Together by Christmas by C.J. Carmichael

Author:C.J. Carmichael
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2002-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

WARREN COULD TELL HIS question had startled Miranda. She glanced away from him, while her thumb worried the silver ring on her pinkie. Reaching out, he grasped her hand, and her fingers immediately stilled.

“Of course I’m here because of the biography. I’ve never had a project I felt more committed to.”

“But you have another reason for being here.” Miranda was an expert at avoidance, but he would get the truth out of her this time.

“Well, my mother hasn’t been well.”

“Right.” He dismissed that excuse impatiently. “And what else? Or should I say who else did you want to see when you decided to come home for a few months?”

“What are you driving at, Warren? Let go of my hand—you’re squeezing too hard.”

Reluctantly, he released his hold on her, but he kept up the eye contact. Finally, she let out a sigh.

“I guess I was interested in seeing Chad again. It’s been a lot of years.”

“You knew he and Bernie had separated?”

“Not until I arrived. My mother told me the news during dinner my first night home.”

That was hard to believe. “Good timing on your part.”

“I don’t know what you mean. Chad and I kept in touch, but he never confided his marriage problems to me.”

Well, there was something to be thankful for. She hadn’t shown up like a vulture, in for the kill.

“I don’t see why you’re looking at me like that. As if I’ve done something wrong. Chad and I have been friends for a long time. I feel badly about the problems he’s been going through lately. I’ve been trying to help….”

He had to laugh at that. “Do you really think you’re helping Chad and Bernie’s marriage by cooking Chad meals and taking his daughter shopping in Yorkton?”

“I can’t believe this town! I might as well post my every movement on the Internet. Only, gossip circulates around here much more efficiently than it ever could on the Web.”

“Look, Miranda. I agree with you on one point. This is your business—you don’t have to answer to anyone else. But just be honest with yourself about what you want.”

“You think I want Chad, is that it? That I’m glad his marriage is in trouble, that I’m hanging around hoping to catch him on the rebound? Well, I think that’s totally disgusting.”

“Are you telling me that you don’t care about Chad? That you aren’t in love with him?”

She twirled away, but not before he caught the surprise that rounded her eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“And don’t you insult my intelligence. You’ve always loved Chad. I figured that out in grade ten and it’s still true now.”

“Well, maybe I did.”

He’d known it, but hearing her admission still hurt. God, he wasn’t a kid anymore. Why couldn’t he have more control over his feelings?

“But even if I did love Chad, even if I still do…that doesn’t mean I’d want to cause problems between him and Bernie. If I was that sort of person, don’t you think I would have tried before they were married?”

“I did sometimes wonder why you didn’t.

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