Principles And Pleasures. Margaret Allison

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СКАЧАТЬ as she pushed her bifocals lower on her nose so that she could see Meredith.

      “And nothing.” She shrugged and took another sip.

      Carly and Viera glanced at each other. “You were certainly gone a long time,” Viera said. “I didn’t see you all night.”

      “Well, I wasn’t with Josh,” Meredith said, setting down her cup. “I came back and went to bed.”

      “Why is he back in Aspen?” Carly asked.

      “I don’t know. But I think it has something to do with you.” Meredith felt a slight ping of jealousy. Ignore it, she told herself. And it will go away.

      “With me?”

      Meredith nodded. “He said he wanted to see you. In fact, he said he would see you today.”

      “Really?” Carly smiled and sighed dreamily. “He looked so handsome, didn’t he?”

      “I didn’t notice,” Meredith said quickly.

      “There’s just something about him. A charisma. It’s like a sexual fire or something.”

      “Sexual fire?” Meredith asked.

      “A spark. The way his eyes twinkle.”

      Meredith paused, remembering the eyes that had stared so deeply at her. She agreed with her sister. Josh’s eyes were the kind that seemed to bore right through you.

      “And the way he smells. It’s so woodsy and manly-like.”

      Meredith remembered how she had awoken from her night with Josh, how she had felt surrounded by his musky scent. She was surprised that her sister would mention something so personal about Josh. Carly was speaking like his lover, not like his friend.

      “And he’s so confident and self-assured—”

      “Have you heard from Mark?” Meredith interrupted.

      “I guess,” Carly said.

      “What do you mean, you guess?” Viera asked. “Either you have or you haven’t.”

      “What difference does it make? All I can think about is Josh.”

      Meredith leaned forward, certain that she had misunderstood. This was her horrible imagination playing tricks on her.

      Her mother glared at Carly. “I’ve got four hundred people coming to your wedding in two weeks. I suggest you stop thinking about Josh and start focusing on your future husband.”

      “I can’t stop thinking about him.” Carly glanced away. “I have to see Josh.”

      “What would Mark say if he heard you talking like this?” Viera exclaimed.

      Carly shrugged. “I think he would think the same thing I’m thinking. If I’m so tempted by another man, then maybe we shouldn’t get married.”

      “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard!” her mother practically screeched.

      “Mother—” Meredith began, trying to calm Viera.

      “If,” her mother interrupted, looking at Carly, “you care nothing for me, think about your sister. What’s going to happen to the deal with the Durans if you break their son’s heart? Your sister could lose her job.”

      On the assumption that Meredith would be purchasing Durasnow, her company’s stock had been rising. And so had the board’s confidence in her. If this deal fell through, the company might still survive, but Meredith’s tenure as CEO would be over.

      “You’re right, Mother.” Carly sighed deeply. “What’s wrong with me?”

      Meredith couldn’t speak. What was wrong with her?

      Josh’s obvious charm aside, Meredith couldn’t understand why Carly would want to jeopardize what she had with Mark. They seemed so happy together. Meredith had often wished she would be so lucky as to find someone who cared about her as much as Mark cared about Carly.

      Carly put her head in her hands. “It’s the curse,” she cried. “I finally meet a good guy, a guy that I love and who loves me. It’s all going to be ruined. Just because of Josh.”

      Perhaps her sister was right, Meredith thought. Perhaps it was just the Cartwright women’s knack for romantic self-destruction that was leading her astray.

      Carly focused her wet, blue eyes on Meredith and said, “You’re the only one who can help me.”

      “Me?” Meredith asked, surprised. “What can I do?”

      “Keep him away from me.” Carly threw her head in her hands, her long, curly blond hair falling forward.

      Meredith thought back to the previous evening when she had offered Josh money to leave Carly alone. The defiant fire in his eyes had been unmistakable. Meredith shook her head. “I can’t keep him away. If you don’t want to see him, you have to tell him yourself.”

      “I can’t. I’m afraid if I see him…if I’m alone with him…well…”

      “You’ll pick up where you left off?” It was Viera who spoke.

      Meredith held her breath, waiting for her sister’s answer. She had always assumed that nothing romantic had ever transpired between Carly and Josh. But then again, would Carly have told her if it had?

      “Left off?” Her sister appeared startled by the question. “We’ve never even dated. We were always just friends. I mean, I’ve dated some cads, but Josh was almost too much of one even for me. I knew so many girls that were hurt by him.”

      Meredith exhaled. At least Carly had not slept with him.

      “And this is the man with whom you can’t stand to be alone?” Viera asked slowly, as if she was also having trouble grasping the problem.

      Carly’s eyes settled on Meredith. “Distract him, Meredith. Just until Mark gets back.”

      “What? How?”

      “Hire him to give you skiing lessons. Ask him to take you to Bear Mountain. That’s at least a solid day. By the time you get back, Mark should be home. I’ll be safe.”

      “You better be ‘safe,’” Viera said, making quotation marks in the air with her fingers. “We’ve got five hundred people with invitations and gifts expecting a wedding.”

      Meredith raised her eyebrow. “A minute ago there were four hundred.”

      “Replies are coming in as we speak,” Viera said defensively. “It’s the event of the season.”

      Meredith shook her head. “I don’t know.” She sighed. “If Carly is having so many second thoughts then maybe…” Maybe she shouldn’t get married. As much as she hated the idea of losing the contract with Durasnow, she couldn’t stand the thought of her sister being in a loveless marriage. СКАЧАТЬ