Read Online Yesterday's Love by Sherryl Woods - Free Book Online Page B

about her. It gave him a warm feeling to see this much love, given so freely and unconditionally.
    There was one awkward moment, which began when Katherine Marshall asked how he and Victoria had met.
    â€œWell,” he began and shot Victoria a look that cried out for help. He was not used to prevaricating and had no idea what he could say that wouldn’t violate his promise to avoid mentioning the audit. She let him sit and squirm uncomfortably under her mother’s interested gaze for several horrible seconds.
    â€œIt was an accident, Mother,” she said when his nerves had stretched so taut he thought he’d have to blurt out the entire truth or explode.
    Mrs. Marshall’s eyes filled with concern. “An accident? You didn’t wreck your car, did you? I’ve told you you should get rid of that old rattletrap. It’s a menace.”
    â€œMy car is not a menace and, anyway, it wasn’t that kind of an accident. I’d just chased Lancelot up into a tree and got stuck. Tate came along and rescued me.”
    â€œOh, my. How romantic,” Mrs. Marshall said with a satisfied sigh, her eyes lighting with pleasure. “And how very fortunate that you happened by, Tate.”
    â€œYes, that was a bit of luck, wasn’t it?” Victoria said dryly. Tate refused to look her in the eye. He was terrified he would laugh and blow their tenuous credibility to smithereens.
    Before he did, John Marshall tamped down the tobacco in his pipe with slow deliberation and said quietly, “Tell me, Tate, exactly what do you do for a living?”
    â€œUmmm…I…”
    â€œTate’s in finance,” Victoria offered.
    â€œMake a good living, do you?”
    â€œDad!”
    Tate grinned. “Good enough.”
    â€œAnd you live in Cincinnati?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œLike it there?”
    â€œI’ve lived there all my life. It’s a great city.”
    â€œYou intend to stay there, then?”
    â€œWell, yes, I suppose so.”
    â€œWhat about a family?” Katherine Marshall inquired, plopping another scoop of vanilla ice cream into his bowl and urging him to have a bit more cobbler.
    Tate gulped. “I hadn’t really thought about it,” he said finally, as Victoria shot him an I-told-you-so look.
    â€œA man can’t wait too long to settle down,” John Marshall said with all the subtlety of a rampaging rhino. He was obviously oblivious to Victoria’s glare. Tate nodded politely, beginning to see exactly what he was up against. Oddly enough, the prospect of being bullied into a marriage with Victoria didn’t terrify him nearly as much as it should have. Actually, the fact that it didn’t was what scared him to death.
    Despite the less than subtle nudging from the Marshalls, Tate found that he was having one of the best times of his life. From the incredible, mouth-watering apple cobbler to the gentle family teasing and intelligent conversation, he felt perfectly at home. Victoria, however, seemed to vacillate between amusement and nervousness. By the end of the evening, nervousness was winning out. The more Tate relaxed, the jumpier Victoria became. Soon he was certain that she’d been hoping they would all mix like oil and water. Then they’d never have to get together again.
    When they were finally on the way home, after he’d promised to come back often, he questioned her about her odd attitude.
    â€œYou were hoping we’d hate each other, weren’t you?”
    â€œWhy on earth would I want you to hate my parents?”
    â€œYou tell me.”
    She shook her head. “You’re wrong. I expected you to like them. You’re on the exact same wavelength,” she said in a tone that made it sound as though they all were suffering from a similar incurable disease.
    â€œIs that bad?”
    She shrugged. “It is if you had other plans for the rest of your life.”
    â€œThe marriage bit