Read Online One Summer by JoAnn Ross - Free Book Online Page A

Adèle agreed.
    “The buzz sounded like a hive of hornets. Not that I was hearing all that well, anyway. You know how when you hold a shell up to your ear, you can hear the ocean?”
    “Of course.”
    “That’s pretty much the sound roaring inside my head. Anyway, I went to the front of the church, explained in what my mother later assured me was a calm and collected tone that the ceremony was off, but since the banquet room, food, and drink had already been paid for, I hoped people would stay and enjoy the party.”
    “Everyone enjoys a party. Did you attend?”
    “No.” This time Adèle thought she caught just a hint of a shadow in those pretty forest green eyes. “Though I did snag the four-hundred-dollar bottle of bubbly my fiancé insisted on getting for the wedding toast.”
    “Gracious, that’s a great deal of money for a bottle of wine. Even champagne.”
    “That’s what I said at the time when Ethan—that was his name—insisted on it. Especially since although my taste buds know pastry, I’m no expert on wine. But at least I didn’t have to share it with him.” Her sunshinebright smile burned the shadow from her eyes. “I woke up with the mother of all hangovers, but figure it was a small price to pay for escaping a miserable marriage.”
    “Absolutely.”
    For not the first time Adèle thought how fortunate she was to have met her Bernard while home on summer vacation from convent school. Suddenly the idea of becoming a nun had definitely paled in comparison with marrying the handsome young fisherman and having his babies. He was, decades later, not only the love of her life but her best friend.
    And speaking of her husband …
    Her memory might be failing her, but the one thing the accident hadn’t been able to change was her absolute awareness of her husband. She looked up and there he was, walking toward her with that ambling, wide-legged gait of a man who’d spent most of his life on fishing boats, backlit by a shimmering rainbow that was arcing over the harbor.
    He might be in his seventies, but his shoulders were still wide, stretching the seams of his denim work shirt. His arms were well muscled from years of hauling in crab pots, his stride long and strong.
    She might be in her seventies, but that didn’t stop her heart from doing its familiar tumble at the sight of him. Then she suffered a pang when she viewed the naked concern in his gaze.
    “I’m fine,” she assured him before he could start in on how she’d promised never to leave the house alone since that damn fall.
    Sometimes she felt more like a child than a wife. Especially since they’d moved in with their son and daughter-in-law, and while family was special, there were times when Adèle missed the privacy they’d once shared.
    Not that they’d had all that much reason for privacy, given that he’d been treating her like a piece of the delicate crystal they’d never been able to afford. Which had been fine with her, since to her mind knickknacks were just more things that required dusting.
    She stood up as he reached the table and was immediately enveloped in a bear hug. She couldn’t tell which of them was trembling. Probably both.
    He put her a little away from him. The trouble in his eyes eased. “So,” he said, as if she hadn’t probably scared him half to death, “how are the cupcakes?”
    “Same as always,” Adèle said. “Mouthwateringly wonderful. Would you like one?”
    “I wouldn’t turn down a red velvet,” he said, with that touch of sexy Cajun patois he hadn’t left behind in Louisiana. “Maybe I should pick up a box of assorted for the kids while I’m here.”
    “I’ll get them,” Charity said, practically jumping up from the table. Adèle couldn’t decide whether the vet was that eager to help or just wanted to escape and give them a private moment.
    “That’d be real nice of you.” He reached into his pocket. Charity hesitated as he held out the bill; then watching her carefully,