Read Online Kiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Susan Elizabeth Phillips
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personally advised me on a physical fitness program." If only
she'd taken just one of his suggestions.
"I hear you, Daisy. You're bad to the bone. Now move it."
They hardly spoke at all during the first hour of their trip. Since he hadn't given her nearly enough time to get ready, she had to do her makeup in the truck and fix her hair without her blow-dryer, which meant fastening it back from her face with a pair of art nouveau combs that looked pretty but didn't work very well. Instead of appreciating the difficulty of the task and giving her a little cooperation, he ignored her request to slow down while she applied her eyeliner, then had the nerve to complain because a teeny bit of her styling spray happened to get in his face.
He bought her breakfast in an Orangeburg, South Carolina, truck stop that was decorated with copper kettle lights and wall arrangements of shellacked bread loaves. After she'd eaten, she sneaked into the rest room and smoked one of her three remaining cigarettes. When she came out, she noticed two things. An attractive waitress was flirting with him. And he wasn't doing one thing to discourage her.
She watched him cock his head, then smile at something the waitress said. She experienced a pang of jealousy at how much more he seemed to be enjoying the waitress's company than he enjoyed hers, but she was still prepared to ignore what was happening until she remembered the promise she'd made to honor her vows. With a sense of resignation, she straightened her shoulders and made her way to the table where she gave the waitress her brightest smile.
"Thank you so much for keeping my husband company while I was gone."
The waitress, whose smiley-face name tag read kimberly, seemed a bit taken aback by Daisy's friendly attitude. "It was—that's okay."
Daisy lowered her voice to a loud whisper. "Not everyone has been so nice to him since he's gotten out
of prison."
Alex choked on the mouthful of coffee he'd been about to swallow.
Daisy leaned down to thump him on the back while she beamed at Kimberly's shocked face. "I don't care how much evidence the state presented. I've never for one moment believed he murdered that waitress."
This started Alex choking all over again. Kimberly quickly backed away. "I—
excuse me. My next order's up."
"Run along," Daisy said gaily. "And God bless!"
Alex finally had his choking fit under control. He rose from behind the booth, his expression even more ominous than usual. Before he had a chance to say a word, she reached up and pressed a gentle finger over his lips.
"Please don't spoil this moment for me, Alex. It's the first time since our wedding ceremony that I've gotten the best of you, and I want to enjoy every precious second."
He looked like he was going to strangle her. Instead, he tossed several bills onto the table and pulled her from the restaurant.
"You're going to be grouchy about his, aren't you?" Her sandals slid in the gravel as he dragged her toward the truck with its ugly green trailer in tow. "I just knew it. You're the grouchiest man I ever met. It's not becoming, Alex; it really isn't. Whether you want to accept it or not, you're a married man, and you really shouldn't—"
"Get inside before I spank you in public."
There it was again, another of his maddening threats. Did that mean he wouldn't spank her if she did as he said or that he simply planned to spank her in private? She was still mulling over the whole unpleasant concept when he started the truck. Moments later, they were back on the highway.
To her relief, the subject of spanking didn't come up again, although, in a perverse way, she was almost sorry. If he'd physically threatened her, she could have been free of her sacred vows and at peace with her conscience.
The morning was sunny, the warm air coming in through the half-opened window not yet oppressive.
She saw no reason for him to waste a perfectly lovely morning sulking, so she finally broke the silence. "Where are
she'd taken just one of his suggestions.
"I hear you, Daisy. You're bad to the bone. Now move it."
They hardly spoke at all during the first hour of their trip. Since he hadn't given her nearly enough time to get ready, she had to do her makeup in the truck and fix her hair without her blow-dryer, which meant fastening it back from her face with a pair of art nouveau combs that looked pretty but didn't work very well. Instead of appreciating the difficulty of the task and giving her a little cooperation, he ignored her request to slow down while she applied her eyeliner, then had the nerve to complain because a teeny bit of her styling spray happened to get in his face.
He bought her breakfast in an Orangeburg, South Carolina, truck stop that was decorated with copper kettle lights and wall arrangements of shellacked bread loaves. After she'd eaten, she sneaked into the rest room and smoked one of her three remaining cigarettes. When she came out, she noticed two things. An attractive waitress was flirting with him. And he wasn't doing one thing to discourage her.
She watched him cock his head, then smile at something the waitress said. She experienced a pang of jealousy at how much more he seemed to be enjoying the waitress's company than he enjoyed hers, but she was still prepared to ignore what was happening until she remembered the promise she'd made to honor her vows. With a sense of resignation, she straightened her shoulders and made her way to the table where she gave the waitress her brightest smile.
"Thank you so much for keeping my husband company while I was gone."
The waitress, whose smiley-face name tag read kimberly, seemed a bit taken aback by Daisy's friendly attitude. "It was—that's okay."
Daisy lowered her voice to a loud whisper. "Not everyone has been so nice to him since he's gotten out
of prison."
Alex choked on the mouthful of coffee he'd been about to swallow.
Daisy leaned down to thump him on the back while she beamed at Kimberly's shocked face. "I don't care how much evidence the state presented. I've never for one moment believed he murdered that waitress."
This started Alex choking all over again. Kimberly quickly backed away. "I—
excuse me. My next order's up."
"Run along," Daisy said gaily. "And God bless!"
Alex finally had his choking fit under control. He rose from behind the booth, his expression even more ominous than usual. Before he had a chance to say a word, she reached up and pressed a gentle finger over his lips.
"Please don't spoil this moment for me, Alex. It's the first time since our wedding ceremony that I've gotten the best of you, and I want to enjoy every precious second."
He looked like he was going to strangle her. Instead, he tossed several bills onto the table and pulled her from the restaurant.
"You're going to be grouchy about his, aren't you?" Her sandals slid in the gravel as he dragged her toward the truck with its ugly green trailer in tow. "I just knew it. You're the grouchiest man I ever met. It's not becoming, Alex; it really isn't. Whether you want to accept it or not, you're a married man, and you really shouldn't—"
"Get inside before I spank you in public."
There it was again, another of his maddening threats. Did that mean he wouldn't spank her if she did as he said or that he simply planned to spank her in private? She was still mulling over the whole unpleasant concept when he started the truck. Moments later, they were back on the highway.
To her relief, the subject of spanking didn't come up again, although, in a perverse way, she was almost sorry. If he'd physically threatened her, she could have been free of her sacred vows and at peace with her conscience.
The morning was sunny, the warm air coming in through the half-opened window not yet oppressive.
She saw no reason for him to waste a perfectly lovely morning sulking, so she finally broke the silence. "Where are
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