Persuaded by Misty Dawn Pulsipher

Author:Misty Dawn Pulsipher
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Misty Dawn Pulsipher
Published: 2014-07-25T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-TWO

DECLINED

“I have always wanted some other motive for his conduct than appeared.”

—Anne Elliot, Persuasion

For Hanna, the weekend seemed to fly by. Perhaps it was knowing that Eli was expecting some kind of answer from her tonight, at dinner. Maybe it was waiting for Derick and Ella to drop the bomb of their impending nuptials. Hanna could only assume that Derick’s strange question on Friday night was meant to prepare her. Although, at the time he had seemed to be almost choking on the word marriage. She kept waiting for Ella to jump out from behind corners and jab her bejeweled finger under Hanna’s nose, but as yet, it hadn’t happened.

At least her date with Eli derailed her thoughts a bit, even though it gave her a share of anxiety as well. She had thought about what he told her before leaving, that his “act” wasn’t really an act. She’d relived the kiss once or twice as well, and was still unsure how she felt about it.

Being wanted was always a desirable sentiment, especially when your first love was about to tie the knot and inadvertently become your brother-in-law. But for Hanna, being wanted wasn’t enough. It had to be about more than that. She barely knew Eli, after all, had no clue where he was staying or anything. The only things she really knew about him were that he was a photographer by trade and that his family didn’t approve of his career choice. By contrast, it seemed like he was acquainted with every little detail of Hanna’s life, including her painful past. Obviously, she liked him and was attracted to him. But she determined that she needed to know him better. If Eli cared about her as he seemed to, he would understand and want the same thing.

Eli had asked Hanna to meet him at one of the nicer restaurants downtown. When Hanna saw him waiting for her in a cozy booth, in a button-up shirt and tie, she was glad she’d dressed up a little herself. Eli’s whole face lit up when he saw her. He stood, kissed her on the cheek, and helped her into her seat.

“You look gorgeous,” he said, sitting down across from her.

“You too,” she said. “How was New York?”

Eli sighed happily, unabashed contentment on his face. “There’s something about the city that’s electrifying. The beach is great when you want laid-back, but there’s nothing like the city that never sleeps.”

Hanna listened with a peaceful smile on her face. She disagreed, of course, infinitely preferring the quiet coast to the rat race of a big city. The very thought of a city that never slept made her tired.

Dinner went off without a hitch, Eli recounting his trip to Hanna with an eagerness that was contagious. When the check was delivered, Eli slipped a card into the slot of the sleek black check holder and handed it off to their server. A moment later the server returned with an apologetic expression.

“I’m sorry, sir, but your card has been declined.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.