Read Online Promises in the Night: A Classic Romance - Book 2 by Barbara Bretton - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Barbara Bretton
Tags: Romance, Contemporary
Ads: Link
off the ground like a lovesick teenager ruled by raging hormones. He knew all the names for such crazy feelings: infatuation, limerence and that good old standby, lust. He had spent years memorizing those handy terms in order to neatly categorize the different facets of human behavior.
What a surprise it had been to learn that not one of those damned terms came even close to encompassing the wild surge of emotion he had been feeling since Larkin first glided onto the stage at the Sheraton Smithtown less than thirty-six hours ago.
The last time he had felt like this, he had been a boy.
Well, he wasn’t a boy any longer, and life had taught him not to put too much stock in the inevitability of happily ever after. They were going to have a late dinner together Thursday night. That’s all. He wasn’t going to hang a lot of expectations on it, nor was he about to pretend he was dealing with anything more than two adults who were going to share a meal and some conversation.
However, right now, before Tommy decided to try out the pearl trick for himself, it would be damn fine to sit before the fire, Scotch in hand, and think about all the ways he could imagine to make Larkin Walker smile.
----
H idden in the shadows , he watched the familiar bedtime ritual of the woman across the street.
Her slender arm ducked under the orange kitchen curtains as she removed the plants from the windowsill, one by one. Next she closed the drapes in the living room, blotting out her soft amber hair from his sight. Each movement was as unvarying, as choreographed, as a dance.
He took a long drag of his cigarette and moved farther back into the shadows. Seconds later she stepped out the side door, looking for her long-haired cat. She leaned against the side of her red car and folded her arms across her chest, hugging herself against the cold.
He could almost imagine how it would feel to touch her, to be touched by her.
Two houses down, a neighbor pulled out of a circular driveway, and her beautiful face flashed in the glare of headlights—so brief a glimpse as to seem almost subliminal.
He watched her check the lock on the front door, the windows. The routine was so familiar to him; he even saw her perform it in his dreams.
She picked up the cat, and they both disappeared through the side door. He moved forward again and leaned against the streetlight. Five minutes later, her house went dark. For a second or two longer, he stared at the white house with the dark green shutters, then zipped up his rust-colored leather jacket, tossed his cigarette into the street and headed for his car.
One day he would be able to come out of the shadows.
It was only a matter of time.
Chapter 5
L arkin wasn’t in the best of moods Thursday evening by the time she got into her car and headed to Hauppauge, where the studio was located in the center of a bleak industrial complex. Patti was in Palm Springs tracking down a speaker; Vivian was on vacation, and Sharon had called in sick. Larkin was left alone to hold down the fort, and of course everything that could go wrong, had. The day had been a disaster and the night wasn’t looking much better.
She was headachy and hungry. She hadn’t slept well the night before, and her green eyes were deeply shadowed; even her carefully applied makeup hadn’t been able to hide the fatigue.
And as if that weren’t enough, the jade green dress she had chosen for its body-clinging tendencies seemed today to spotlight every ounce of premenstrual puffiness. Cramps, sharp and steady, began as she got off Veterans Memorial Highway, and she wished she were heading home.
But then she thought about the silky sound of Alex’s voice on the telephone, the way he had looked at her as they shared a drink in the Tree House, the touch of sadness in his eyes that drew her to him in a way she couldn’t quite explain. Five minutes ago the thought of spending the evening with a heating pad sounded more appealing than sharing
What a surprise it had been to learn that not one of those damned terms came even close to encompassing the wild surge of emotion he had been feeling since Larkin first glided onto the stage at the Sheraton Smithtown less than thirty-six hours ago.
The last time he had felt like this, he had been a boy.
Well, he wasn’t a boy any longer, and life had taught him not to put too much stock in the inevitability of happily ever after. They were going to have a late dinner together Thursday night. That’s all. He wasn’t going to hang a lot of expectations on it, nor was he about to pretend he was dealing with anything more than two adults who were going to share a meal and some conversation.
However, right now, before Tommy decided to try out the pearl trick for himself, it would be damn fine to sit before the fire, Scotch in hand, and think about all the ways he could imagine to make Larkin Walker smile.
----
H idden in the shadows , he watched the familiar bedtime ritual of the woman across the street.
Her slender arm ducked under the orange kitchen curtains as she removed the plants from the windowsill, one by one. Next she closed the drapes in the living room, blotting out her soft amber hair from his sight. Each movement was as unvarying, as choreographed, as a dance.
He took a long drag of his cigarette and moved farther back into the shadows. Seconds later she stepped out the side door, looking for her long-haired cat. She leaned against the side of her red car and folded her arms across her chest, hugging herself against the cold.
He could almost imagine how it would feel to touch her, to be touched by her.
Two houses down, a neighbor pulled out of a circular driveway, and her beautiful face flashed in the glare of headlights—so brief a glimpse as to seem almost subliminal.
He watched her check the lock on the front door, the windows. The routine was so familiar to him; he even saw her perform it in his dreams.
She picked up the cat, and they both disappeared through the side door. He moved forward again and leaned against the streetlight. Five minutes later, her house went dark. For a second or two longer, he stared at the white house with the dark green shutters, then zipped up his rust-colored leather jacket, tossed his cigarette into the street and headed for his car.
One day he would be able to come out of the shadows.
It was only a matter of time.
Chapter 5
L arkin wasn’t in the best of moods Thursday evening by the time she got into her car and headed to Hauppauge, where the studio was located in the center of a bleak industrial complex. Patti was in Palm Springs tracking down a speaker; Vivian was on vacation, and Sharon had called in sick. Larkin was left alone to hold down the fort, and of course everything that could go wrong, had. The day had been a disaster and the night wasn’t looking much better.
She was headachy and hungry. She hadn’t slept well the night before, and her green eyes were deeply shadowed; even her carefully applied makeup hadn’t been able to hide the fatigue.
And as if that weren’t enough, the jade green dress she had chosen for its body-clinging tendencies seemed today to spotlight every ounce of premenstrual puffiness. Cramps, sharp and steady, began as she got off Veterans Memorial Highway, and she wished she were heading home.
But then she thought about the silky sound of Alex’s voice on the telephone, the way he had looked at her as they shared a drink in the Tree House, the touch of sadness in his eyes that drew her to him in a way she couldn’t quite explain. Five minutes ago the thought of spending the evening with a heating pad sounded more appealing than sharing
Similar Books
