[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

John.
Except he wasn t there. She scanned the place and saw no sign of those magnificent
shoulders. Feeling silly, she retreated outside to wait for him there at the door of the
restaurant. A passing policeman gave her the once-over in her somewhat low-cut red
dress and sexy sandals and Lauren beat a hasty retreat to her car. Better to wait inside
than for the cops to think she was looking for a john. Well, she was, actually. A big John.
And did he have a big Johnny to go with those wonderful shoulders? Appalled at the
way her thoughts headed, she suppressed a giggle and turned the rearview mirror so
she could see his SUV when he pulled in and settled in to wait.
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Diana Hunter
A half hour later she no longer found any cause to giggle. Had he stood her up? She
checked her phone. No messages. Maybe she should call him? No, that would sound
whiny.  John, I m downtown waiting for you, are you going to bother showing up?
And that sounded bitchy. Had he planned this all along? Call her up, set up a date to
dump her and then get cold feet and not show up? She thought him more of a man than
that but cowardice came in many forms. Her stomach growled. Damn. And she really
had her heart set on barbecued ribs too.
Making a decision, she got out of the car, locked it and slammed it harder than she
meant to. She could damn well eat without him. They did take-out here. She d place her
order, get her food and go home. Where she belonged.
He pulled up just as she exited with her order. John saw her heading to her car and
beeped his horn gently to catch her attention. Unfortunately, the manufacturers of his
car horn didn t think along the same lines he did and the horn blared out, the brashness
startling even him. She jumped and scooted around to the other side of her vehicle,
putting it between the noise and her body. He swore.  Idiot. You know better.
He didn t even turn off the engine before he was out of the car with his hands out
and open.  Lauren, it s me. I m sorry I m late, I got stuck in traffic and 
She straightened, plastered a smile on her face and took a deep breath before
stepping carefully around the front of her car. He could see her shaking and felt guilty.
 I waited until I was too hungry to wait any more. I caved to the torture of sitting
here smelling it.
 Don t blame you. I d have given in too.
They looked at one another and John realized he d have to make the first step. He
was, after all, the one who d been late.  Would you mind eating that inside? We could
still get a table.
 You still want to have a date?
John looked at her, puzzled.  Why wouldn t I?
Her guard remained up.  Just making sure.
Coming to her, he took the take-out package from her hands and gave her a light
kiss.  I would very much like to go inside and eat dinner with you.
Her smile came tenuously, but it came.  It s a deal.
She got a table for them while he waited in line and ordered. By the time he got his
drink and joined her, all traces of their rough beginning seemed erased and they started
with the light banter he so enjoyed from her. He explained about the dead cell phone
and the accident on the bypass and she forgave him. They spoke of their day, Lauren
telling stories about the people who d come to the garage sale and John talked about the
information he d found researching the Civil War s impact on the Rochester area. But
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then something caught her attention and that haunted look came back into her eyes. He
turned to see what she looked at. A man wearing a military cap sat in a wheelchair in
line. As the man turned, John saw he d lost both legs.
 Lauren, it& 
She waved her hand.  Nothing worth talking about. Now, I believe you were
telling me something about how sexy hardware stores are?
John let her steer the subject away from herself again, but knew the time of
reckoning drew closer. If he wanted a fling, he wouldn t care. He d have wonderful,
kinky, glorious sex with her and be done with it.
But he did want more. He liked her. Peeling away her layers intrigued him because
the more he peeled, the more he found to like. She loved kids, had a talent with nursing
and had a sister. John assumed there was a brother-in-law to go with the sister since
there was also a nephew and a niece, but Lauren hadn t mentioned him other than to
say his name was Dave. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]