“Sabrina.” Daniel’s voice was soft and pleading. His hair was windswept. He’d obviously not bothered drying it before he’d jumped into the car to follow her.

“Leave me alone.”

She knew that her face was tearstained and tried to turn away from him. But he was faster and took her by the shoulders before she could escape.

“I’m sorry, baby. I wasn’t out to hurt you. Come back to me. I need you.”

Sabrina struggled to shake off his hands, but he didn’t release her. “Let me go.”

“I’m sorry, I should have told you earlier, but I was so afraid you’d run away without giving me a chance. Sabrina, I’m in love with you, and I know you feel something for me too.”

She looked straight into his face and suddenly knew how she could get rid of him. She’d have to lie, but what difference would one more lie make?

“I feel nothing for you. This was all about sex for me.” She noticed his facial expression harden. “All I wanted was an adventure, and you provided it. I never put my heart in it.”

When she felt his grip loosen and his hands fall off her shoulders, she knew he’d gotten the message. She was free. He wouldn’t pursue her any longer.

“If that’s what it was …” He seemed cold now, unapproachable.

“Yes, that’s what it was,” she confirmed. Two seconds later, she slipped back into the building and shut the heavy door behind her. But she couldn’t make it past the first flight of stairs before she collapsed, sobbing uncontrollably.

In a few months, he’d be all but a distant memory. She’d have to put this behind her. Even though he’d said that he loved her, she knew it wasn’t true.

***

The next day, Sabrina called in sick. A day later, she still couldn’t face seeing anybody and stayed home again.

When the door bell rang in the afternoon, she was still in her bathrobe. Holly was out.

“Who is it?” she cautiously answered the intercom. If it was Daniel, she wouldn’t open.

“Courier with a letter for a Ms. Sabrina Parker. I need a signature.”

She buzzed him up, and a few moments later, the bicycle messenger was at her door. She signed for the envelope and went back inside.

The return address showed a stamp from her firm. Her heart sank into her gut. A hand delivered letter from an employer was never a good sign.

Her hands trembled as she opened it.

… regret to inform you that your employment has been terminated effective …

She couldn’t read any further. They’d fired her. Just like that. And they could do it. Her employment was at will. And besides, she was still within her six months probationary period. They didn’t even have to give her a reason. And they hadn’t. Which was smart on their part. Without knowing why, she couldn’t fight it.

She sank onto the couch. This couldn’t be happening.

***

Daniel stomped into the lobby of Brand, Freeman & Merriweather. The receptionist greeted him instantly.

“Mr. Sinclair, good afternoon.” She looked at her calendar in front of her. “I don’t see your appointment here. Is Mr. Merriweather expecting you?”

He shook his head. He wasn’t here to see his attorney. For the last three days he’d been brooding over Sabrina’s words. His mood had gone from bad to worse, and he’d cancelled all his business meetings, not giving a royal damn if the whole deal fell apart because of it.

It had taken him three days to come to the conclusion that she’d lied when she’d told him that she had no feelings for him. After analyzing and re-analyzing what had happened the night in the cottage, when he’d kissed away her tears after they’d made love, he was almost certain that she’d lied.

But what had brought the absolute confirmation was Tim’s unexpected confession over lunch today. The revelation that he and the real Holly were good friends, and that they had wanted to set him and Sabrina up on a blind date, came as an absolute surprise to him. And then he’d told him how Sabrina had cried on Holly’s shoulder when she’d thought that he was still with Audrey. Proof positive that she had feelings for him.

Sabrina was a lousy liar. She’d had her heart in it from the beginning; he realized that now. She would have never agreed to the second evening and the weekend if she hadn’t already started feeling something for him.

And then there was something else. When they’d been in the cottage together he’d seen the few toiletry items she’d brought, and nowhere had he seen any oral contraceptives. He was pretty certain that she wasn’t on the pill, yet she’d let him be inside her without protection. He couldn’t imagine that a woman who claimed that it was all about sex without her heart being involved would risk a pregnancy.