Read Online At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks - Free Book Online Page A

she picked him up at Greenleaf after work, lest his car in the driveway be spotted by nosy neighbors-but whatever the reason, the sneaking around made it that much more exciting. After rising, they would read the newspaper at the small kitchen table while they had breakfast. More often than not, she’d still be wearing her pajamas and fuzzy slippers, her hair would be tousled, and her eyes would carry the slightest puffiness from sleep. But when the morning sun slanted through the windows, he was sure she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
Sometimes she would catch him staring at her and would reach for his hand. Jeremy would begin reading again, and as they sat together holding hands, lost in their own worlds, he would wonder whether there was any greater pleasure in life.
They’d also been shopping for a house, and since Lexie had a pretty good idea of what she had in mind and Boone Creek didn’t have that many houses to begin with, Jeremy figured they would find the right one in a couple of days. If he was lucky, maybe even in an afternoon
He was wrong. For whatever reason, they spent three long weekends walking through every house for sale in town at least twice. Jeremy found the whole situation more disheartening than exciting. There was something about walking through people’s homes that left him feeling as if he were passing judgment, and usually not in the kindest of ways. Which, of course, he was. While the town may have been historic and the homes charming from the outside, going inside inevitably led to disappointment. Half the time it was like entering a time warp, one that led back to the 1970s. He hadn’t seen so much beige shag carpet, orange wallpaper, and lime green kitchen sinks since The Brady Bunch went off the air. Sometimes there were strange odors, a few of which made his nose curl-mothballs and kitty litter, perhaps, or soiled diapers and moldy bread-and more often than not, the furniture was enough to make him shake his head. In his entire thirty-seven years of life, he’d never once considered rocking chairs in his living room and couches on the front porch. But hey, he was learning.
There were countless reasons to say no, but even when they found something that struck their fancy and made them want to say yes, it was often just as ridiculous.
“Look,” he exclaimed one day, “this house has a darkroom!”
“But you’re not a photographer,” Lexie responded. “You don’t need a darkroom.”
“Yes, but I might become a photographer one day.”
Or:
“I love the high ceilings,” she said in wonder. “I’ve always dreamed of high ceilings in my bedroom.”
“But the bedroom’s tiny. We’d barely fit a queen-size bed in here.”
“I know. But have you seen how high the ceiling is?”
Eventually they found a place. Or rather, a place that Lexie loved; he, on the other hand, was still unsure. A two-story brick Georgian with an uncovered porch that overlooked Boone Creek, it also had an interior layout that suited her. On the market for nearly two years, the place was a bargain-by New York standards an absolute steal-but it needed quite a bit of renovation. Still, when Lexie insisted that they walk through a third time, even Mrs. Reynolds, the Realtor, knew the hook was baited and a hungry fish was circling. A thin, gray-haired lady, she wore a self-satisfied grin on her mousy face as she assured Jeremy the remodeling would cost “no more than the purchase price.”
“Great,” he said, mentally computing whether his bank account would cover it.
“Don’t worry,” Mrs. Reynolds added. “It’s perfect for a young couple, especially if you’re thinking of starting a family. Houses like this don’t come along every day.”
Actually they do, Jeremy thought. This house could have been purchased by anyone in the past two years.
He was about to make a crack along those lines when he noticed Lexie motioning from the stairs.
“Can I walk through the upstairs one more