Operation Date Escape

gave in to the urge to return to Cole’s arms.
    Following the trail of discarded clothes, she collected hers as she went. Tears streaming down her cheeks, she dressed in the kitchen and then slipped from the house, closing the door behind her.
    * * *
    Cole gritted his teeth in frustration as the kitchen door creaked shut. He rolled onto his back with a sigh and tucked his arms under the pillow beneath his head. Kelsie was gone.
    She’d done it again. Run out on him. Even after the incredible afternoon they’d shared making love. Even after he’d opened up to her about his feelings.
    He opened up to her. Cole cursed his own stupidity. What had he been thinking? Kelsie wasn’t ready for a confession like that. Problem was, he hadn’t been thinking. At least, not clearly. He’d been too caught up in what they’d shared, in how she made him feel when they were together.
    “Damn it,” he muttered in frustration. He’d had relationships end before, but he’d never felt that intense kicked-in-the-gut ache he felt now. Not that Kelsie had verbally ended things with him. She didn’t have to. Her actions spoke for her.
    Wh en was he going to accept that he’d been fighting a losing battle where Kelsie’s heart was concerned? His gaze shifted to the open bedroom door. It had taken all his willpower not to stop her from walking out on him again. Instead, he’d forced himself to lie there, pretending to be asleep while she slipped from his bed. From his life.
    Even now he wanted to go after her. To convince her to stay. But he couldn’t do it. Even if he was ready for a long-term relationship, Kelsie wasn’t. In fact, her leaving made it pretty clear she didn’t have the same feelings for him as he had for her.
    He closed his eyes, surrounded by the sweet scent of her as it hung in the air around him and clung to the sheets, taunting him, reminding him of what he’d almost had. Shoving the comforter aside, he climbed out of bed. He pulled on a pair of jeans and headed out to the kitchen.
    Cole fixed himself a cup of coffee and stood staring at the phone on the kitchen counter. Was she home yet? Did she regret what they’d shared that night? Should he call her?
    He started to reach for the phone. No, he thought, pulling his hand back. If Kelsie had wanted to talk, she wouldn’t have snuck out when she thought he was sleeping.
    Muttering a nother curse, he headed out to the front porch for some much needed fresh air. The night was cool. Quiet. Cole settled into one of the oversized wicker rocking chairs and set his coffee cup down on the matching white wicker table that sat between the pair of them.
    He considered calling Joe to vent about his frustration with Kelsie, but chances were his friend was still with Nanci. A woman who ran to him instead of away from. Joe was a lucky man. Maybe someday he’d feel the same way about himself.
    * * *
    Kelsie could barely see to drive through the tears as she drove home. What was wrong with her? Had her ex’s sleeping around ruined her emotionally for any other man? More importantly, for Cole?
    She pulled into her apartment parking space and the hurried inside, salty tears running down her cheeks. Grabbing her suitcase from the closet, she hurried to her bedroom. She needed to get away. Needed time to think. She’d never been so confused and talking to her mother, or Nanci, at that point would only frustrate her. She knew what they would say. No, this was something she had to figure out on her own. She’d call Dr. Andy in the morning and let him know she was taking a personal leave and wouldn’t be back for a few days. He had backup hygienists who could fill in for her while she was away and she had more than enough personal days saved up.
    Placing her suitcase atop the bed, she opened it with trembling hands, trying not to think about the day and night she’d just shared with Cole. An impossible task.
    She’d never forget the way he ’d looked at her while they were making love, with such burning passion. She’d never felt so desired. And then afterwards, the tenderness he’d shown her. The memory of it brought a soft sigh to her lips. It couldn’t have been more perfect. Cole was perfect.
    If only he hadn’t told her he thought he was falling in love with her. They could have had a perfect non-committal relationship. But he had told her and that unexpected confession had sent her into an emotional tailspin.
    There was no doubt in her mind that he’d meant