Read Online Touched by Lightning [Dreams of You] (Romantic Suspense) by Tina Wainscott - Free Book Online Page B

it all.”
    Even a man like that had pride. It surprised him. And once, he’d had it all.
    Adrian shivered, realizing that’s where he was now. Could something happen, something devastating that could ruin his career in one moment of poor judgment? He thought of Stan’s urgency in returning to New York City to talk to Calvin Klein. Nah, they could wait. Still, Adrian stood, feeling uncomfortable. He slipped his hands into his pockets and started walking away. Then, he turned around, pulled out the lighter, and tossed it to the man.
     
     
    “And that horrible car was right there behind my van in the alley.”
    Maudine leaned over the Formica table, absorbed in Nikki’s story about Crackers’s accident. She fingered the chopped strands of her bright red hair. “Are you sure it was the same car?”
    “No, that’s why I didn’t take a rock to the windshield. I couldn’t wait around for the driver, either.”
    Maudine’s gray eyes widened. “Why not? I’d have spied on the car,” she whispered conspiratorially. “You want me to spy on it?”
    Nikki waved her hand. “Nah, it’s gone now.”
    “And what about that guy, Arian?”
    “Adrian,” Nikki corrected.
    Sometimes, though Maudine was in her mid-thirties by her own best guess, she acted like a young girl. The young girl she had never been able to enjoy being, because her stepfather molested her. Then her mother had kicked her out of the house when Maudine finally gathered the courage to tell her. It had been one hell after another, ending with the state taking her children after her husband deserted her for a young waitress. Now she lived at the Lord’s Shelter, where Nikki had found her this afternoon.
    “So, what happened with him?”
    “Nothing. He’s probably gone by now.” Nikki glanced around the Seashell Diner. There was no one quite that handsome anywhere in sight.
    Maudine smiled, looking up at her through her red eye lashes. “You like him, don’t you?”
    “Maudine!” Nikki lowered her voice when she realized how loud it was. “I don’t like him. I mean, he was nice, but that’s all. Besides, I can’t trust anyone.”
    That’s all Maudine knew about Nikki: that she was hiding from something or someone, and that she lived in her van. Sometimes Nikki even let Maudine drive it around when the cops harassed her. Because of Maudine’s appearance, they seemed to think she was a hooker. Nikki hoped not.
    “Is he cute?”
    Nikki rolled her eyes, not wanting to talk about the mysterious stranger anymore. “No, he’s not cute.” At Maudine’s surprised expression, she added, “He’s handsome. He has these gorgeous brown eyes that pull you in when he looks at you.” She thought of how gently he’d handled Crackers, how he carried him ten blocks to the animal clinic. “And he’s noble.”
    “What’s noble?” Maudine asked, still smiling dreamily at Adrian’s description.
    Nikki frowned, saddened that Maudine knew nothing about nobility and chivalry. “It’s being good and tender.”
    “Oh. Did you kiss him?”
    Nikki threw a wadded napkin at her. “Stop it.”
    Maudine broke out into a fit of giggles, nearly knocking over her root beer float. When she finally settled down, her face sobered. “You’re too pretty to be down here, Nikki.”
    Nikki leaned forward. “So are you.”
    Maudine blushed furiously, highlighting every red freckle on her face. “Get out of here.”
    “I’m serious.” Nikki had already vowed to bring Maudine with her when she left this horrible place that had become her home. With an emotional overhaul, Maudine might be all right.
    Maudine hunched over, digging in her dirty parachute bag that used to be white. Then she proudly brought out three bottle caps: Arizona tea, Coca Cola, and a white, flat one. She picked up the Arizona one.
    “This was raspberry flavored. Very good. A boy left half of it at the mall yesterday. It was still cold when I took it out of the garbage. Kids leave the best food.