Read Online One Night With You by Candace Schuler - Free Book Online
Authors: Candace Schuler
Tags: Romance, Contemporary
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time she turned on the TV or picked up a magazine, or looked into the innocent eyes of her daughter.
Chapter 4
"No, Eldin. No, no, no," Desi was almost frantic. "I can't. Don't ask me why. I just can't. I won't."
Eldin sat back in the upholstered pink arm chair, one ankle crossed over the opposite knee, and let her rage. He was in no hurry to find out her reasons. Eldin was never in a hurry. Besides, Desi in a rage was a truly lovely sight.
Her coppery red hair swirled wildly around her shoulders and back with each angry step. Her blue eyes were dark and stormy. Her pale redhead's complexion was becomingly flushed. A true titian beauty, he thought, with all of the fine bones and delicate lines of a Degas ballerina.
If only she wouldn't dress herself in those absurdly boyish clothes. Baggy khaki walking shorts rolled at the cuffs and one of those knit shirts with the alligator on the chest. A hand-me-down from one of that horde of brothers she had, he speculated idly. It had been bright blue once and was too big for her, tucked in at the waist and secured with a webbed Army belt wrapped twice around her slender middle.
She looked remarkably like a child at summer camp, he thought, except, perhaps, for the firm unconfined breasts pushing at the front of her shirt and the long slender length of her legs left bare by the baggy shorts. Legs that ended in fine-boned ankles and narrow feet. No fool she, he thought, noticing the bright-pink polish on her bare toes, she knows how attractive her pretty feet are.
All in all, he decided with purely professional appreciation, pregnancy had left her looking even better than before. Her breasts were a bit fuller, her hips a bit rounder without otherwise visibly marking her slender figure. Remarkable really, when you considered that just a few months ago she had been as big as the proverbial house and about as graceful as a waddling duck.
Eldin glanced over at the baby on the floor, wondering again who the father was. They had certainly managed to produce a beautiful child, whoever the man. As a general rule, Eldin was not fond of babies, and he was not actually fond of this one, but he could admire beauty wherever he found it. And Stephanie was a lovely baby.
Still tiny, she lay on a pastel quilt in a warm patch of sunlight on the floor, her red fuzz a vivid halo around her little head, dimpled hands and feet kicking vigorously into the air. Her mother's child totally, except for the eyes. They were wide and round and dark brown, startlingly effective with her hair if it stayed that lovely color. Impossibly tiny denim shorts and a scarlet T-shirt covered her busily squirming body. Obviously Desi was already dressing the child in the same style as herself.
How a woman who looked so delicate and feminine, and who chose to live amid satin-covered chairs and lace curtains in a Victorian house, could dress so carelessly was beyond him. A soft silk shirtwaist dress, pale pink and accessorized with a strand of pearls to set off her hair and skin, perhaps, or...
"Eldin, have you heard a word I've said?"
He looked up to find Desi practically standing over his chair. Her bare feet were planted firmly on the faded Oriental carpet, her hands squarely on her hips and fire in her eyes.
"Yes, of course, luv," he said blandly. "You won't do it, you said, didn't you?"
"Yes. I mean no. I can't."
"So you see, I was listening." His glance flittered back over to the baby, who seemed to be becoming agitated, as if she sensed her mother's distress. "She looks remarkably like—"
"She looks like me," Desi snapped.
"No need to bite my head off, luv. I was only going to say how much a cherub she looks. Isn't that what every mother wants to hear?"
"You were sitting there trying to figure out who her father is," she accused him, "just like everyone else."
Eldin shrugged. "It's a perfectly understandable thing to be curious about, wouldn't you say?" he countered reasonably, refusing, as always,
Chapter 4
"No, Eldin. No, no, no," Desi was almost frantic. "I can't. Don't ask me why. I just can't. I won't."
Eldin sat back in the upholstered pink arm chair, one ankle crossed over the opposite knee, and let her rage. He was in no hurry to find out her reasons. Eldin was never in a hurry. Besides, Desi in a rage was a truly lovely sight.
Her coppery red hair swirled wildly around her shoulders and back with each angry step. Her blue eyes were dark and stormy. Her pale redhead's complexion was becomingly flushed. A true titian beauty, he thought, with all of the fine bones and delicate lines of a Degas ballerina.
If only she wouldn't dress herself in those absurdly boyish clothes. Baggy khaki walking shorts rolled at the cuffs and one of those knit shirts with the alligator on the chest. A hand-me-down from one of that horde of brothers she had, he speculated idly. It had been bright blue once and was too big for her, tucked in at the waist and secured with a webbed Army belt wrapped twice around her slender middle.
She looked remarkably like a child at summer camp, he thought, except, perhaps, for the firm unconfined breasts pushing at the front of her shirt and the long slender length of her legs left bare by the baggy shorts. Legs that ended in fine-boned ankles and narrow feet. No fool she, he thought, noticing the bright-pink polish on her bare toes, she knows how attractive her pretty feet are.
All in all, he decided with purely professional appreciation, pregnancy had left her looking even better than before. Her breasts were a bit fuller, her hips a bit rounder without otherwise visibly marking her slender figure. Remarkable really, when you considered that just a few months ago she had been as big as the proverbial house and about as graceful as a waddling duck.
Eldin glanced over at the baby on the floor, wondering again who the father was. They had certainly managed to produce a beautiful child, whoever the man. As a general rule, Eldin was not fond of babies, and he was not actually fond of this one, but he could admire beauty wherever he found it. And Stephanie was a lovely baby.
Still tiny, she lay on a pastel quilt in a warm patch of sunlight on the floor, her red fuzz a vivid halo around her little head, dimpled hands and feet kicking vigorously into the air. Her mother's child totally, except for the eyes. They were wide and round and dark brown, startlingly effective with her hair if it stayed that lovely color. Impossibly tiny denim shorts and a scarlet T-shirt covered her busily squirming body. Obviously Desi was already dressing the child in the same style as herself.
How a woman who looked so delicate and feminine, and who chose to live amid satin-covered chairs and lace curtains in a Victorian house, could dress so carelessly was beyond him. A soft silk shirtwaist dress, pale pink and accessorized with a strand of pearls to set off her hair and skin, perhaps, or...
"Eldin, have you heard a word I've said?"
He looked up to find Desi practically standing over his chair. Her bare feet were planted firmly on the faded Oriental carpet, her hands squarely on her hips and fire in her eyes.
"Yes, of course, luv," he said blandly. "You won't do it, you said, didn't you?"
"Yes. I mean no. I can't."
"So you see, I was listening." His glance flittered back over to the baby, who seemed to be becoming agitated, as if she sensed her mother's distress. "She looks remarkably like—"
"She looks like me," Desi snapped.
"No need to bite my head off, luv. I was only going to say how much a cherub she looks. Isn't that what every mother wants to hear?"
"You were sitting there trying to figure out who her father is," she accused him, "just like everyone else."
Eldin shrugged. "It's a perfectly understandable thing to be curious about, wouldn't you say?" he countered reasonably, refusing, as always,
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