Heartbreaker Read Online Free PDF Page A

Rose and Matt, seeing the glow in their eyes for each other had awakened something inside her.
    Envy, yes. But more than that. A longing for something she couldn’t exactly define.
    A mate?
    She grimaced. Most men she met didn’t take her career seriously at all. They didn’t seem to understand that she’d spent years getting where she was, that she’d started dance lessons when she was four years old. Twenty-three years of unrelenting effort. One couldn’t let up for a second and expect to remain at the top of the pyramid.
    She’d expended just as much sweat equity in her career as most men had in theirs, and a heck of a lot more than some of them had.
    â€œHey, Michael.” She heard Matt call a greeting to the famous doctor. Her heart pounded furiously.
    Arrogant ape, implying she was self-centered and bratty to cause her family concern over her condition.
    It was her life, her body, her heart!
    Only she could decide what to do about it. So far, she’d done fine, showing their family doctor and the cardiologist from her youth that she could make it with her “child-size” heart.
    â€œThe salad’s ready,” she announced.
    Rose glanced up with a smile from the chocolate icing she was spreading over brownies. “Good. The potatoes are done. I turned the oven off. Josie, would you mind taking the steaks out to Matt? Oh, and see if Michael would like a glass of wine or iced tea rather than beer.”
    â€œI don’t mind at all.” Josie smoothed the tablecloth and placed the crystal bowl of floating roses in the center.
    Flynt’s wife, Josie, was also expecting. Theremust be a fecundity in the Texas air these days, Susan thought. Josie was a natural mother. Susan had watched her earlier with Baby Lena, who was asleep in the guest room at present.
    â€œI’ll set the table,” Susan volunteered, shaking off thoughts of babies and such things. She felt a tad self-righteous about helping her sister. That should show the baboon she was as nice as anyone.
    Except she wasn’t as nice as her big sister. Nor as beautiful. Rose, with her black hair, violet eyes and fair, delicate skin, was truly lovely. She had depth to her, a quietness within, as if she’d always known who she was and where she was going.
    Susan sighed. She’d been something of a rebel, stubbornly packing off to Houston and trying out for a position with the ballet company in spite of her family’s conviction that she would never make it, that her health wouldn’t let her even if she had the talent.
    She brightened. She had made it. But now her life’s passion was threatened. The dance company director had made it clear she couldn’t return without a clean bill of health.
    Not only that, she wasn’t even allowed to drive. Her license was temporarily suspended due to her collapse, until a doctor determined that she was well enough to manage a car. It was simply too much.
    â€œHello, Susan,” Michael said in a deep voice that caused the tension level in the room to soar.
    Although she’d been aware of him entering the house, unexpected tremors vibrated through her, like a string plucked carelessly and too hard by someone who was not a musician. She inhaled sharply, aware of the heightened pulse beating in her temple, and filled her senses with the scent of talc, men’s cologne and the freshness of the evening that clung to his powerful frame.
    After placing the last plate on the table, she tossed a casual smile his way. “Nice to see you again.”
    She’d be polite if it killed her. Rose didn’t need to be upset by strain between her and this overconfident surgeon. Needing to go between him and the table to return to the kitchen, she hesitated as she eyed the space.
    He was about six inches taller than her five feet, eight inches. A perfect height for ballroom dancing, the thought came to her. She loved all forms of the art.
    Meeting