Flower Girl Bride Read Online Free PDF

hero-admiration session had ended.
    Without Sam’s constant chattering, the air in the truck cab grew stuffier than if Luke had been blasting heat instead of the air-conditioning. I’d always wondered if someone could die from social discomfort, and I figured I was about to have my answer.
    â€œAunt Eleanor sure looks beautiful tonight,” I saidwhen any inane comment seemed better than letting this silence linger.
    Luke made one of those grunting sounds that men like to use instead of words. Only real words count as far as I’m concerned, but I continued anyway, as if he’d spoken, tried to make eye contact and made a real effort.
    â€œI think it’s great that my aunt and your mother have been friends for as long as they have. How many of us can say we have friends like that?”
    â€œNot many.” He didn’t look at me as he followed the line of cars down the winding, tree-lined road that led to town. Though he didn’t mention whether he had any friends like that, if he was the sweetheart with other people that he’d been to me, I was guessing no. Maybe he’d never heard the whole catching-more-flies-with-honey argument.
    I tried again though I didn’t know why I was making the effort. Talking to Luke Sheridan was like trying to break through a brick wall with conversation when only a sledgehammer would do the job.
    â€œI’m so happy for my aunt and uncle. Twenty-five years of marriage is a major accomplishment these days.”
    Luke slowed to a stop at one of Mantua’s few traffic lights, and he turned to face me, his expression tight. “Look, I’m sure you’re a nice person, but—” He cleared his throat and started again. “I don’t know what my mother told you when she said she would set you up, but she was wrong.”
    â€œTold me?” Even I heard the squeak in my voice, so I didn’t kid myself into believing he didn’t hear it. “Youthink I would have subjected myself to this humiliation on purpose? ”
    Clearly he had or he wouldn’t have been looking at me with an expression every bit as incredulous as the one I had trained on him. “You mean you didn’t know—”
    â€œNo!”
    I jerked at the harsh sound of my own voice, and looked up to see the light change. I waited for him to pass through the intersection and sneaked a peek back at Sam, who was still mesmerized by his game, before I continued.
    â€œI’ve been avoiding matchmakers like a good case of malaria ever since the—well, for a while now.”
    My cheeks burned, and I stared at my hands in my lap. I couldn’t believe I’d almost mentioned the divorce out loud when I’d become an expert at pretending it hadn’t happened. All is well on the banks of denial , after all.
    â€œKind of hard to escape this particular Cupid, huh?”
    My head came up with a snap. Had the sourpuss just made a joke? “Aunt Eleanor? Probably would have been a little awkward, I’ll give you that. But I would have found some excuse if I’d known what my aunt had planned.”
    â€œLike you had to wash your hair?”
    â€œAnd do deep conditioning, of course.”
    â€œOf course.” He shrugged. “I just wish I could have avoided this overromanticized tribute to matrimonial bliss altogether.”
    â€œNow don’t hold back, Luke. Tell me what you really think.” I couldn’t help chuckling, as the tension between us eased. “Wait. I’m related to the bride. I had to be here. What’s your excuse?”
    â€œYou don’t know my mom very well, do you?”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œShe’s a transplanted Southern belle, and she’s used to getting her way.” He jerked the hand that wasn’t on the steering wheel toward me as if to toss out his earlier comment. “What can I say? I’m a mama’s boy to the core.”
    I grinned at