Harlequin Holiday Collection - Four Classic Seasonal Novellas

that.
    She really had gone too far last night. He must think her a complete fool.
    Maybe the whole problem—work, Jacob, all of it—was with her. Olivia wasn’t herself. Clearly.
    She pulled on her jacket and retrieved her purse. She, apparently, was forgetting things. Her focus was easily distracted. But that was only because she had increasing difficulty keeping her mind off Jacob.
    She took the stairs down to the lobby. Okay. Time to get her stuff together. She had to stop this whatever-it-was with Jacob. The distraction. The obsession. And she had to pay extra attention to her every step at the lab. Maybe she would even start a second log, one of her own that had nothing to do with the official system.
    Good plan. She felt better already.
    As she waved to the security guard, a thought she’d been mulling over entered her mind once more. She was grasping at straws…but there was only one way to be sure. She hurried over to the security desk and presented a smile to the guard on duty. She would never know if she didn’t ask.
    “Can I help you, Ms. Perez?” he asked. The Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer pin on his shirt glowed.
    Olivia smiled. “I like your pin.”
    “Thank you. My granddaughter insisted I wear it.”
    “I believe I was the last to leave last night.” She held her breath and took the plunge. “Did anyone from the lab come back after that?”
    The guard turned to the computer on his desk and tapped a few keys. “No one except Bart Flemming. He returned around ten for half an hour.” The guard shook his head. “That young man is a go-getter.”
    “Thank you.”
    Dazed, Olivia wandered to the exit and pushed out the door. The wind was a little brisk. Instinctively, she pulled her coat tighter around her. This couldn’t be right. There was no way one of her colleagues would do this….
    She took a breath. Made a decision. If her work was tampered with again, she would mention this to Callie. Otherwise, she would give Flemming the benefit of the doubt.
    Maybe she just needed a break. That idea of trying to get a last-minute flight to Boston Friday evening was suddenly sounding a lot more appealing. Monday was a holiday. She could spend a long weekend surrounded by family and clear her head of everything here.
    Including Jacob Webster.
    She drove home slowly, pondering the idea of packing a bag and putting it in the trunk so she would be ready to go straight to the airport after work on Friday.
    If she decided that was the thing to do. There went the second thoughts.
    Going home would be good, she reminded herself. She would be too far away to think of anything or anyone here.
    She noticed a pair of headlights behind her as she made the turn onto her street. Her heart rate sped up even as she told herself she was only being paranoid.
    Still, she opted not to turn in at her building. Instead she drove farther up the street. She waited long enough to make it seem like she was headed someplace else, then she whipped into the lot of a convenience store. She jerked to a stop and stared after the sedan, which had no choice but to continue on.
    Her heart surged into her throat.
    It was the same car.

Chapter Thirteen
    Jacob opened his front door to find Olivia standing on his porch. Her hazel eyes were wide with…fear. Her breathing was ragged, as if she’d run all the way to his house instead of driving. But her Volvo sat at the curb.
    “Olivia, what’s going on?”
    The reality that she had kissed him last night abruptly kicked him in the gut.
    “Someone’s following me,” she said in a rush.
    He glanced at the street. No traffic. No unfamiliar cars. “Who?” If anyone had followed her here, they were gone now.
    “Please.” Her eyes pleaded. “Can I come inside?”
    Whatever had happened, she was terrified. “Of course.” What was wrong with him? She’d obviously had a scare. He stepped back to let her pass, then closed the door. “Start at the beginning and tell me everything.”
    She started to shake. Not little shivers but big, body-quaking shudders.
    “Maybe you should sit down.” He took her by the arm, riding out the instant electrical charge that touching her elicited, and guided her to the sofa.
    Once she was seated, he moved to the chair directly across from her. “What happened?”
    She described the dark blue sedan, particularly the dent in the area where the trunk closed. The evasive maneuvers she had taken to clarify whether the vehicle was actually following her