Read Online Long Time Coming by Sandra Brown - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Sandra Brown
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do with him.
Before she fell asleep, however, the permissive side of Marnie Hibbs fantasized about the things she would love to do with him.
Chapter 7
«^ »
W hen she heard from him again, it was for a reason she least expected.
"I beg your pardon?" she said into the telephone receiver.
"Can you go or not?"
"Not."
"Why not?"
"For one thing, it's two o'clock in the afternoon. And you said this dinner is at—"
"Eight. It takes six hours to get ready?"
"I don't have anything to wear to an affair like that, Law. Why are you inviting me anyway? Surely you've got a little black book just bulging with names of congenial female companions."
"I'm calling you because it's your fault I don't have a date."
" My fault?"
"I've been distracted since I met David. I forgot about the damn dinner until somebody here in the office mentioned it a few minutes ago."
"I'm awfully sorry. You can skip it, you can take someone else, or you can go alone, but it's really not my problem that you're stuck without a date."
"It's practically required that I go, and I'll never hear the end of it from the guys around here if I show up without a date."
"Bad for your image?"
"Yes. So is the sudden appearance of a son I didn't know I had," he added in a quieter voice. He was calling her from his office at the space center. "I had the blood test and it matched David's. We need to talk, Marnie. Come with me tonight, please."
Gnawing on her lip, she glanced at the project she was under a deadline to finish by the end of the week. She caught her reflection in the mirror. Everything would require a major overhaul before she could possibly attend a black-tie dinner.
She cited those excuses to Law, then added bleakly, "And I've got to visit my mother this afternoon."
"You're a capable lady. I'll pick you up at eight-fifteen."
"I thought it started at eight?"
"You don't expect me to arrive on time, do you?"
* * *
"What do you think?" Marnie asked worriedly.
"You look sensational!" David exclaimed from behind her. Together they analyzed her image in the mirror on her closet door.
She turned to her right, then her left. "Is the dress too much?"
"Too much? It's almost too little ."
"David," she cried anxiously, "you said before that it wasn't that low cut."
He laughed. "It's not. I was just kidding."
Between the hairdresser, where she got coiffed and manicured, and an uneventful visit to the rest home, she'd gone against her better judgment and stopped at an expensive dress shop. In rapid succession she had dismissed several formal dresses as being inappropriate for one reason or another.
She was beginning to lose heart, when she spotted this one. The bodice was electric-blue satin, strapless, and body-hugging. Beneath it was a short, sassy bubble skirt of black satin.
"Honey, if you don't walk out of here with that, I'm gonna cry," the owner of the shop had told her.
"Do you think it's too … too … fancy for me?"
"It's perfect! Truly."
When the saleswoman was required to ring up a sale for another customer, Marnie discreetly checked the price tag on the dress and almost exclaimed her distress out loud.
Giving herself one last, wistful glance in the three-way mirror, she went back into the dressing room and began unzipping it.
The saleswoman rejoined her. "MasterCard or Visa?"
"Neither, I'm afraid. I can't take it."
"Honey why not? It looks absolutely stunning on you."
"I can't afford it. I can't afford even to charge it," she replied, passing the dress to the woman and slipping her street clothes back on.
The saleswoman plucked a ball-point pen from behind her ear and made a slash through the price, scribbling something else. "There, does that make it more affordable?"
Marnie looked at the adjustment. "That's half price!"
"It just went on sale."
"But I can't let—"
"Listen, honey this merchandise was marked up a hundred percent anyway. Even at this price, I'll still make a profit. Just about everybody's bought their
Before she fell asleep, however, the permissive side of Marnie Hibbs fantasized about the things she would love to do with him.
Chapter 7
«^ »
W hen she heard from him again, it was for a reason she least expected.
"I beg your pardon?" she said into the telephone receiver.
"Can you go or not?"
"Not."
"Why not?"
"For one thing, it's two o'clock in the afternoon. And you said this dinner is at—"
"Eight. It takes six hours to get ready?"
"I don't have anything to wear to an affair like that, Law. Why are you inviting me anyway? Surely you've got a little black book just bulging with names of congenial female companions."
"I'm calling you because it's your fault I don't have a date."
" My fault?"
"I've been distracted since I met David. I forgot about the damn dinner until somebody here in the office mentioned it a few minutes ago."
"I'm awfully sorry. You can skip it, you can take someone else, or you can go alone, but it's really not my problem that you're stuck without a date."
"It's practically required that I go, and I'll never hear the end of it from the guys around here if I show up without a date."
"Bad for your image?"
"Yes. So is the sudden appearance of a son I didn't know I had," he added in a quieter voice. He was calling her from his office at the space center. "I had the blood test and it matched David's. We need to talk, Marnie. Come with me tonight, please."
Gnawing on her lip, she glanced at the project she was under a deadline to finish by the end of the week. She caught her reflection in the mirror. Everything would require a major overhaul before she could possibly attend a black-tie dinner.
She cited those excuses to Law, then added bleakly, "And I've got to visit my mother this afternoon."
"You're a capable lady. I'll pick you up at eight-fifteen."
"I thought it started at eight?"
"You don't expect me to arrive on time, do you?"
* * *
"What do you think?" Marnie asked worriedly.
"You look sensational!" David exclaimed from behind her. Together they analyzed her image in the mirror on her closet door.
She turned to her right, then her left. "Is the dress too much?"
"Too much? It's almost too little ."
"David," she cried anxiously, "you said before that it wasn't that low cut."
He laughed. "It's not. I was just kidding."
Between the hairdresser, where she got coiffed and manicured, and an uneventful visit to the rest home, she'd gone against her better judgment and stopped at an expensive dress shop. In rapid succession she had dismissed several formal dresses as being inappropriate for one reason or another.
She was beginning to lose heart, when she spotted this one. The bodice was electric-blue satin, strapless, and body-hugging. Beneath it was a short, sassy bubble skirt of black satin.
"Honey, if you don't walk out of here with that, I'm gonna cry," the owner of the shop had told her.
"Do you think it's too … too … fancy for me?"
"It's perfect! Truly."
When the saleswoman was required to ring up a sale for another customer, Marnie discreetly checked the price tag on the dress and almost exclaimed her distress out loud.
Giving herself one last, wistful glance in the three-way mirror, she went back into the dressing room and began unzipping it.
The saleswoman rejoined her. "MasterCard or Visa?"
"Neither, I'm afraid. I can't take it."
"Honey why not? It looks absolutely stunning on you."
"I can't afford it. I can't afford even to charge it," she replied, passing the dress to the woman and slipping her street clothes back on.
The saleswoman plucked a ball-point pen from behind her ear and made a slash through the price, scribbling something else. "There, does that make it more affordable?"
Marnie looked at the adjustment. "That's half price!"
"It just went on sale."
"But I can't let—"
"Listen, honey this merchandise was marked up a hundred percent anyway. Even at this price, I'll still make a profit. Just about everybody's bought their
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