Breathless Read Online Free PDF

“The adults are much easier to get
along with.” Just because her first meeting with the kids hadn’t
gone well didn’t mean the rest of the day would be a disaster.
    “I’m sure it’ll
be fine,” Belinda said, offering him a tight smile.
    Eli knew she
was questioning why she’d pushed so hard to meet his family. He
couldn’t blame her. He would feel the same way in her position.
Everyone loved Jamie, and although none of the adults would dare
mention her name, she would be in every awkward silence as his
family looked for ways to relate to the new lady in his life.
    His people were
blue jeans and cowboy boots, cold beers and Sunday football.
Belinda was high heels and fancy cars, designer suits and manicured
fingernails. Why hadn’t he noticed the differences sooner? Had he
been blind or was he hoping she’d be able to slip seamlessly from
evening wear to worn jeans and cowboy boots and throw her hair up
in a ponytail… the way Jamie did. He knew comparing them was wrong,
but he couldn’t help himself. Jamie would always be the standard by
which he judged all other women.
    When they got
inside, Eli shook hands with his brother-in-law, Adam. ““Hey,
y’all, I’d like you to meet a friend of mine, Belinda Masters.
Belinda, this is my brother-in-law, Adam, and my sister, Casey.” He
waited for them to greet her before he moved on to his parents.
“And this is my mama, Jill, and my dad, Glenn.”
    “It’s so nice
to meet you,” Belinda said, smiling as she passed his mother the
flowers. “You have a lovely home, Mrs. Rea.”
    “Thank you.”
Jill admired the flowers. “They’re lovely. But we don’t stand on
ceremony around here. It’s Jill and Glenn.”
    “Okay.” Belinda
twisted the diamond ring on her right hand. “Can I help with
anything?”
    “Everything’s
almost ready.” Jill lifted her head when Eli leaned in to kiss her
cheek. “Eli, I think your daddy wanted you to have a look at
something outside. Why don’t you guys head on out there? You have
time before dinner.”
    “Is that your
not-so-subtle way of trying to get rid of me, Mama?” Eli asked.
    “Casey and I
want to get to know your friend better without you hovering,” she
said, patting Belinda’s forearm. “Y’all go on ahead. We’ll call you
when we’re ready to eat.”
    Eli felt guilty
leaving Belinda alone, but if their relationship was going to work,
she had to get along with his family. “We’ll be back in a bit,
okay?”
    Belinda smiled.
“Sure, take your time.”
     
    ***
     
    As soon as Eli
returned to wash up for dinner, he felt the tension. “Um, is there
a problem?”
    “Belinda’s not
feeling all that well,” Jill said, sliding on an oven mitt. “You
could have told me she doesn’t eat meat, son.”
    Casey rolled
her eyes. “Apparently even the sight of it makes her nauseous.” She
rubbed her mid-section. “She has a sensitive stomach.”
    Eli pulled on
his sister’s ponytail hard enough to earn an elbow in his ribs. “Is
that any way to treat a friend of mine?”
    “I hope that’s
all she is,” Casey muttered.
    “That’ll be
enough, young lady,” Jill said, giving her the look .
    Casey reached
for a piece of the prime rib. “I’m just sayin’ she rubbed me the
wrong way.”
    “Why’s that?”
The tightening in his stomach told Eli he really didn’t want to
know.
    “She had the
nerve to tell us she’d been trying to talk you into buying a new
Maserati. ‘Only a couple hundred grand,’ she said. If she likes it
so much, why the hell doesn’t she buy it?”
    That was the
worst thing she could have said to Eli’s family. Material things
didn’t impress them. His parents constantly reminded him he
wouldn’t make millions of dollars a year playing hockey forever.
They thought he should invest wisely so he would have money when he
needed it, and he’d listened to their advice. He didn’t live a
lavish lifestyle, and he sure as hell didn’t feel the need to
impress a woman