SEDUCING MR. RIGHT by Cherry Adair

Author:Cherry Adair [Adair, Cherry]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Published: 2012-11-07T03:02:31+00:00

* * *

Chapter 8

« ^ »

Luke was in the kitchen scraping burned cookies into the garbage disposal when Cat returned home from her date with Dan the following night.

"Phew-ee!" Catherine waved her hands. "That is mucho stinky! What are you still doing up?"

"Burning cookies. How was your date?"

Catherine sat on a bar stool and swung her foot. "Fun. The play was terrific. We ate at a fabulous little Italian place off the beaten track called Giovanni's. Do you know it?"

"I was the one who told him about it. You and old Daniel hit it off, huh?"

"Umm. He's charming."

"Just remember, he's been married once before."

"No problem, as long as he doesn't bring his ex to dinner with us," Catherine said cheerfully.

"Devil's food cake?"

"Nah. Strawberry swirl."

* * *

This was not going well, she decided several days later. One of the problems was she was rarely home. The other was … well, she was being too subtle. She needed to turn up the heat. They were anchored out on the Bay on Nick's twenty-seven-foot sailboat. Even at six in the evening, the heat of the day was oppressive. She felt like the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz. Melting.

There wasn't a breath of wind, the dark blue water reflected mirror smooth, the air shimmered. Dozens of white-sailed boats, manned by scantily clad people hoping for an ocean breeze, cruised the Bay. In the distance the city looked freshly washed and as picture, perfect as a postcard. She could even see the twin towers of their condo beyond Marina Green.

Luke lay sprawled facedown on a towel on the varnished deck. Nick slouched on a folding deck chair, a book on his chest, eyes closed. Both wore swimsuits and a light film of perspiration on their tanned skins.

Catherine, wearing a soft lime-green sundress, and sitting in the shade, sighed. She pulled the light T-shirt fabric farther up her bare legs. "Do you think if I sit in the sun my freckles will join together and I'll get a nice even tan?"

"You've been asking me that same question since you turned fifteen," Luke told her. "And the answer is still no." He reached blindly for the soda beside him. Catherine nudged it closer with her toe.

"Thanks. Remember when you went to Hawaii that year? You came back parboiled and peeling."

"How do you know? You weren't there." That was the year he'd gone to the Pratt Institute in New York to study architecture. She'd felt as though a cannonball had gone through her chest and left a gaping, bleeding hole. Worse even than the day her mom had walked out and left her behind.

"Dad told me about it."

Catherine felt her eyes well, and bit her lip. She'd had wonderful years with her stepfather. Good years. She had to remember those. But, God, how she missed him. Missed the unconditional love he'd always given her. Missed the feel of his arms around her. Missed that safety and the sense of belonging he'd provided. She closed her eyes and said a quick prayer of gratitude for the years they had shared.

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.