Ran From Him Read Online Free PDF Page A

allow her dad or Daniel to use that against Rob.
    While she fumed, Daniel returned unexpectedly with a security card for accessing his apartment. The anger, though not his impatience, had disappeared from his face. “You’ll need this. I’m going out and mightn’t be here to let you back in. I doubt your backpack holds a dress suitable for Salsa’s, which is formal, so you’ll need to go out and buy something party-ish.”
    Cate resented the way he’d closed their fight. How could he ignore the conflict between them while she still vibrated with tension. “If you’re ashamed to be seen with me, stay home. As for your security card, my bag’s packed. I’ll move to a hotel.”
    “Why bother?” He dropped the security card onto the coffee table. His final shot came from the doorway. “After all, we’ll soon be family.” The door slammed.
    She picked up the security card and threw it as hard as she could. It dropped unsatisfyingly short on the polished wood floor.
    “I’m moving out,” she told the empty room.
    Except, if she did, how would she know what Daniel was scheming?
    Reluctantly, she retrieved the security card. Until she’d seen Rob and Amie for herself, she’d be wise not to cut off her nose to spite her face. At the moment, she had access to Daniel and a better chance of identifying and unravelling his plans. She’d have to watch him closely.
    Unsettlingly, the idea appealed.
    She rushed to deny it. “I won’t stay here a moment longer than I have to. I don’t even like him.”
    The last words revealed too much, and their mental echo mocked her. She mightn’t like him, or trust him, but she couldn’t deny Daniel’s attraction.
    So she ran.
    She collected her purse from her room, tucked the security card into it and dashed out of the apartment.
    Of one thing she was determined: not for all the pearls in Broome would she buy a new dress that afternoon.
    No way, no way, no way . Never would she listen to Daniel. The brisk rhythm of her defiance carried her out onto the street.
    She spent half an hour in the nearby book shop and her jangled nerves calmed. She peered covetously in at the jewellery store’s windows, admiring rings and earrings she couldn’t afford. A pretty bangle in white gold appealed, as did the rubies and yellow topaz necklace. A deep blue sapphire set in a gold ring reminded her of Daniel’s eyes.
    The jewellery store window lost its appeal. She bought a chicken and salad sandwich, and sat in a park to eat it. She enjoyed people watching.
    A little girl dressed all in pink chased pigeons, giggling at their cooing and bobbing and hurried flights from her pursuit. Her mum sat with her feet up on a bench to rest.
    Cate smiled at the toddler’s innocent enjoyment and her own heart lifted. A world with happy children in, was a world worth fighting for, a world filled with the wonder of love and hope. She no longer believed in that happy ending for herself, but she’d fight like a tigress to defend Rob’s chance at it.
    She dusted sandwich crumbs off her fingers, and as the pigeons swooped, continued on her walk around the city, re-learning her old hometown and encountering surprise after surprise. Her feet were tired when she spotted a familiar name, Salsa’s.
    The restaurant looked both formal and elegant, and she studied it uneasily. She chewed her bottom lip as pride and common sense debated her next action.
    Little though she relished taking Daniel’s advice, appearing at Salsa’s in her plain work clothes would only embarrass her.
    She walked slowly on, considering the problem and paying new attention to the boutiques she passed. She stopped in front of a window displaying a silver floating gown. Its sweetheart neckline and princess cut wasn’t a style she would wear, but at least it wasn’t bizarre, and it made concessions to the fact that real women had real figures. Cate couldn’t fit in clothes designed for skeletons.
    Lured inside the boutique, she fell into