Secrets from Her Past: Scandalous, Book 2 Read Online Free PDF Page A

so lost, so broken. She would die of utter embarrassment if she knew he heard any of this and he was a total jerk for eavesdropping.
    He turned and headed back down the hall to find Mary, the new owner. As expected, she was in her office and the door was open.
    “Good morning,” he greeted at the doorway. “I just wanted to let you know I was here. I’ll be starting on repairing the ramps outside first thing.”
    Mary came to her feet and moved around the desk. “Wonderful, Dylan. I’m so glad you’re here and we can get this work done. I’ll be around all day if you need anything. I mean… anything .”
    Okay, this wasn’t the first time he’d gotten the not-so-subtle vibe from her. She better watch she didn’t do that to a male nurse or something, or she’d be facing a lawsuit.
    But seeing as how he had his own plate full of personal issues, he paid no mind to her wandering eyes and purposeful licking of lips.
    “The ramps shouldn’t take too long,” he told her, hoping she’d take the hint and stay on topic. “Two, three days tops. Then I can start replacing the doors.”
    Mary leaned against her desk and hitched a hip onto the corner, making her skirt ride a little higher on her thigh. He willed his eyes to stay on her face because she was purposely trying to get his attention.
    “I’ll be sure to let you know when I leave today.”
    He left the office before she could sink her blood-red, acrylic nails into him. Dylan had a feeling the divorcee was very eager to find husband number three. While he didn’t know Mary on a personal level, the town was fairly small and he’d heard plenty of talk about the new owner of Best Care.
    And even if he hadn’t heard about her, a few moments of being with her was enough for him to figure out she was… God, he hated the term, but he had a feeling she was a cougar.
    As he was passing the hall where Carl and Inez’s apartment was, he saw Cori come out of the room, wiping her eyes. He couldn’t keep walking like he hadn’t seen her or heard that her world was crumbling beneath her feet.
    When she glanced up and caught his eyes, her shoulders lifted, as did her chin, and she tried pasting a smile on. Apparently she was still trying to keep up appearances. Pretenses…they were going to end up breaking her.
    Even though he didn’t know her anymore on a personal level, he was smart enough to realize that anyone who had just been given a life-altering blow didn’t want to be called on it in public and most certainly not by a previous lover.
    “What are you doing here?” she asked.
    Evidence of her crying gripped his heart. He couldn’t afford to care about what was going on in her life. There was no way he could stay detached from this woman if he started caring about the fact that the tip of her nose was red or those long lashes were moist.
    “I’m going to be doing some repairs, but I’m usually here to see your parents. I assume Inez is at therapy right now?”
    Cori shook her head. “Yeah. I’m waiting on them to come back. I was just looking for a vending machine. I needed some caffeine and there was none in the room.”
    Dylan smiled. “Never would’ve thought you were a pop-type girl since turning supermodel. Don’t people in your industry consider that almost like poison?”
    She smoothed the hair off her forehead and sighed. “Look, I get that you don’t like me much, and I understand why. Really, I do. But I’m not having the best day, so if you don’t mind, either be friendly or get the hell out of my way.”
    The fact that she was gritting her teeth and blinking back tears had him holding his hands up and mentally kicking his own ass.
    Why be a jerk? He hadn’t meant to sound rude, but since she’d come home he hadn’t known how to act. Seeing her vulnerable was sure as hell not something he’d expected.
    “I apologize,” he told her. “I know you’re probably only in town for a short time so I will do my best to just stay out of