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I m sorry. I m not being fair to you. Isabel dropped her
arms to her sides.
Reid should have left it at that. She d made her point and
should have found some way to escape. But the question that
echoed in her head slipped out unbidden. Why?
I don t know what s going on, Reid. I think about you
about things that I shouldn t be thinking about.
Oh, hell, Reid groaned. It took every ounce of her
willpower to keep from dragging Isabel against her and kissing
her senseless.
I guess I just don t want to think about all the reasons why
this wouldn t be a good idea. Isabel gently pushed a strand of hair
off Reid s forehead. I don t want to think about what it would do
to Chase if things ended badly between us. Or how hard it would
be living next door to you after that.
Reid captured her hand. The feather-light caress against her
skin threatened to snap the last taut string of her self-control. She
couldn t help herself, she kissed Isabel s fingertips. Would it be
harder than going to bed every night, just next door, and thinking
about how it would be between us?
Isabel sucked in a breath as much from the feel of Reid s lips
against her skin and the raw edge to her voice as the words. Her
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body flushed hot as she conjured up images of those lips on other
parts of her body. If I could forget who we are, what you do
You want to forget that you hold me responsible for Jimmy s
life. With a sad smile, Reid released Isabel s hand, then stroked
her cheek. But you can t. You see it every time you look at me.
No, I
I know you do, Isabel. Because it s all I see when I look in
the mirror.
Oh, Reid, I don t. Isabel s heart broke at the defeat in
Reid s voice. She had blamed Reid and hadn t given her injustice
a second thought. It was so easy to hold Reid responsible if she
defined her only as a firefighter. The problem was that she was no
longer able to think of her as only a firefighter.
I m sorry, Isabel. I m tired and not thinking clearly. I ll talk
to you tomorrow. Reid stepped back and was gone.
The emptiness left by Reid s absence startled Isabel. She
sank back down on the couch and rested her head in her hands.
I ve lost my mind. Soft music, candles. Hell, I practically set a
seduction scene while she slept. Certainly I didn t want to seduce
Reid. Did I?
No wonder Reid was confused. First Isabel had blamed her,
then she had kissed her. And now Isabel, presumably a straight
woman, had practically forced Reid to dance with her and nearly
thrown herself at her in the process. It was no wonder neither of
them had a clue what they were doing.
Reid stepped inside her back door and closed it quietly, then
slipped off her shoes and crossed the dark kitchen without turning
on any lights. She was halfway through the living room when her
mother s voice startled her.
You don t need to worry about waking me. Meredith sat in
the corner of the sofa with a mug cradled in her hands.
What are you doing sitting here in the dark? Reid sat down
at the opposite end of the sofa.
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I couldn t sleep. I made some cocoa.
Mom, I m sorry I took off on you. Reid rushed to assuage
her guilt. She hadn t meant to make her mother worry, but she d
needed some space.
You are so much like your father.
It was the type of comment that Reid would normally let go.
But so soon after the exchange with Isabel, Reid s emotions were
raw and more difficult to control than usual. You know, Mom, just
once I wish you would say that without regret in your voice.
Honey
There must have been a time when you thought he was a
good guy. You married him.
Meredith sighed. Reid, my issues with your father don t
have anything to do with you.
They do, Reid argued. Just because I was already grown
up when you guys divorced doesn t mean it didn t affect me.
I never wanted to talk badly about your father in front of you.
I didn t want my problems with him to affect your relationship.
What relationship? We barely had one by then. I m not blind.
I saw what happened to him to both of you after he retired. A
district chief, her father had been responding to a fire when another
driver, ignoring the lights and sirens, ran through an intersection
and hit his Tahoe. He had sustained a back injury in the crash that
eventually forced him to retire. By the time her parents divorced,
Reid had witnessed her father stumble home from the bar on more
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