Read Online Operation Valentine by Loretta Hill - Free Book Online Page A

good and you can try them on?’ Sarah suggested. ‘I find, especially with bras, they look completely different on to what you’d expect from the rack.’
    â€˜Oh, okay.’
    Chloe’s self-consciousness seemed to diminish as they roamed the aisles, picking off a few styles that caught their eye. Too soon for Sarah’s liking, the questions were coming thick and fast.
    â€˜So how old are you?’
    â€˜Where do you live?’
    â€˜What’s your job?’
    â€˜Do you have a boyfriend?’
    â€˜Do you think my dad is hot?’
    Sarah tried to answer all her questions as best she could but when Chloe came to this last one she floundered. Somehow saying, ‘Your dad burns my clothes off whenever he looks at me,’ didn’t seem suitable for an impressionable teen. Even if it was the truth.
    Luckily by this time Chloe had entered the change room and there was a curtain between them, so the teenager couldn’t see her expression.
    â€˜It’s okay, you don’t have to answer that,’ Chloe said cheerfully as Sarah searched for a diplomatic response that didn’t incriminate her. ‘I know my dad’s not exactly the coolest guy on the planet, but he’s pretty nice. I mean, for an older guy. He’s not a total dork most of the time and he has good morals and stuff like that. He’s really strict with me so I know he’d be the protective sort, which is good, right?’
    â€˜Er, yeah.’
    â€˜I mean, I know he doesn’t talk much. But that’s just because he’s shy.’
    Â Â Â Sarah spluttered. ‘ He’s what ?’
    Â Â Â â€˜Shy,’ came Chloe’s muffled response. It sounded like she was putting her t-shirt back on. ‘Especially with women. Like, he’s never had a girlfriend before, at least not since my mum.’
    Â Â Â Sarah’s mouth twisted. ‘Are you sure about that?’
    Â Â Â â€˜Definitely.’ There was a sigh behind the curtain like a lot was being left unsaid. ‘I feel sorry for him,’ Chloe said at last. ‘I think he’s lonely.’
    Â Â Â â€˜He has you.’ Sarah wasn’t sure what else to say without messing with the persona Owen had created for his daughter.
    Â Â Â The curtain pushed back. ‘I think I’ll get these two.’ She held up a couple of simple t-shirt bras.
    â€˜Excellent choice.’
    They gave the bras they weren’t buying to the lady in the change rooms and proceeded to the checkout.
    Â Â Â â€˜So if you know anyone who is looking to meet someone,’ Chloe suggested on the way, ‘please introduce him. I know he’d love that.’
    Â Â Â â€˜I’m sure he would,’ she responded, hoping the girl couldn’t hear the ironic tone in her voice.

    Owen watched them both from his vantage point on a bench between two leafy pot plants. They were chatting to each other and the girl at the checkout.
    Sarah, he noticed, smiled easily. It was an enthralling, all-encompassing expression that lit up her whole face. He had never seen anyone draw out his daughter so effortlessly. Sarah had a warmth that was incredibly contagious. As they exited the department store, his eyes were drawn involuntarily to her slender figure.
    There was really only one word to describe Sarah and that was ‘beautiful’.
    The word ‘sexy’ seemed too crass.
    The word ‘elegant’ too formal.
    Yet she was both these things as well.
    Did he want her?
    Yes.
    But seeing her with his daughter put a whole different slant on that. He wanted her for both of them. The realisation made him clench his teeth. This was exactly why he didn’t make friends with women.
    There was no more time to ponder this, because suddenly they had both reached his side.
    â€˜What are you doing here, Dad?’ Chloe asked. ‘I thought we were going to call you.’
    â€˜I got