A Perilous Eden Read Online Free PDF

so simple then—and, of course, she hadn’t had the good sense to appreciate it. Not the simplicity, not the beauty. She smiled to herself, remembering the old saying—youth was wasted on the young.
    Not that she was old, she reminded herself. But she had just turned twenty-nine, and she couldn’t deny that it was knowing thirty was just around the corner that had made her change her life so drastically last week.
    A young couple looking around a little bit helplessly caught Amber’s attention. She smiled, realizing that they wanted to be together in a picture. She stepped forward, offering to snap a shot for them.
    â€œOh, will you?” The young woman, a pretty little brunette, flushed. “Thank you so much. This is our honeymoon, and we haven’t got a single picture together so far.”
    â€œWhat a shame!” Amber said, smiling. “You should just ask. People here are great. Honestly. They’ll be happy to help you.”
    She took a few pictures for them, then glanced at her watch. She wasn’t due to meet her father for a half hour yet. Not enough time to see another museum, but too much time for hurrying.
    The couple thanked her, then asked her advice on the city. She suggested an itinerary for them, then saw them off with a wave.
    Babies, she thought. Neither one of them could be over twenty. And they were married and off on a honeymoon. Just like playing house, only it was the real world.
    Amber stepped outside. May was such a beautiful month here. The sky was mostly clear, with only a soft puff of cloud visible here and there. The cherry blossoms were out, the grass was green, and the world was beautiful.
    She stuck her hands into the pockets of her blazer, crossed the street and idly began to wander along the grass toward the subway station. It felt like summer was here; even on a workday, it was evident. A young man tossed a Frisbee to a dog. Two women—office workers, perhaps, judging by their fashionable dresses—picnicked on the lawn. There was a softball game going on about a hundred yards away. All around her she could hear laughter, and it was nice.
    â€œThis is the world,” she murmured to herself. “All you have to do is open the door and step into it.”
    She smiled and picked up the tempo of her walk, her shoulder bag swinging beside her. She passed by a park bench with a man sitting on it.
    She didn’t know why, but when she had passed the man, she turned back to look at him.
    He was just sitting there. He looked like a million other men on a warm day in the park. He was wearing jeans, sneakers and a denim shirt. His arms were stretched out along the back of the bench, and his face was turned to the sun, as if he was savoring the warmth.
    Even as she stared at him, he looked up, staring straight at her in return. It was uncanny. He had sensed her. She wasn’t moving, she hadn’t uttered a word, but he had known that she was watching him, and he had known exactly where she was standing.
    She flushed, but though she meant to, she didn’t draw her eyes away from his immediately. He was too intriguing. She couldn’t begin to judge his age, except that he was still young enough—though young enough for what, she wasn’t sure. He wasn’t handsome; he was arresting. His features were rugged and strong, his eyes mesmerizing. They were light, she thought. She couldn’t really see them, but they were light, and he was reading her quickly, like an open book, instantly storing away whatever he saw, whatever he thought. There was a brooding intensity about him, she thought. An energy that lingered beneath his pose of lethargy.
    Then he smiled. It wasn’t a lascivious smile—not the type of smile she might have expected from a strange man who had caught her staring at him in the park. It was just an interested smile, and maybe a slightly amused one. If he didn’t smile, she thought, he might be the type