Acapulco Nights Read Online Free PDF Page B

his hazel gaze too much to bear. What did he want from me? If he had wanted to talk, why did he insist on taking Janice and me to a fancy restaurant? 
    Could it be that he thinks Janice knows? He knew she and I were good friends all those years ago. She had been there when we met. My breathing became shallow, my hands cold as panic set in.
    Oh, God. This can’t be happening.
    What have I gotten myself into? Janice will find out, Janice will tell James—my mind whirled at the thought of my secret being exposed to him. He trusted me. He loved me. James would not forgive my deception.
    *
    “So, I’ve been wanting to ask you this for awhile now,” I said.
    James and I sat in a movie theater, the rest of the audience filtering out into the aisle while the credits played.
    “What?” He set his empty soda cup into the half-full bucket of popcorn and wiped his greasy hands on a napkin.
    “Why would a fabulous guy like you still be single? Why hasn’t some hot woman snatched you up?” I crumpled up my empty bag of M&Ms and tossed it in with the popcorn and soda cup.
    “She did.” He picked up my hand and kissed it in a very gentlemanly fashion.
    I smiled. “You know what I mean. Before you met me. Were you ever serious about someone else?” The lights in the theater flickered on, and I squinted in the brightness.
    A clouded look crossed his face. “There was someone, but that was a long time ago.”
    “What was she like?” We got up and scooted out into the aisle, bringing our garbage along with us.
    “I don’t really want to talk about it.”
    “Why not? Did she break your heart?” I teased.
    As we headed toward the exit, he grew quiet.
    Serious now, I asked, “Did she?”
    “I met her in college. We dated for three years. I thought I loved her.” He held the exit door open for me and tossed our garbage into the can by the door. “We got engaged after graduation. We were going to get married after I finished grad school.” The door slammed behind us, and we headed for James’s car parked around the corner of the building. “She worked as a nurse at the VA hospital. The nightshift. We barely saw one another. Then, one day, I came back to our apartment for a paper I had forgotten. I caught her in bed with another guy.” He pressed the alarm button on his car key and opened my door for me.
    “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. That must have been terrible.” I slid into my seat and waited for him to climb in the driver’s side.
    When he got in the car, he put the key in the ignition without starting it. “He was a doctor on staff. Older, married. She told me later it had been a fling, a mistake, she said. But I ended it. I broke off the engagement, moved my stuff out, and never saw her again—end of story. I guess I wasn’t ready to trust someone else like I trusted her. You don’t know what it’s like—to be lied to, deceived. I never wanted to feel that way again. But then, I met you.”
    “What’s so different about me?”
    “I don’t know—seeing you with that flat tire. You looked so frustrated, and cute, and—” His green eyes lit up, and he pulled me in close to him, kissing me lightly on the nose.
    “No need to explain.” I curled up against the warmth of his body, the emergency brake getting in the way. “I don’t care why. I’m just glad you rescued me that night or we might never have met.”
    “Just call me James the Gallant, Rescuer of Beautiful Women in Need of Spare Tires.”
    “You mean, I’m not the only one? There’s other women out there who have experienced the magic of your tire changing skills?”
    “I don’t share the magic with just anyone.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “I’m sure.” He kissed me, pressing his lips to mine, thrusting his tongue with gentle warmth into my mouth.
    James the Gallant had rescued me that night, and I couldn’t have imagined meeting a more loving man than he. I lost myself in that kiss, and swore silently that I would never hurt him as he