Forbidden Read Free Page A

done, boss.” She wished Fitz would quit wearing that silly baseball hat.
     She sympathized with his concern over losing his hair at only twenty-six, but the cap didn’t really hide the fact. Instead
     of making him look boyish, it gave him a frivolous air that was in sharp contrast with the very high IQ he had even more difficulty
     hiding.
    Fitz thanked her, then watched as she linked her arm through Molly’s, their long legs carrying them quickly out into the unseasonable
     heat of a late June afternoon. Those long legs reminded him of Sandy Wilkins, who’d hurt him worse than he’d ever dreamed
     possible.
    The phone on his desk rang, and Fitz shook his head. What was the matter with him tonight? he wondered. It wasn’t his habit
     to indulge in mulling over a past that couldn’t be changed. Impatiently he grabbed the receiver.
    Outside, Liz pulled her friend along. “I want to show you my new car.”
    Molly flung the strap of her huge canvas tote over her shoulder and hurried to keep up. “What’s the big rush?”
    Liz turned into the parking lot at the corner and kept going. “Command performance at my folks’ place. Cocktails at seven,
     dinner at eight. They’ve asked me over on ten of the fourteen days since I’ve been gone.” She sighed, wishing her parents
     would let go.
    “Well, you
are
only twenty-one,” Molly reminded her, knowing it would get a rise out of Liz.
    “So are you, and you’ve been on your own for two years already.” Molly’s widowed mother was a bit on the bohemian side herself
     and let her daughter run her own life, an arrangement that Liz envied. She stopped in front of a white Mercedes two-seater
     with the top down. “What do you think?”
    “Niiiice.” Molly grinned. “New apartment, new car.”
    “New woman,” Liz answered with a smile.
    “Now, you need a new man. Or is Richard still in the picture?”
    Richard Fairchild—a nice man, but her mother’s choice. That was one strike against him. Liz loved her mother but hated having
     her presume to continue making choices for her. Which was the main reason she’d moved out of the family manse. She wasn’t
     really rebelling, she told herself. She was asserting herself, becoming her own person. Picking out and buying her car all
     on her own had been evidence of her insistence on freedom.
    “Richard will undoubtedly be there tonight,” she told Molly. “He’s been over to the apartment with flowers, wine, little gifts.
     I don’t want to hurt his feelings, but…”
    “But he doesn’t make your heart pound, your face sweat, your hands shake…” Molly’s blue eyes were devilish as she laughed.
    “Sounds like a case of the flu.” Liz opened her door and tossed the manila envelope inside.
    “Say hello to the elusive Mr. McKenzie for me, will you?And ask him why he hasn’t deigned to grace us with his presence since we’re slaving away for
his
career.” Molly frowned at her thumb. “I even chipped a nail today. Damn, I hate that.”
    “Beyond the call of duty,” Liz agreed, sliding behind the wheel. “You definitely deserve a day off with sick pay.”
    “See you tomorrow.” Molly moved toward her Mustang.
    With a wave, Liz backed out of her space, then turned onto Broadway, heading for North Harbor Drive. First Street would be
     faster, but since she was going to be late anyway, she might as well enjoy the scenery.
    Loving the feel of the wind in her hair, she drove as fast as the traffic and speed limit allowed. This was why she’d gotten
     a convertible, against all advice. Her parents were only in their fifties, yet they were both conservative enough to be downright
     boring. Had they no memory of being young, feeling glad just to be alive, wanting to experience everything?
    Liz sighed as she passed a slow-moving station wagon driven by a harried-looking woman trying to control three small children.
     In all fairness to Katherine and Joseph Townsend, Liz knew exactly why they’d been so