Evan. Diana Palmer

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СКАЧАТЬ hadn’t diluted the whiskey very much, and Anna seldom drank.

      “That’s strong stuff,” she remarked.

      “Only if you aren’t used to it.” He chuckled. “You’re just like Evan about alcohol, aren’t you?”

      She averted her face. He obviously had no idea how much that remark hurt her. “I don’t like alcohol,” she said absently.

      “Yes, I’ve noticed.”

      She didn’t hear the faint mockery in his tone. Her eyes had been drawn against her will to Evan. He was so tall and husky that he dwarfed almost every other man in the room. He had the lovely Nina close in his big arms and he was holding her with casual intimacy. Both her slender arms were looped around his neck; his hands on her waist held her carelessly close. He’d never held Anna like that. Probably he never would.

      Her eyes softened and saddened at the sight of him. In evening clothes, he was devastating. His dark tan was emphasized by the white shirt he wore, and the black tie, dinner jacket and slacks made him look taller and very dignified. Just looking at him made Anna feel warm and safe, like coming home. If only he felt that way about her. It would be heaven.

      Evan felt her rapt gaze and met it across the room. It was like lightning striking. His body tautened helplessly, and his eyes narrowed. Anna again, he thought angrily, playing with matches. She didn’t know what she was doing. At nineteen she was just beginning to feel her power as a woman, and she was using it blatantly with every man who came close to her. That was all it was, so he’d better remember.

      He tore his gaze away and bent to kiss Nina in front of the whole assembly. He did it thoroughly and with fierce need, to banish the sight of Anna’s wounded face.

      Nina was breathless when he let her go, and Anna had vanished. At least he’d accomplished that much.

      “Want to take me home right now, big man?” Nina asked huskily. “I’m willing.”

      But Evan wasn’t. He shook his head. “We’d better not vanish before Polly makes her speech,” he said with forced humor.

      Nina sighed. “You still don’t really want me, do you?” she asked quietly. “I can’t get you within a mile of my apartment.”

      “We’re friends,” he reminded her, smiling. “Otherwise, why would I be giving your career a helping hand?”

      “To make some other woman jealous, I’m beginning to think,” she said candidly, watching his eyelids flinch. “Or to use me as camouflage. Because you certainly don’t want me just for myself. You hardly ever take me out.”

      He smiled. “I keep busy.”

      “Not that busy, and you don’t go out with many women. That’s right—” she nodded when she saw his puzzled expression “—I still have friends in Jacobsville who keep me up-to-date on who’s seeing whom. You don’t date anyone regularly. The gossip is that Anna Cochran has been seen pursuing you everywhere except up a tree.”

      He drew in a heavy breath. “That’s partially true.”

      “So that’s why you brought me here. Probably why you kissed me, too.” She smiled lazily. “Okay, lover. If you need protection, here I am. Do your worst. We’ll say it’s for old times’ sake.”

      “You’re very generous,” he mused.

      “You’ve been that,” she replied seriously. “I’ll help you scrape the kid off, no problem.”

      He didn’t like it put that way, as if Anna was a leech. He frowned.

      “She’s a babe in the woods, isn’t she?” Nina was saying, her eyes on Anna standing at the punch bowl with Randall. “Is she going to marry the medical student, do you think?”

      “How should I know?” he asked irritably. He’d never thought of Randall as much of a threat to Anna’s maidenhood, but she was spending a lot of time with the younger man lately.

      “She’s well-to-do. Or her mother is,” Nina mused, thinking aloud. “A young doctor going into practice needs a rich wife.”

      Evan stiffened. “Anna isn’t that stupid.”

      “Darling, she’s a teenager. What does she know about men? My God, I’ll bet she’s even a virgin!”

      Evan didn’t want to think about that. It made his blood run hot. He turned Nina to the rhythm. “Anna is Randall’s business, not mine. Dance. Help me get her off my neck.”

      Nina smiled warmly. “My pleasure.”

      Anna watched them dance and took another sip of her punch, and then another. “I wish you could dance, Randall,” she said, the words sounding a little slurred. She felt very relaxed.

      “So do I, sometimes. Want to try it?” he asked, putting down his cup. “I feel pretty loose right now.”

      “Good.”

      She went into his arms and taught him the basic two-step. He began to grin, and his hands brought her gently closer.

      “This is nice,” he said wonderingly.

      “So it is.” She lay her cheek on his chest and closed her eyes, barely moving as the music continued. The devil with Evan, she told herself. She didn’t care if he made love to his old flame right there on the dance floor. She just wouldn’t look.

      “Having a good time, Anna?” one of Polly’s friends asked as she danced nearby with her husband.

      “Oh, yes,” Anna replied politely. “I hope you are.”

      “It’s lovely. Evan’s brought someone with him, I see,” the woman added with a faintly mocking smile. “Warding you off, is he?”

      Anna flushed. Over the years she’d gotten used to being teased about her pursuit of Evan, but tonight it stung. “Nina’s an old friend of his,” she pointed out.

      “Yes, but he doesn’t usually come to Polly’s parties with a woman in tow. In fact,” she said cattily, “he doesn’t usually come at all these days, does he? I suppose he’s really desperate if he has to look up old flames to discourage you.”

      Anna pulled away from Randall, who was openly scowling, and moved back to the punch bowl, leaving the woman with her mouth open.

      “What are you so upset about?” Randall asked, joining her there. “Everybody knows that you used to chase Evan. You’re not doing it now, so why let people bother you?” He slid an arm around her waist. “You’ve got me, now.”

      Had she really? Every time a new woman came into the room, she could see Randall’s eyes sizing her up. He was a born flirt, and despite his lack of conventional good looks, he could be utterly charming.

      “I guess I didn’t realize how blatant I must have seemed,” Anna said quietly, her eyes downcast. “I was only playing.” She hadn’t been, but it salvaged some of her pride to pretend she was.

      “I know that,” Randall said. “So do most other people. СКАЧАТЬ