Anna Marie Sorenson's Secret Affair Read Online Free PDF Page B

eyes.
    Pepper continued to rant, about the kids and their devilish delight in playing her up, complaining of what she felt was the incompetence of the staff at her restaurants and studio, her publisher’s and agent’s greediness on her next show and books, and the insipid letters from her thousands of fans that her agent forced her to respond to on her show. As Pepper continued to run on, Anna Marie usual tolerance began to wear thin. Like her brother-in-law, she could most Secret Affair 23
    of the time tune in and tune out. But tonight, Pepper’s non-stop tirade was driving her up the wall, and she began to feel impatience for her sister’s deep-seated self-centeredness.
    The next hour was tortuous on Anna Marie’s nerves. She could actually feel them
    stretching with each second that seemed to languorously tick by. Every time she discreetly looked down at her watch she would see that only a few minutes had passed. She was desperate for dinner to be over with so that she could make her escape to the safety of her small condominium and bury her head in the current book she was reading, where she would be far removed, hopefully forever, from the nerve-racking presence of a Navy SEAL.
    With her stomach tied up in nerves, Anna Marie could barely force any of the food down, leaving most of her plate untouched. To settle some of her nerves, she drank more wine than usual, ignoring her sister’s look of disapproval when she poured her third glass of wine.
    Pepper’s energetic monologue left little room for any other conversation. It didn’t at all occur to her that it would have been considerate to let her husband engage his brother so that they could get reacquainted, since Dallas’s visits were so rare. But Cam didn’t seem to mind, nor, for that matter, did his brother, Anna Marie noticed. Perhaps the two men had brought each other up to date and had gone over old times on their drive from the airport. Or, perhaps, Cam’s brother was just not one of those people who had much to say at all, she thought, no matter how long an absence. She carefully examined his face from beneath lowered lids. And she suppressed a shiver as she saw again the chilling detachment on his striking face and the flatness of his shuttered eyes. Whatever was in his thoughts, though, he was unfailing in giving the appearance of attention to his hostess, maintaining his eyes on her as she talked away about things that he could have no possible interest in. It was obvious that, like his brother, the Navy SEAL was much more of a listener than a talker. And he watched, she noticed. Everything and everyone.
    Anna Marie imagined him perched on some rooftop in the dead of night, camouflaged in black, waiting with the infinite patience of a cat.
    Were all Navy SEALs like him, she wondered, not revealing anything about themselves
    but letting the other spill out their whole life story? If Dallas had been like most men, he would have been regaling his dinner audience with tales of his military prowess. But he wasn’t just in the military. He was in an elite force, the best of the best. He was trained not to talk about his career. Ever. To do so, would have meant death or dismissal.
    “Anna. Anna. ANNA!”
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    Pepper’s sharp, impatient voice snapped her sister out of her thoughts. When her eyes cleared, it was Dallas’s cool greens that she met. She realized that she had been caught staring at him again.
    “Stop your daydreaming for once,” Pepper said imperiously. “Didn’t you hear Cam
    repeatedly asking you to pass the salad?”
    “Oh, I’m sorry.” Anna Marie handed the bowl to Cam who gave her an understanding
    wink.
    After dinner, Pepper served chocolate flan with caramel sauce. She was so pleased with her desert that she decided that she should at least make another effort at politeness to her brother-in-law.
    “It’s too bad that you’ll only be in town for one night,” she said. “Where will you be