Lone Star Wedding. Sandra Steffen

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ garden was lovely, scented with honeysuckle and roses moist with dew. The paths were lit, but not nearly as brightly as the courtyard near the house. Here, shadows beckoned guests to enjoy the quietude of a leisurely stroll. If her mother’s wedding could have taken place anytime other than winter, Hannah would have loved to see it set right here. A few months ago she’d planned a wedding that had taken place in an arboretum where the lush ground cover had been mowed, creating a cloudlike carpet of delicate purple blooms.

      Winter weddings were lovely, too, and would be the perfect time to accent in her mother’s favorite color, red. Hannah was so lost in her thoughts she didn’t notice the muted sound of a man’s footsteps behind her until they were very close. She glanced casually over her shoulder, and came to an abrupt stop.

      “I didn’t mean to startle you,” Parker Malone said quietly.

      She rallied quickly, impatient to be on her way. “I startle easily.”

      “I called your name,” he said. “But I think the saying goes something like you seemed to be miles away.”

      “I have a lot on my mind. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

      They both stepped in the same direction, paused, then tried going the other way. Hannah said, “What are you doing, Parker?”

      He ran a hand through his hair. “I have to kill a little more time before I can make a departure that’s socially acceptable. I thought I’d take a walk.”

      “That’s a good idea. I’ll leave you to your walk.” This time she darted around him, only to sigh in resignation when he fell into step beside her.

      “I find myself in unfamiliar territory,” he said quietly.

      The grounds were magnificent, but something told her that Parker Malone was accustomed to the finer things in life. “Unfamiliar, how?” she said, curious in spite of herself.

      “I seem to be in the middle of a situation that calls for an apology.”

      She felt his eyes on her, but she continued to look straight ahead.

      “I’m afraid I’ve never been good at saying I’m sorry.” His voice had dropped in volume, losing its steely edge.

      “At least you’re honest.”

      “I’m sorry.”

      She glanced up at him then, and they shared a small smile, because the way he’d said it, he could have been apologizing for being honest.

      “I jumped to the wrong conclusion about you the first time we met. I would have apologized sooner, but I didn’t know your name, let alone your telephone number. So I left my card with your friend and waited for you to contact me. Evidently she didn’t see fit to pass it on to you.”

      “Adrienne gave me your card, Parker.” Hannah fell silent, letting the implications soak in. She’d chosen not to call him. End of story. He didn’t need to know she’d taken his business card out of the drawer three times last week.

      Strains of music wafted from the courtyard. Night insects hummed and squeaked as if the musicians were playing just for them. No one else had ventured this far away from the party. Hannah was aware of how secluded this section of the garden was, and how alone she and Parker were. “Well,” she said, “I think I’ll turn back.”

      “Hannah, wait.” His hand felt warm on her bare arm, so her shiver must have been the result of something else.

      “Look,” she said. “Cole just told me you’ve already confronted him with your view on marriage in general, our mother’s and Ryan’s in particular. If you followed me because you want to enlist my help in talking her into signing that prenuptial agreement you drew up, you can forget it.”

      The pressure on her arm changed slightly. “I followed you because there’s something I’ve been wanting to do all night.”

      Suddenly he was directly in front of her, his face angling toward hers, blurring in front of her eyes. “I followed you to do this.”

      His mouth covered hers before she had the presence of mind to resist. She must have closed her eyes, because suddenly she had to rely on her other senses. Her lips parted, and a rush of feeling flooded over her. Their breath mingled, their lips clung. His hand went around to the small of her back, pulling her closer, until their bodies touched ever so lightly.

      Her hands found their way to him, one inching up to his shoulder, the other spreading wide over his chest. He made a sound deep in his throat, and his heart raced beneath her palm.

      Parker had always had a good imagination. God knew, it had been working overtime this past week, but imagery couldn’t hold a candle to the jolt of excitement that had begun to pulse through him the moment his lips touched Hannah’s.

      She sighed, her long, lean body going fluid against his. Her three-inch heels made her the perfect height for kissing. Her waist fit his hands, the flare of her hips enticing him to explore. A few moments ago the garden had seemed idyllically private. Suddenly it wasn’t nearly private enough.

      Music played from the other side of the courtyard. A bed of tall ornamental grasses blocked them from view of the others. Another shudder went through him, want and need melding, burrowing deep inside him.

      “I don’t want to stop.” His voice was a rasp in the semi-darkness. “But we have to, at least for now.”

      Hannah came to her senses slowly. She glanced nervously around, relieved to find them alone, the shadow of an old sweet gum tree on one side, tall grasses swaying in the breeze on the other. She placed her hands on her cheeks and took a backward step.

      “That shouldn’t have happened.”

      “I disagree.”

      No doubt. She had to think, and it wasn’t easy to do with him standing there looking at her. “In a sense, you’re the enemy.”

      “If you’d care to explain, I’m all ears.”

      He wasn’t really, she thought. He was all shoulders and planes and angles and…

      He slid a hand into the pocket of his dress slacks, the action drawing attention to a place she really shouldn’t be looking. She glanced up at his face, only to find herself staring at the cleft in his chin. For heaven’s sake, did everything about him have to be riveting?

      Taking control of her senses, she said, “I’ve overheard bits and pieces of several conversations tonight, and the general consensus around here seems to be that you don’t want Ryan to see my mother. Something tells me it isn’t a moral issue with you.”

      “At least you’re not blinded by my brains and good looks.”

      He was very good at deprecating humor. If this had been a laughing matter she would have smiled. “At least it hasn’t gone to your head.”

      “That isn’t what’s gone to my head, Hannah.”

      She had absolutely nothing to say to that. Thankfully, footsteps sounded on the garden path, and she was saved from having to try to reply.

      “Hannah, СКАЧАТЬ