Confer, Lorelei - Deadly Revenge (BookStrand Publishing Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page A

family.”
    “Doesn’t your husband worry about you traveling alone?”
    “I don’t have a husband, never have had one. I take care of myself just fine.” Becoming defensive, she balled her fists, and her hair bristled on the back of her neck.
    “Ouch, I’m sorry, didn’t mean to touch a hot button. You’re lucky, marriage isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I was married once, went through a messy, almost unending divorce settlement, and finally ended up losing my shirt anyway. Good thing we never had any kids. They’d be in therapy for life.” He chuckled.
    It’s a good thing Matt and I never got married or had children. We’d all be in therapy for life.
    Tory remembered thinking about what their children would look like. One boy that looked like him and one girl that looked like her—the four of them would have such a happy, perfect life. They would live in a big house with a white picket fence and a dog running around the yard. Have garden parties and sleep together after a hot, sexy romp every night for the rest of their lives.
    Dave asked, “Why hasn’t someone like you ever married?”
    “What?” Tory, stunned back to reality, stared into his dark blue eyes. She thought about looking in those eyes while having sex and watching them change colors as his passion heightened. Her nipples hardened and she crossed her arms in front of her chest. Her heart lurched in her chest and pounded in her ears. Her breathing quickened, making her out of breath.
    “Never married?” he asked quietly.
    “I, I never found the right man I guess,” she answered, as she played with a ring on her right hand.
    She settled her hands in her lap to keep them still.
    “I’d think an attractive, sensuous woman like you would be fighting off men.”
    “My heart was broken about two years ago. I delved into my work and it became my life. What about you? Why aren’t you married?”
    “I was married for a couple of years. It didn’t last long, didn’t work out, and as I said we divorced,” he said, taking a slurp of his coffee.
    “Why didn’t it work out?” Tory asked as she fidgeted in her seat, and twisted her napkin in her nervous hands.
    “Well, from the very beginning she knew my job came first. I had to leave sometimes within minutes of a phone call. It was like I went to bed with Dr. Jekyll and woke up with Mr. Hyde. She wasn’t the right person for me, and we drifted apart.
    “And here’s the kicker. She wanted me to give my house to her. The very house my brother and I grew up in.” He spread his fingers over his chest. “My parents gave it to me when they moved to Hickoryville shortly after my brother Dan died in Iraq. To make a long, messy divorce story short, I finally got to keep the house, but only if I took on all her debt too. So for a few years I lived on a tight budget, went without the newest car, drank a few less beers with the guys.” He sat back in his chair and folded his arms over his chest.
    “I agree with you entirely. I would only marry someone I could trust explicitly.” She managed to form the words and get them out, hating to be reminded of Matt’s infidelities. She sat still.
    “Trust is number one in my book, too,” Dave said, putting his hands on the table and moving closer to her for a more intimate conversation. “Sounds like you learned about trust the hard way.” He folded his napkin and his hands together in front of him on the table.
    She sighed deeply, tried to relax, and took a sip of her coffee. “I suppose I’m lucky. I found out my fiancé was a cheater the night before we were supposed to get married.”
    “Ouch,” Dave said as he looked at his watch and sighed. “I’ve got to be somewhere shortly.” He jotted numbers on a small slip of paper. “If you need anything, anything at all, just call me either on my cell or at my parents’ house. Okay?” He handed her the paper.
    “And I’m staying at my mother’s, so let me give you my number as well.”