Read Online Twelve Across by Barbara Delinsky - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Barbara Delinsky
Tags: Romance, Contemporary
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held up a hand. " Granted, it's more difficult up here, but that didn't stop her. She s convinced that anyone who ha sri t experienced what she had with Arthur is missing out on life s bounty " His eyes so tight Leah's, and he hesitated for a long moment before speaking' Do you see what I'm getting at? "
With dawning horror, Leah did see. "She did it on purpose : '
"Looks that way"
"She didn't tell me about the fire, but she did tell me about you: '
"Right: ' Closing her eyes, Leah fought a rising anger. "She was so cavalier about my paying rent, wouldn't accept anything beforehand; told me to send her whatever I thought the place was worth: '
"Clever"
"When I asked if the cabin was well equipped, her exact words were, "
When last I saw it, it was: "
" True enough : '
"No wonder she was edgy. "
"Victoria? Edgy? "
"Unusual, I know, but she was. I chalked it up to a latent maternal instinct: She rolled her eyes. " Boy, was I wrong. It was guilt, pure guilt. She actually had the gall to remind me that I woulddt have air-conditioning or a phone, the snake: Muttering the last under her breath, Leah turned her back on Garrick and crossed her arms over her breasts.
That was the moment he came to believe that everything she d told him was the truth. Had she started to shout and pace the floor in anger, he would have wondered. That would have smelled of a script, a soap-opera reaction, lacking subtlety.
But she wasn't shouting or pacing. Hqr anger was betrayqd only by quickened breathing and the rigidity of her stance. From the little he d seen of her, he d judged her to be restrained where her emotions were concerned. Her reaction now was consistent with that impression.
Strangely, Garrick's own anger was less acute than he would have expected.
If he d known beforehand what Victoria had planned, he d have hit the roof.
But he hadn't known, and Leah was already here, and there was something about her self-contained distress that tugged at his heart.
Almost before his eyes, that distress turned to mortification Cheeks a bright red, she cast a harried gqance over her shoulder.
"I'm sorry. She had no right to foist me on you: '
"It wasn't your fault-"
"But you should ri t have to be stuck with me: '
"It goes two wayq. you're stuck with me, too: '
"I could have done worse: '
"So could I : ' Unsure of what to make of his agreeable tone, Leah turned back to the bookshelf. It was then that the full measure of her predicament hit her.
She and Garrick had been thrust together for what Victoria had intended to be a romantic spell. But if Victoria had hopeqd for love at first sight, she was going to be disappointed. Leah didn't believe in love at first sight.
She wasn't even sure if she believed in love, q q since it had brought her pain once before, but that was neither here nor there. She didn't know Garrick Rodenhiser.
Talk of love was totally inappropriate.
Attraction at first sight-that, perhaps, was worth considering She could ri t deny that she found Garrick physically appealing. Not even his sprawling pose could detract from his long-limbed grace. His face, his beard, the sturdiness of his shoulders spoke of ruggedness; she d have had to be blind not to see it, and dead not to respond.
And that other attraction-the one spawned by the deep, inner feelings that occasionally escaped from his eyes7 It baffled her.
"I didn't iwant this, " she murmured to her knotted hands.
From the silence came a quieti know: '
"I feel... you must feel... humiliated: ' ' A little awkward. That's all: '
"Here I am in your underwear..
"You can get dressed if you want : ' It was, of course, the wise thing to do. Perhaps, once she was wearing her own clothes again, she d feel less vulnerable , less exposed. Crossing to the dryer, she removed her things and folded them over the crook of her elbow. When she reached for her sweater, though, she Eound it still damp.
"Here: Garrick stood directly behind her, holding out, one of his
With dawning horror, Leah did see. "She did it on purpose : '
"Looks that way"
"She didn't tell me about the fire, but she did tell me about you: '
"Right: ' Closing her eyes, Leah fought a rising anger. "She was so cavalier about my paying rent, wouldn't accept anything beforehand; told me to send her whatever I thought the place was worth: '
"Clever"
"When I asked if the cabin was well equipped, her exact words were, "
When last I saw it, it was: "
" True enough : '
"No wonder she was edgy. "
"Victoria? Edgy? "
"Unusual, I know, but she was. I chalked it up to a latent maternal instinct: She rolled her eyes. " Boy, was I wrong. It was guilt, pure guilt. She actually had the gall to remind me that I woulddt have air-conditioning or a phone, the snake: Muttering the last under her breath, Leah turned her back on Garrick and crossed her arms over her breasts.
That was the moment he came to believe that everything she d told him was the truth. Had she started to shout and pace the floor in anger, he would have wondered. That would have smelled of a script, a soap-opera reaction, lacking subtlety.
But she wasn't shouting or pacing. Hqr anger was betrayqd only by quickened breathing and the rigidity of her stance. From the little he d seen of her, he d judged her to be restrained where her emotions were concerned. Her reaction now was consistent with that impression.
Strangely, Garrick's own anger was less acute than he would have expected.
If he d known beforehand what Victoria had planned, he d have hit the roof.
But he hadn't known, and Leah was already here, and there was something about her self-contained distress that tugged at his heart.
Almost before his eyes, that distress turned to mortification Cheeks a bright red, she cast a harried gqance over her shoulder.
"I'm sorry. She had no right to foist me on you: '
"It wasn't your fault-"
"But you should ri t have to be stuck with me: '
"It goes two wayq. you're stuck with me, too: '
"I could have done worse: '
"So could I : ' Unsure of what to make of his agreeable tone, Leah turned back to the bookshelf. It was then that the full measure of her predicament hit her.
She and Garrick had been thrust together for what Victoria had intended to be a romantic spell. But if Victoria had hopeqd for love at first sight, she was going to be disappointed. Leah didn't believe in love at first sight.
She wasn't even sure if she believed in love, q q since it had brought her pain once before, but that was neither here nor there. She didn't know Garrick Rodenhiser.
Talk of love was totally inappropriate.
Attraction at first sight-that, perhaps, was worth considering She could ri t deny that she found Garrick physically appealing. Not even his sprawling pose could detract from his long-limbed grace. His face, his beard, the sturdiness of his shoulders spoke of ruggedness; she d have had to be blind not to see it, and dead not to respond.
And that other attraction-the one spawned by the deep, inner feelings that occasionally escaped from his eyes7 It baffled her.
"I didn't iwant this, " she murmured to her knotted hands.
From the silence came a quieti know: '
"I feel... you must feel... humiliated: ' ' A little awkward. That's all: '
"Here I am in your underwear..
"You can get dressed if you want : ' It was, of course, the wise thing to do. Perhaps, once she was wearing her own clothes again, she d feel less vulnerable , less exposed. Crossing to the dryer, she removed her things and folded them over the crook of her elbow. When she reached for her sweater, though, she Eound it still damp.
"Here: Garrick stood directly behind her, holding out, one of his
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