Read Online Passionate Bid by Tierney O’Malley - Free Book Online

fireplace.
    In all of Sam”s pictures, she wore a silver necklace with a ring for a pendant. He briefly saw the necklace when Joanie changed Sam”s clothes, but didn”t get a chance to get a better look. His gaze went back to the picture of Saint Claire and Sam sitting on the edge of the low short bridge laughing, the bridge he had seen when he first approached Sam. The two were holding fishing poles. Damn, he couldn”t believe the man was gone. It seemed all men in Joanie”s life were gone.
    First him, then Sam”s papa, and now, even her father was gone.
    Other than Joanie and old Saint Claire, he didn”t see anyone in the picture that could be Sam”s papa. Where is Mr. Wrong?
    Julian was admiring a painting of a little girl walking barefoot on a well-worn path surrounded by tall green grasses when he heard the floorboard creak.
    He looked toward the stairs. Joanie was coming down the steps. She must have tied her hair in a hurry because she missed a few locks that hung from behind her nape and ears. On that area, she hadn”t change. Her hair still looked as wild as ever.
    This time, though, he didn”t see her as an untidy woman, but a very seductive one.
    Yeah, very seductive. Why he noticed? Well, who wouldn”t? Those jeans of hers molded onto her hips and thighs like a second skin, showing her nice curves. And her tight shirt, well, only a blind man wouldn”t see her beautiful body.
    The day they got married, she had worn her hair up with a silk ribbon to hold it, but the darn ribbon kept slipping off her hair. When the wedding was over, he remembered pulling the thin material and tucking it in his pocket. Only a few days ago, when he was getting ready to come here, he found the ribbon and a flower clip she had adorned her hair in his desk drawer. Why he had kept them, he had no clue.
    “Thanks for entertaining Sam. She”s been moody since Dad passed away.”
    “That”s understandable.”
    “Don”t worry about her invitation. Tomorrow she won”t remember that she asked you. She probably won”t even remember you on her birthday.”
    “You think so?”
    “She”s too young to remember things.”
    “Sam told me her papa sailed away.”
    “Yes. In a matter of speaking.”
    “Is he in the Navy, a seaman or a fisherman?”
    “Please sit down. Would you like a cup of coffee or tea or another Coors?”
    The change of subject was quick, but not subtle enough. If she didn”t want to talk about her man, so be it. Her love life wasn”t his concern. “Coffee sounds good.”
    “I”ll be right back.”
    Joanie disappeared into the kitchen in a hurry. He made her nervous, and it seemed she didn”t want to be around him. For an abandoned wife, Joanie was acting cool. Was it because she didn”t care about what happened and in fact, happy he”d left her? If that were the case, then maybe he”d be able to leave this home with her signature. She had a lovely daughter now. She obviously moved on.
    So she should end their marriage.
    A few days after he left her, guilt nagged at him. It had lasted for months until he finally convinced himself that his decision to leave Joanie was the best move for both of them. What he didn”t know was Joanie moved on before him. She even got herself a child.
    When Joanie saw him today, myriad of emotions played on her face. After her initial shock had passed, she looked about ready to cry, and then her eyes turned furious. He supposed it was only natural. He surprised her with his unannounced visit. But she surprised him, too. She”d changed. Without her thick magnifying glasses, he could see the real shape of her eyes. They were still big, but beautiful like the deep green forest. She had full lips like Sam”s and a nose that was perfect for her oval shaped face. She was twenty-one now and a mother. But her body didn”t bear any sign that she”d had a child. Slim, with flat stomach and nice rounded butt. He noticed her shapely legs, too. With her package, he wasn”t