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

darkened to a flirty velvet-blue. “After all, she was talking about you.”
    “And talking and talking. You shouldn’t have encouraged her.”
    His grin was disarming. “You noticed that, huh?”
    “Oh, I’ve been awake off and on all evening. Actually, Max, you got exactly what you deserved.”
    “I usually do, Sylvie Anne. You might want to remember that.”
    “I’ll make a note in my diary just as soon as you break into the house and open the door.” Sylvie tucked her hair behind her ear and glanced at the window. Juliette was outside on the sidewalk, chattering away, her hands moving up and down as she told Melissa whatever it was she had forgotten to tell that afternoon. With a sigh Sylvie looked back to Max.
    “I still can’t believe I forgot to get the key. It’s usually the first thing I ask for whenever I’m staying with her. It doesn’t matter which lock the key fits –  house, car, file cabinet, or jewelry box. If it can be locked, Juliette can lose the key.”
    “I haven’t noticed that she has too much of a problem with that sort of thing. As far as I know, you’re the first person who’s been locked out.” He smiled. “Twice in one day, Sylvie. Maybe she’s trying to tell you something.”
    Sylvie straightened her shoulders. “Maybe you just don’t know everything that happens next door.”
    “This morning you seemed to think I knew quite a bit about it. Are you having a little trouble deciding on which side of the property line I belong?” He lifted his coffee cup and sipped, watching her all the while.
    “I haven’t given it much thought, but I do hope you’ll stay on our side long enough to get the house unlocked.”
    “Our?”
    With a shrug Sylvie took her napkin from her lap and placed it on the table. “I’m accustomed to using the plural possessive with Juliette. A habit left from when I lived at home, I suppose.”
    “Probably something similar to Juliette’s habit of depending on you to remember the key.”
    Sylvie regarded him pensively. “I hardly think that could be called a habit. Juliette was excited about going out to dinner with you tonight and she simply forgot, that’s all.”
    “And is that the reason you forgot the key, Sylvie Anne? Were you excited about being with me?”
    “You should never ask a question like that, Max, unless you’re prepared to hear an honest answer.”
    “I’m ready. Let’s hear it.”
    “And spoil the mood of this entire evening with a bit of truth? No, I wouldn’t want to do that.”
    “It’s all right.” He pushed back his chair and prepared to rise. “I know what you would have said.” Standing, he came around the table to pull back her chair. “And I know it would have been a bit of the truth and a bit of a lie too. But I’d still like to know…” He smiled down at her. “…if you spiked the punch.”
    She tucked her purse under her arm, picked up the embroidered clutch Juliette had left behind, and stood, facing Max. “The reports of my heroism are greatly exaggerated. I told you this afternoon you shouldn’t believe everything Juliette says.”
    “I hope that holds true for you too.” With a touch of his hand to her back he kept Sylvie beside him as he walked toward the counter and the waiting cashier. “The reports of my relationship with your sister have been exaggerated somewhat as well.”
    Sylvie wasn’t in the mood for that kind of honesty. It wasn’t any of her business, for one thing, and for another, it gave her a definite feeling of disloyalty. “I wouldn’t worry too much about that, Max. Juliette falls in and out of love the way most people catch a cold. With the kind of attention you paid her during dinner, I’m sure she’s already beginning to sniffle.”
    His lips curved just a little as he stopped to pay the check. Then, slipping his billfold into his hip pocket, he turned to face her. “I think you missed the point, Sylvie Anne. I was only listening to Juliette tonight. I was