The Groom Said Maybe!. Sandra Marton

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СКАЧАТЬ he said softly.

      Stephanie blinked. “What?”

      “You smiled,” David said with a little smile of his own. “Really smiled. And I agree.”

      “Agree about what?” she said in total confusion.

      “That we got off to the wrong start.”

      She considered the possibility. Perhaps they had. He seemed a nice enough man, this friend of Annie’s. There was no denying his good looks, and he had a sense of humor, too. Not that she was interested in him. Not that she’d ever be interested in any man. Still, that was no reason not to be polite. Pleasant, even. This was just one day out of her life. One afternoon. And what had he done, when you came down to it? Looked at her, that was all. Just looked at her, and even though she hated it, she was accustomed to it.

      Men had always looked at her, even before Avery had come along.

      Besides, she wasn’t guiltless. For one heart-stopping instant, for one quick spin of the planet, she’d looked at David and felt—she’d felt...

      “Stephanie?”

      She raised her head. David was watching her, eyes dark and intense.

      “How about we begin over?”

      He held out his hand. Stephanie hesitated. Then, very slowly and carefully, she lifted her hand from her lap and placed it in his.

      “That’s it,” he said softly. His fingers closed around hers. They were warm, and hard, and calloused. That surprised her. Despite what he’d said about being from the west, despite the cowboy boots and the ponytail and the incredible width of his shoulders, everything about him whispered of wealth and power. Men like that didn’t have hands that bore the imprint of hard work, not in her world.

      He bent his head toward hers. She knew she ought to pull back but she couldn’t. His eyes were still locked on hers. They seemed to draw her in.

      “You’re a very beautiful woman, Stephanie.”

      “Mr. Chambers...”

      “I thought we’d progressed to David.”

      “David.” Stephanie ran the tip of her tongue over her lips. She saw him follow the motion with his eyes and the tiny flame that had come to life hours before sprang up again deep within her. A warning tingled along her skin. “David,” she said again, “I think—I think it’s nice that we made peace with each other, but—”

      “We should be honest, too.”

      “I am being honest. I don’t want—”

      “Yes. You do want.” His voice had taken on a roughness. A huskiness. It made the trembling flame within her burn brighter. “We both do.”

      “No!”

      He could feel the sudden tension radiating from her fingers to his. Don’t be a fool, David told himself fiercely. There was plenty of time. The longer it took to go from that first beat of sexual awareness to the bed, the greater the pleasure. He’d lived long enough to know that.

      But he couldn’t slow down. Not with this woman. He wanted her, now. Right now. He wanted her beneath him, her body naked to his hands and mouth, her eyes liquid with desire as he touched her, entered her.

      “Come with me,” he said urgently. “I have a car outside. We’ll find a hotel.”

      “You bastard!” She tore her hand from his. “Is that what the past few minutes were all about?”

      “No,” he said, trying to deny it, as much to himself as to her. He felt as if he were standing on the edge of a precipice, that the slightest gust of wind could come by and send him tumbling out into space. He’d met women before, wanted them, but not like this. Not with a need so fierce it obliterated everything else. “Stephanie—”

      “Don’t ‘Stephanie’ me!” She shoved back her chair. Her face was flushed; she glared at him, her mouth trembling. “You’ve wasted your time, Mr. Chambers. I know your game.”

      “Dammit, it isn’t a game! I saw you, and I wanted you. And you wanted me. That’s why you’re so angry, isn’t it? Because you felt the same thing, only you’re afraid to admit it.”

      “I’m not afraid of anything, Mr. Chambers, especially not of a man like you.”

      It was a lie. She was afraid; he saw it in her eyes, in the feverish color in her cheeks.

      “I know your type, sir. You see a woman like me, your mind goes rolling straight into the gutter.”

      “What?” he said with an incredulous little laugh.

      “As for what I want... You flatter yourself. I’d no more want you in my bed than I’d want a cottonmouth moccasin there! Why would I? Why would any woman in her right mind want to subjugate herself to a—a—”

      “Hey, guys, how’s it going?”

      Stephanie clamped her lips together. She and David both looked up. Annie Cooper stood over them, smiling happily.

      “Annie,” David said after a minute. He cleared his throat. “Hello.”

      “I hated to interrupt,” Annie said, smiling. “You two were so deep in conversation.”

      Stephanie looked at David, then at Annie. “Uh, yes. Yes, we were.” She smiled brightly. “It’s a lovely wedding, Annie. Really lovely.”

      Annie pulled out a chair and sat down. “So,” she said slyly, “I figured right, hmm?”

      “Figured right?”

      “About you guys.” Annie grinned. “Dawn and I were doing the seating chart and Dawn said to me, ‘Mom, except for Nicky, the best-looking man at the wedding is going to be Uncle David.’ And I said to her, ‘Well, except for you, my gorgeous, too-young-to-be-a-bride daughter, the most beautiful woman at the wedding is going to be your very own cupid, Stephanie.’”

      “Annie,” David said, “listen—”

      “So my brilliant offspring and I put our heads together and, voilà, we put the pair of you at the same table.” Annie smiled. “Clever, if I say so myself, no?”

      “No,” Stephanie said. “I mean, I’m sure you thought it was, Annie, but—”

      Annie laughed. “Relax, you two. We won’t expect you to announce your engagement or anything. Not today, any-way... My gosh, Stef, I’m making you blush. And David...if looks could kill, I’d be lying in a heap on the floor.” A furrow appeared between her eyes. “Don’t tell me we goofed! Aren’t you two having a good time? Haven’t you hit it off?”

      “We’re having a terrific time,” Stephanie said quickly. “Aren’t we...David?”

      David smiled tightly and shoved back his chair. “Better than terrific,” he said. “Excuse me for a minute, will you? I’m going to get myself a drink. Annie? Stephanie? Can I bring СКАЧАТЬ