Read Online Seducing His Heart by Jean C. Joachim - Free Book Online Page B

Don’t count on
it.”
    “ A mysterious woman? A
challenge.” He took her hand and headed for the
elevator.
    Crash flagged down a taxi,
and they rode through Central Park to Limoges. The Maître d’ showed
them to a table for two off by itself, tucked into a windowed
space, overlooking the park. The table, covered in a soft, pink
cloth, was lit by a solo candle. Pretty
romantic for “friends.”
    “ Jean Louis, the chef, is
always trying to worm recipes and secrets out of me. But I love his
cooking. He’s great.”
    “ I’ve been here before.
The food is excellent.” Whit signaled for the waiter and ordered a
bottle of wine. When their glasses were full, he raised his for a
toast. “To a happier winter for Bess,” he said.
    She smiled and sipped. “The wine is
excellent.” She picked up a piece of French bread and buttered it.
Before taking a bite, she looked at Whit. “Can we continue where we
left off when Crash interrupted us?”
    “ Do I have to take my
clothes off?” His eyes sparkled.
    “ If you want to,” she
said. “But you might get arrested.”
    “ Okay. Shoot.”
    “ You said you like me, too
much. You were going to tell me why you don’t want to get
married.”
    “ Was I?” He cocked an
eyebrow. “I don’t remember that.”
    “ Come on, Whit. You think
I need a friend? Well, I think you need one, too. So, open up. Tell
me.”
    The waiter brought menus, and they both
ordered Coquilles Saint Jacques.
    Whit sat back and took a big sip of his
wine. “Where to begin…”
    “ At the beginning.” She
sat back, and her gaze connected with his. “I’m a good
listener.”
    “ Here goes. Shortly after
I was born, my mother left the family. She deserted me, my dad, and
my three brothers.”
    “ How awful.”
    Whit raised his hand. “My oldest brother,
Jeff, said it was chaos. Dad was a journalist and traveled
extensively. We were foisted off on relatives and babysitters when
he had to be out of town…which was most of the time.”
    “ Who raised
you?”
    “ A variety of people, but
mostly Jeff. He was eleven at the time.”
    Bess slid her hand over his and
squeezed.
    “ Robbie, closest to me in
age, was five when our mom took off. He was devastated and blamed
me for her desertion. He was convinced that, if I hadn’t been born,
our mom would have stayed. He hated me from then on, beating me up
any chance he got.”
    “ He’s over that now,
right?” She wrapped her fingers around his palm.
    “ We haven’t spoken in…five
years…maybe more?”
    “ Oh, God. Whit. That’s
terrible.”
    His stare locked on the candle, avoiding
hers. “I tried everything to win Robbie over. I finally gave
up.”
    “ His loss,” she
mumbled.
    His lips twisted into a rueful grin.
“Thanks.”
    The waiter arrived with their food. The dish
was perfect. But telling his tale seemed to rob Whit of his
appetite, as he only toyed with the seafood on his plate.
    “ I’m so sorry. I had no
idea this story was so…so…sad.”
    “ Not your fault. Am I
sorry things are the way they are with Robbie? You’ve no idea.” He
took a forkful of scallop.
    “ I’d think this would make
you want to have a family more than most.”
    “ After years of pressing
my nose against the glass, watching other families celebrate
holidays and birthdays, being happy, I finally realized that wasn’t
going to happen for me.”
    There was a moment of silence as they
ate.
    “ So, you gave
up?”
    “ It’s reality. I turned my
energies elsewhere. I excelled at school. Got a full scholarship to
Kensington State.”
    “ That’s impressive. But it
doesn’t mean you can’t have what you’ve missed.”
    “ I’ll be damned if I’m
going to let a woman walk out on me…destroying my life and leaving
me with a house full of broken kids who can’t be fixed.” He spoke
with emotional heat.
    She kept quiet and ate. The waiter returned
to ask about the meal. Whit nodded and continued to eat slowly.
    “ Do you keep in touch