Arms of Promise Read Free Page B

wandered over, rubbing her face on each piece of furniture as she went. She sniffed his fingers and pushed her wet nose up under his hand.
    “There you go, baby. That’s it.” He stroked her back until she propped her paws on his knee and raised her head toward his. A giant yawn released a wave of fish breath smack into his face. Eyes closed, he fanned the cloud away.
    “See. What’d I tell ya? She remembers you.”
    And clearly had an opinion about his return.
    Anna smiled as Evan rose. “Let me make those hot chocolates. But first things first.” She latched on to his arm with one hand and slipped her shoes off with the other. She fluttered her lashes, looking unfairly adorable.
    “How can heels be any worse than those pointe shoes you scrunch your feet into?”
    The corner of her mouth sloped to the left. “Hey, everything’s different on the dance floor.”
    He laughed. “How could I forget?”
    Her brow pinched at his words.
    That was a stupid thing to say. Not that it’d matter what he said. She didn’t understand why he’d left during her audition, and he couldn’t possibly tell her.
    Fretting with the lacy belt around her waist, Anna stared at the linoleum with enough intensity to drill a hole through it. One he was dying to crawl into right now. Of all the pain his mind and body had undergone throughout his military training, nothing compared to the ache of being near her again.
    He cleared his throat and diverted his gaze to the artsy-decorated living room. “The place fits you.”
    “That’s about all it fits, but I love it anyway.” She breezed toward the kitchen. “Make yourself comfortable. It won’t take me more than a sec to make the drinks.”
    It better be one long second if he was going to get himself in check. Getting too comfortable was exactly what he was worried about.
    He strolled into the living room and scoped out the windows. Decent blinds. Hopefully she left them down most of the time. He lifted back the edge and took a bird’s-eye view around. Being on the second story helped some with security, but it had its share of disadvantages.
    A thump from behind drew him around. The top of a purple armchair bounced against the wall as Bailey circled the cushion. She nestled into the corner and went to town giving herself a bath, only stopping once to glare at him as if he were infringing on her privacy.
    Chuckling, Evan ran his hand over a tear in the chair’s top left corner. Anna had kept the same furniture she’d had in her room since high school. In fact, the whole apartment resembled her old bedroom—globe lights strung around the ceiling, a bookshelf overflowing with Pilates videos and movies they grew up on, scented candles mixing with Anna’s distinct fragrance.
    How could a place he’d never been in feel so much like home?
    An incoming text dinged from his cell. He slid it out of his pocket and grimaced. Another message from Hernandez, looking for a decision Evan wasn’t ready to make yet. He crammed the phone back down. He needed more time.
    A trickle of lukewarm heat crawled down his neck from the vent above him. He glanced at a pair of open-fingered gloves on a laptop lying on the couch arm. Was she so short on cash she had to freeze inside her apartment?
    “Don’t you think it’s a little cold in here?”
    Anna glided in and handed him a bright teal mug that read, I’m a dance teacher . What’s your superpower? Cupping her own mug, she breathed in the steam. “What do you think the hot chocolate’s for?”
    He cocked his head at her, and she tipped hers right back.
    “Don’t tell me you can’t hack the winters here anymore.”
    He didn’t budge.
    “Okay, you’ve definitely been away from Chicago for too long. If you tell me you actually put ketchup on your hotdog now, I’m gonna have to stage an intervention.”
    “Funny.” He rolled his eyes but couldn’t shake the concern from his face.
    Her grin tightened. “You don’t have to worry about us,