A Perfect Stranger by Danielle Steel

Author:Danielle Steel [Steel, Danielle]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Tags: Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Love Stories, General, Romance Fiction
ISBN: 9780440168720
Google: m6pVeLEGvFAC
Publisher: Dell
Published: 1981-01-01T17:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Raphaella had set her alarm for six thirty, and an hour later she slipped quietly out the front door. She had already spoken to one of John Henry's nurses and had explained to her that she was going to an early Mass and then for a long walk. It seemed like a wholesome explanation for what would undoubtedly be an absence of several hours. At least she hoped it would be as she hurried along the street in the December fog and the early-morning chill, with her coat pulled tightly around her and a pearly gray light bathing everything she could see. She reached the cozy little house on Vallejo in a matter of moments, and was pleased to see that most of the lights were already on. That meant that Alex was awake then, and she hesitated for a moment, facing the big brass knocker, wondering if she should knock, ring the doorbell, or use her key. In the end she opted for a quick ring, and then stood there, breathless, excited, waiting, a smile dawning on her face, before his hand even touched the door, and then suddenly there he was, so tall and handsome, with a smile on his own lips, his eyes bright. Without saying a word, he pulled her quickly inside, closed the door, and folded her tightly into his arms. They said nothing for a long moment, but his lips found hers and they clung together that way for what seemed like a very long time. Afterward he just held her, sharing the warmth of his body and letting one hand stroke her shining black hair. He looked down at her almost with amazement, as though he still found it remarkable that he knew her at all.

Hello, Alex. She looked up at him happily with a twinkle in her eyes.

Hello. And then as he stood back just a little, My God, you look lovely.

Not at this hour. But she did. She looked absolutely radiant. Her eyes were big and bright like onyx flecked with diamonds, and her face was pink from the brisk walk. She had worn a pale peach-colored silk shirt and beige slacks with the lynx coat. And beneath the slacks he could just see cinnamon suede Gucci shoes. How is Amanda? Raphaella glanced toward the upstairs and Alex smiled again.

Still asleep. But he wasn't thinking of Amanda. The only thing he could think of this morning was the incredibly beautiful woman who stood before him in the front hall, and as he looked at her he wasn't sure whether to take her downstairs to the kitchen and offer her coffee or rush her upstairs with far less social pursuits in mind.

But as she watched him struggle with the decision, Raphaella grinned. You look positively wicked this morning, Alex. With a spark of mischief of her own she took off the heavy lynx coat and dropped it on the newel post at the foot of the stairs.

Do I? He feigned innocence. I wonder why.

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