Read Online Riding for Love (A Western Romance) by Tina Susedik - Free Book Online
Authors: Tina Susedik
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table.
Denton placed his hand on the small of her back as they followed the hostess. Heat from his fingers seared through her sweater, up her arm, and settled around her skipping heart. She was over him, damn it, so his simple touch shouldn’t be attacking her body like fire ants on new prey.
His choice of restaurant pleased her—far enough from town to be free of nosy neighbors. Unfortunately, they passed two couples she recognized. So much for privacy. Would it be too much to hope they hadn’t seen her and Denton? Could they possibly keep their noses out of her business? Her heart fell as they raised their eyebrows and whispered to each other.
Ignoring their stares, Eve sat down in the chair Denton pulled out for her. She placed a dark green napkin on her lap and hid behind her menu, trying not to peek at him over the top.
He looked absolutely wonderful. A pair of dark dress pants showcased his slim hips, while a light blue sweater set off the color of his intriguing blue eyes. Depending on what he wore or his mood, they could be brownish green, gray, or light blue. She remembered a story his mother once told her.
When Rose first realized Denton’s eyes changed color, she’d purposely dressed him in different colored clothes to confuse her mother-in-law. She also changed his clothes several times a day to get “the old bat’s goat.” Rose finally had to fess up when her mother-in-law demanded to see an eye doctor.
“What’s wrong?” Denton interrupted Eve’s thoughts.
She certainly couldn’t admit to thoughts about his unique eyes, so decided to get to the point. She placed her menu on the table. “Why did you ask me here, Dent?”
“To explain things and catch up on our lives,” he answered.
Her self-confidence slipped a notch. “I suppose after bumping into me, you figured life was pretty much the same as ten years ago. Right?” He didn’t say anything, so she continued. “Answer me honestly. Do I look like ‘poor old Evie’ to you?”
Denton set his glass down so hard, beer sloshed over the edge. “I never, ever, thought of you as ‘poor old Evie.’”
Eve raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really?”
“Yes. I thought of you as pretty Eve, the girl I fell in love with. One who had the misfortune to be in a family with problems, but who survived despite them. Your family never changed those feelings.”
Controlling the tears swimming in her eyes was not easy. “You say you loved me. If that was true, why dump me? Why did I have to learn through the town’s nasty grapevine you married Marie?”
Dent ran his hand through his thick, dark hair, reached across the table and took Eve’s hand in a grip she couldn’t pull from. He ran his thumb across her palm.
“Despite what you might think, I never, ever, lost my feelings for you.” He released her hand. “I never meant to hurt you. Do you remember how Marie chased me in high school, even after we started dating?”
Eve gave a cheerless laugh. “Of course I remember. How could I forget? She was forever telling me I didn’t belong with you or your kind, that I reached above my station and belonged in our pigsty.”
He sat back in his chair. “Oh, come on, she wasn’t that bad, was she?”
The waitress appeared to take their orders stopping Eve from letting Denton know Marie had said those things and worse. The longer Eve and Denton dated, the more unpleasant Marie’s taunts became until she finally suggested Eve lay down, pull up her skirts, and spread her legs so Dent could go at her. After all, that’s all any boy would want her for—a quick and easy lay. Poor girls were for quickies, and girls like Marie were for men to fall in love with and marry.
Only Eve’s lack of self-esteem kept her from asking Marie if that were the case, why was Dent with her and not with Marie?
Eve watched the waitress return to the kitchen. Denton played with his beer glass, twirling the contents around and around, making the amber liquid swirl from
Denton placed his hand on the small of her back as they followed the hostess. Heat from his fingers seared through her sweater, up her arm, and settled around her skipping heart. She was over him, damn it, so his simple touch shouldn’t be attacking her body like fire ants on new prey.
His choice of restaurant pleased her—far enough from town to be free of nosy neighbors. Unfortunately, they passed two couples she recognized. So much for privacy. Would it be too much to hope they hadn’t seen her and Denton? Could they possibly keep their noses out of her business? Her heart fell as they raised their eyebrows and whispered to each other.
Ignoring their stares, Eve sat down in the chair Denton pulled out for her. She placed a dark green napkin on her lap and hid behind her menu, trying not to peek at him over the top.
He looked absolutely wonderful. A pair of dark dress pants showcased his slim hips, while a light blue sweater set off the color of his intriguing blue eyes. Depending on what he wore or his mood, they could be brownish green, gray, or light blue. She remembered a story his mother once told her.
When Rose first realized Denton’s eyes changed color, she’d purposely dressed him in different colored clothes to confuse her mother-in-law. She also changed his clothes several times a day to get “the old bat’s goat.” Rose finally had to fess up when her mother-in-law demanded to see an eye doctor.
“What’s wrong?” Denton interrupted Eve’s thoughts.
She certainly couldn’t admit to thoughts about his unique eyes, so decided to get to the point. She placed her menu on the table. “Why did you ask me here, Dent?”
“To explain things and catch up on our lives,” he answered.
Her self-confidence slipped a notch. “I suppose after bumping into me, you figured life was pretty much the same as ten years ago. Right?” He didn’t say anything, so she continued. “Answer me honestly. Do I look like ‘poor old Evie’ to you?”
Denton set his glass down so hard, beer sloshed over the edge. “I never, ever, thought of you as ‘poor old Evie.’”
Eve raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really?”
“Yes. I thought of you as pretty Eve, the girl I fell in love with. One who had the misfortune to be in a family with problems, but who survived despite them. Your family never changed those feelings.”
Controlling the tears swimming in her eyes was not easy. “You say you loved me. If that was true, why dump me? Why did I have to learn through the town’s nasty grapevine you married Marie?”
Dent ran his hand through his thick, dark hair, reached across the table and took Eve’s hand in a grip she couldn’t pull from. He ran his thumb across her palm.
“Despite what you might think, I never, ever, lost my feelings for you.” He released her hand. “I never meant to hurt you. Do you remember how Marie chased me in high school, even after we started dating?”
Eve gave a cheerless laugh. “Of course I remember. How could I forget? She was forever telling me I didn’t belong with you or your kind, that I reached above my station and belonged in our pigsty.”
He sat back in his chair. “Oh, come on, she wasn’t that bad, was she?”
The waitress appeared to take their orders stopping Eve from letting Denton know Marie had said those things and worse. The longer Eve and Denton dated, the more unpleasant Marie’s taunts became until she finally suggested Eve lay down, pull up her skirts, and spread her legs so Dent could go at her. After all, that’s all any boy would want her for—a quick and easy lay. Poor girls were for quickies, and girls like Marie were for men to fall in love with and marry.
Only Eve’s lack of self-esteem kept her from asking Marie if that were the case, why was Dent with her and not with Marie?
Eve watched the waitress return to the kitchen. Denton played with his beer glass, twirling the contents around and around, making the amber liquid swirl from
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