Asanni Read Online Free PDF Page B

little teenager caught in serious grown-up
circumstances, but I’ve never thought she wanted her husband and
your father dead.”
    “I know. It’s been a comfort all these years.
It was Seth who killed Brian and Hal, not Rowena, I’m aware of
that.”
    “Jack, Astrid’s a mature and responsible
young woman,” Tristan repeated softly. “Maybe too mature and too
responsible. I tease her sometimes that she was born as a
twenty-five year old woman. She had one or two stormy teenage
years, but even that was more or less a typical hormonal rebellion,
although Arnaldur and Ella probably wouldn’t agree.”
    Tristan’s phone buzzed. He glanced toward it,
reading the message on the display. “She’s going home early. She
said she’d ask you if you wanted to come to our place tonight...
That’s a nice little concession, good job, Astrid.”
    When he saw my puzzled look, he explained, “I
asked her this morning if you two would come. Liv’s eager to see
you. Oh, she’ll be ecstatic when she hears about the bond.”
    I bet she would be.
    “I asked Astrid to phone me to pick her up
when she was finished. Why didn’t she?”
    “Oh, don’t worry, she’s not going to make
your life a picnic, at least not at the beginning,” Tristan said.
“She’s independent and territorial, and you just stepped into her
precious little space. She’s challenging you. Why don’t you
surprise her? She’ll be leaving in twenty minutes.”
    “I might...Tristan, she’s not even my type.
She’s too serious and... and too skinny.” I meekly tried my futile
resistance one more time. And no boobs . I added another
irrelevant complaint to the whole list of other ridiculous ones,
but at least I knew better than to say it aloud. Tristan was a
first-rate old-school gentleman, and Astrid Mohegan was his
protégé.
    He looked at me as if I’d suddenly sprouted a
second head. “With the exception of Mrs. Livia Aurelia Lucilla
Blake, Astrid’s the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen, in both
her forms. You should think beyond bonding. Have a good look at
her, you old fool! Relax, Jack, you’ll be eating out of her hand
before you know it, and you’ll love it.” I heard my friend’s hearty
laugh as I closed the door behind.
     
    I RETURNED to the reception desk and asked if
I could please see Dr. Duplant. This time a young girl sat behind
the desk.
    “And who is asking for Dr. Duplant?” the girl
asked with a flashy smile.
    “Jack.”
    “What’s your last name, Jack?” The question
was unnecessary, her voice had the wrong intonation, and the smile
was too sweet.
    All I wanted was to see my girl. “Jack’s
enough. Please call Dr. Duplant for me, will you?”
    She lowered her eyes and dialed the
number.
     
    ASTRID SHOWED up five minutes later and
looked at me with an arched eyebrow. She was ready to go home:
handbag over her shoulder, her light coat draped over her arm. I
took the coat from her hands and helped her to put it on. I rested
my hands on her shoulders and let the warm current run between us
for a moment.
    “You said you would phone me when you were
done. Don’t tell me you were about to,” I said casually.
    “I wasn’t,” she said and turned. A little
smile that lurked in her deep-blue eyes reached her lips. In a
split second I realized what Tristan had tried to tell me just a
few minutes ago. God, you are beautiful! I almost said
aloud, looking at her as if I hadn’t seen her last night at
all.
    She opened her coat to smooth the blue dress
under it. Last night she was in an oversized shirt. This morning
she’d been fully dressed when she left her bedroom, her coat
included. Now I realized I was grossly mistaken about at least one
more thing. Or rather two. The boobs.
    I laughed aloud and wrapped my arm around her
shoulders. She glanced suspiciously at me from under her lashes,
but stayed close, and the brave smile still lingered on her
face.
    I had a secret, and for the time being I
wasn’t going to share