Read Online The Last First Kiss (Harlequin Special Edition) by Marie Ferrarella - Free Book Online Page B

herself. The unexpected jolt of electricity that raced through him had him convinced that this, coming here with her, was a bad idea. Definitely a very bad idea.
    Served him right for listening to her, he upbraided himself.
    As he heard several people enter the room, he saw Kara tense ever so slightly. He didn’t have to turn around to know why, but he did anyway. Just in time to see Kara’s mother crossing to them. Or perhaps it was the refrigerator that was the object of her focus.
    Rather than greet her daughter, the petite woman turned her attention and remarkable blue eyes exclusively on him. The smile on her lips lit up her whole face, and her eyes crinkled as she took his hand and shook it.
    “Dave,” she cried warmly. “It’s so nice to see you again. Your mother’s been telling me all good things about you.”
    He knew how much his mother liked to brag about him. Though he loved her dearly, it made him uncomfortable. Dave shrugged in response. “She likes to exaggerate.”
    “Oh, I doubt that, Dave,” Paulette assured him, still not looking at Kara. “I’ve known your mother a very long time. Exaggeration isn’t in her nature. Why, thank you,” she said as he handed her the can of soda Kara had just given him a moment earlier. Briefly, her eyes shifted toward Kara, then back to him. Popping the top of the can, she picked up a paper cup and filled it halfway before asking, “Who’s your friend?”
    This, Kara knew, was a not-too-veiled comment on the fact that, according to her mother, they didn’t see each other nearly enough. Working overtime at the company meant she had enough time to go to and from work, then crash as she tried to eat a very late dinner. It left no time for visiting.
    “Very funny, Mom.”
    “Mom,” Paulette repeated as if she were tasting the word for flavor and then turning it over in her mind. “I seem to remember knowing someone who used to call me that,” she told Dave. “But for the life of me, I can’t seem to recall who. I just have this vague feeling that I haven’t seen that person in ages.”
    “And you might not,” Kara warned, “if you keep this up. And you—” she turned toward Dave “—stop smirking. It’s only encouraging her, and God knows she doesn’t need any encouragement.”
    Paulette patted Dave’s arm and offered him a very conspiratorial smile. “Her bark has always been worse than her bite, Dave,” she assured him. “Kara might seem rather prickly, but on the inside, she’s really a softie. You just have to be patient. Sometimes it takes longer to surface.”
    He doubted if there was that much patience in the world, but he kept that to himself. Instead, he said dutifully, “Yes, ma’am.”
    Paulette smiled. It was obvious that she was allowing herself a moment to dream. And by her expression, Kara had a sneaking suspicion she knew exactly what her mother was dreaming.
    Not in a million years, Mom. Sorry.
    “I always liked you, Dave,” Paulette told him with feeling. She sifted her eyes toward her daughter. The smile cooled a little. “You, I’m not so sure about.” Picking up both the paper cup and the can of soda, her eyes swept over both of them. “Carry on, you two,” she urged as she left the room. “And I mean that from the bottom of my heart.”
    Kara rolled her eyes, refusing to look in Dave’s direction. There had been train wrecks that were subtler than her mother, she thought in dismay.

Chapter Six
    D espite the carefully mapped-out placement of the balloons and the elaborately decorated patio and family room, which fairly sang of Ryan’s affection for all things Kalico Kid, the party was really a rather informal one. There were a number of adults milling around, either catching up with one another or exchanging the kind of pleasantries that were involved when strangers attempted to become acquaintances. All the voices were raised in varying degrees in order to compete with the joyful din created by approximately