A Bride After All Read Online Free PDF Page A

telling himself he was only being polite, watching for Claire to arrive so that he could say hello to her.
    Which was a bunch of hooey.
    She’d really made an impression on him on Tuesday night. Why? He didn’t know. Maybe it was something about that hint of sadness in her eyes. Maybe it was the wistfulness in her smile. Like she was a woman who had lived, and not all of that life had been sunshine and roses.
    Maybe it was the journalist in him, always looking for a story.
    Nah. His attraction to her had nothing to do with anything even vaguely professional, or even altruistic.
    She was a beautiful woman. She affected him on a gut level, pure and simple. She was the face you spotted across a crowded room and just had to figure out a way to meet. His response to her had been pretty much hormonal.
    And what was the matter with that?
    Nick began a mental list: You haven’t had a gut-level hormonal response to a woman in a long time. You don’t have time for a romance. You have a son to raise. You have an ex-wife who pretty much soured you on following through on gut-level hormonal responses.
    “Hi, you’re looking intense. Still trying to figure out to, too, two?”
    Nick turned around at the sound of Claire’s voice, to be immediately struck once more by her beauty, her cool, polished appearance, and those too-human eyes.
    “Hi, yourself,” he said, smiling at her. She was tall, not as tall as him, but just a perfect height so that they’d fit together well on the dance floor, walking together, lying beside each other…“Um, no Susie tonight?”
    “Nope, I’m on my own tonight. Just me and my selection of thermometers. Have you seen Marylou?”
    “No, I’ve been lucky so far,” he said, falling into step with her as they turned to walk down the wide tiled corridor. “Look, maybe I was out of line the other night, asking you to come with me to mycousin’s wedding. If you want to change your mind, I’d understand.”
    “Are you sure? What about Aunt Beatrice?”
    “Aunt Beatrice and every unattached female between the age of consent and Medicare eligibility she’ll be introducing me to, you mean? Never mind, I rescind my offer for you to change your mind. It’s the coward in me.”
    “Well, good, because I already bought a dress.” Claire stopped in front of her classroom door. “Oh, now you should see your face. It’s priceless. No, I didn’t buy a dress. Nor did I pick out china patterns. But I did run into Marylou on my way in earlier, and she was all set to toss me at your head again—some idea about joining our two classes together since we’re both dealing with some language barriers—until I told her we were going to your cousin’s wedding together. She’s off somewhere now, probably purring as she licks cream from her whiskers. Not that Marylou has whiskers, but you know what I mean.”
    Nick scratched at a spot behind his ear. “So we’re taking the easy way out? Joining up out of necessity, in order to protect ourselves?”
    “Please, all this flattery will turn my head,” Claire said as she stepped aside, allowing a young woman to enter the classroom, bringing her closer to him, close enough that he could smell the slightly flowery fragrance of her hair. He liked the way she wore it, all pulled back from her perfect oval face. What wasthe style called? Oh, right, a French twist. Yeah, he liked it. He’d like taking out the pins and seeing how long her hair was, too. That could be interesting.
    Mind-wandering over, he shot back to attention. “Ouch, sorry. It’s hard to believe I make my living with words, isn’t it? Because that was really clumsy.”
    “Yes, Marylou told me you’re a reporter for the Morning Chronicle. I was very impressed. I even looked up some of your articles on the Internet. You’re very good.”
    “And now I’m totally at a loss for words,” Nick told her. “Thank you.”
    “You’re welcome,” she said.
    And then they just stood there.
    Looking at