat a beautifully manicured lawn and gazebo, the pride and joy of downtown Serendipity. Though her office itself was small, Erin had always loved the view her window provided of her hometown. It made the hours she spent holed up in there easier.
    Being late meant she had to park far from the entrance. Though it was August, today was an unseasonably cool day, and the breeze blew gently over her skin. She grabbed her briefcase in one hand and draped her suit jacket over her other arm, then shut the car door behind her. She was halfway to the office entrance when she heard a distinctive popping sound and whipped around to see what caused the noise. She didn’t see anyone nearby. She took another two steps, then she felt a searing burning pain, unlike anything she’d experienced before, rip through her arm.
    She glanced down to see that her silk blouse was now coated with blood. Her blood. Confused and suddenly dizzy, she stumbled.
    Someone called her name and she saw the security guard from the front entrance running toward her. She opened her mouth to tell him she’d been shot, but the pain took over and she fell to the hard, asphalt-covered ground.

Three
    Cole walked into the Serendipity Police Station, ignoring the wary looks people threw his way. If they didn’t know him from the past, they’d definitely heard of him by now. He squared his shoulders and continued through the precinct to the chief’s office, raising his hand to knock, when he heard voices from inside.
    A female laugh and a male chuckle.
    Cole was backing away, not wanting to interrupt, when the door opened wide and Cara Marsden strode out. He had to hand it to her, she tried to pull off nonchalant, but her pulled-back hair was mussed from her husband’s fingers, her lips were red from being kissed, and her cheeks were heavily flushed.
    He shook his