Read Online A Perfect Stranger by Danielle Steel - Free Book Online Page A

the window, so Alex said nothing further to her and sat down in his own seat, leaving a vacant seat between them.
    He felt his heart hammering inside him. She was as beautiful as he had at first thought the night he saw her sitting on the steps, surrounded by the cloud of lynx, her haunting black eyes looking up toward him and the rivers of tears pouring silently down her face. This was the same woman sitting only inches away from him, and every fiber of his being wanted to reach out to her, to touch her, to take her in his arms. It was madness and he knew it. She was a perfect stranger. And then he smiled to himself. The words were apt. She seemed perfect in every way. As he gazed at her neck, her hands, the way she sat, all he could see was her perfection, and when he saw her profile for an instant, he could not tear his eyes away from her face. And then, aware of how uncomfortable it made her, he suddenly grabbed the two files and stared into them blindly, hoping to make her think that he had forgotten his fascination with her and had turned his mind to something else. It wasn't until after takeoff that he saw her glance toward him, and from the corner of his eye he saw her stare at him long and hard.
    Unable to play the game any longer then, he turned toward her, his eyes gentle on her, his smile hesitant but warm. I'm sorry if I frightened you before. It's just' I don't usually do things like this. The smile broadened, but she didn't smile in return. I I don't know how to explain it. For a moment he felt like a true crazy trying to explain it all to her as she sat there staring, with no expression on her face other than the look in her eyes that had so touched him when he had first seen it. When I saw you that night on the steps, when you he decided to go ahead and say it when you were crying, I felt so helpless when you looked up at me, and then you disappeared. Just like that. You just vanished. And for days it bothered me. I keep thinking of the way you looked, with the tears running down your face. As he spoke to her he thought he saw something soften in her eyes, but there was no trace of anything different in her face. He smiled again and shrugged softly. Maybe I just can't resist damsels in distress. But you've bothered me all this week. And this morning there you were. I was watching some woman buy a book while I called my office. He grinned at the familiar book jacket, without telling her just how familiar it was. And then I realized it was you. It was crazy, like something in a movie. For a week I'm haunted by a vision of you, as you sit crying on the stairs, and then suddenly there you are, looking just as beautiful.
    This time she smiled in answer, he was sweet and he seemed very young; in a funny way he suddenly reminded her of her brother, who had been in love every other week when he was fifteen. And then you disappeared again, he went on despairingly. I hung up the phone and you had vanished into thin air. She didn't want to tell him that she had stepped into a private office and was taken by several secluded corridors to the plane. But he looked puzzled for a moment. I didn't even see you board the plane. And then he lowered his voice conspiratorially. Tell me the truth, are you magic? He looked like an overgrown child and she couldn't surpress a grin.
    Her eyes began to dance as she looked at him, no longer angry, no longer afraid. He was a little mad, a little young, and a lot romantic, and she could sense that he didn't wish her any harm. He was just sweet, and somewhat foolish. And now she nodded to him with a small smile. Yes, I am.
    Aha! I thought so. A magic lady. That's terrific. He sat back in his seat with a broad smile and she smiled back. It was an amusing game. And no harm could come to her, after all she was on the plane. He was a stranger, and she would never see him again. The stewardesses would whisk her away almost instantly when the plane reached New York and she would be safe again, in