Read Online That Special Smile/Whittenburg by Karen Toller Whittenburg - Free Book Online Page A

always amazed Max and invariably left him a little breathless. It wasn’t her wide variation of inflections or even her pleasant soprano. It was the sheer unbroken rhythm she maintained that fascinated him. He always felt as if he should take a deep breath whenever Julie opened her mouth.
    Of course, most of her monologue this evening had been at his instigation. Every time she paused or turned an inquisitive look to her sister, he posed another question, urging her to continue. It wasn’t the gentlemanly thing to do, he knew, but he was interested and he wanted to see just how long Sylvie Anne could sustain her composed, polite expression.
    Indefinitely, it seemed, although he thought she was beginning to show signs of stress.
    Her finger was drawing a steady, repetitive pattern on the sweaty side of her glass and Max felt sure that at any moment she would adjust the fit of the wire-rimmed glasses she wore. He had noticed the change of spectacles the moment he’d seen her that evening. She had traded her earlier outfit for a sleek and classy blue dress that did nice things for her body.  The hemline showed her long legs to advantage and the strappy sandals she wore now had a high heel and added a bright splash of color and style.
    But it was the trendy frames of her glasses –
    a different pair than she’d worn before – that added the extra flare, a cool hint of mystery.
    Sylvie Anne had dressed for him, whether she realized it or not.
    Her entire ensemble had been chosen to give the impression of inaccessibility, and Max could only assume she’d meant the message for him.
    But he was beginning to get other messages from Sylvie, little signals that he chose to interpret as reciprocal interest.
    She’d go down in flames before admitting it, but he knew she was aware of it too. The very fact that she treated the whole thing as a joke appealed to his sense of humor. But despite her attempts to deny it, he knew there was a very real, very serious attraction operating below the surface...for both of them.
    Max shifted position and caught Sylvie’s glance. His eyes held hers in a brief but scintillating encounter. As she turned her head, her fingers moved to touch the frame of her glasses and Max felt a slow smile begin. He knew he was enjoying the early rituals of this flirtation far more than was prudent, but she was so delightfully indifferent, so careful to maintain that cut-above-the-rest composure. He couldn’t resist the challenge.
    It was a flaw in his character, he supposed, but he was going to see just how deep Sylvie’s resistance ran.
    “...and in the end, everything worked out just the way Sylvie said it would, but there were a few anxious….” Juliette straightened and her eyes widened as she looked through the window. “Oh, there’s John and Melissa. See? Outside. On the sidewalk.” She lifted her hand to wave. “You remember meeting them this afternoon, don’t you, Sylvie? They have the bakery with the heavenly cookies.”
    Sylvie remembered, but had no time to comment before Juliette was pushing back her chair. Max got only halfway out of his own chair before Juliette was pushing him back down with a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t get up, Max,” she said. “I just want to tell Melissa something I forgot. You and Sylvie stay put and I’ll be right back.”
    Juliette left the table and Sylvie decided the ensuing silence was the high point of the evening. Even Max, as he settled back into a lazy posture, seemed to be absorbing the sudden quiet as if it were an after-dinner mint.
    “Is it true?”
    “That she’ll be back?” Sylvie nodded wearily. “I’m afraid so.”
    His husky chuckle had a pleasant resonance, a soothing richness. “I meant is it true that you spiked the punch at the sophomore prom and then had to resuscitate Juliette’s short basketball player?”
    “Oh, Max, you didn’t really listen to all that, did you?”
    “Of course I listened.” He paused, and his eyes