Kissing Comfort Read Online Free PDF Page A

For reasons she did not entirely understand, failing to notice Beauregard DeLong had never been possible.
    Comfort was glad of the shadow play across his face. His eyes were a most peculiar shade of blue-violet, and to be the subject of his study was to be pinned in place by twin points of light glancing off polished steel.
    â€œAre you going inside?” she asked.
    â€œI haven’t decided. Are you?”
    â€œI’ve been inside all evening, Mr. DeLong.”
    â€œBode.”
    Comfort acknowledged this preference with a slight nod. She couldn’t imagine that she’d ever be that familiar with him. From Bram she knew that his older brother’s name had been too much of a mouthful, even for a child as precocious as Beauregard was alleged to have been. He repeated what he thought he was hearing all around him. Beauregard DeLong. Beau DeLong. Bode Long. The most difficult part of the story for Comfort to imagine was that Beau DeLong had ever been a child.
    â€œWould you like to sit?” asked Bode.
    As he didn’t move, Comfort considered the invitation suspect. She had never thought of him as someone who embraced formalities, so perhaps it was only that he was tired of looking up at her. “No, thank you.”
    â€œAs you like.”
    Bode didn’t shrug, but it was as if he had. Comfort wondered that he could communicate so much carelessness in so few words. Nodding again, this time as a parting gesture, Comfort took the first backward step to remove herself from his presence. She came up short when he spoke.
    â€œI noticed you and Bram in earnest discussion on the portico.”
    Comfort stared at him and said stiffly, “You should have made yourself known.”
    â€œPerhaps. I thought it impolite to interrupt.”
    â€œIt is far more impolite to eavesdrop.”
    â€œIt is. And so I came over here.” A short, soft laugh rose from the back of his throat. “You don’t believe me.”
    She didn’t deny it. “I suppose I’m wondering at what point you left.”
    â€œDo you imagine listening to your conversation with my brother was a temptation? I assure you it was not. My only thought was escape. I saw you, and I left. And why wouldn’t I? Your presence there gave me another opportunity to avoid that crush inside. Who are all those people?”
    â€œYour friends.”
    â€œDo you think so?”
    â€œYour mother and Bram say they are.”
    â€œThen they must be.”
    Comfort sighed. “You’ve known about this party, haven’t you? For how long?”
    â€œJust about as long as my mother.”
    She smiled a bit ruefully. His answer was not unexpected. “I suppose her excitement made all the secret planning perfectly transparent.”
    â€œSomething like that.”
    Comfort had hoped for a less enigmatic reply. “You’ll be appropriately surprised, won’t you?”
    â€œIs it important to you?”
    Not understanding the question, she frowned. “To me? It’s important to your mother.”
    â€œI’m certain it is, but that’s not what I asked.”
    â€œI don’t see why it matters.” When he said nothing and let silence become a burden, she answered. “It’s important to me because it will give your mother pleasure. She deserves that.”
    â€œWe are all deserving.”
    â€œI hope so.”
    Bode tapped the back of the bench with his index finger. “What has your part been?”
    â€œMy part?”
    â€œMother elicited your support. She can’t have a secretary to help her manage her affairs, so she relies on those trusted people within her sphere of influence.” He paused, arching an eyebrow. “Are you going to tell me she didn’t rely on you?”
    â€œI assisted her with the guest list.” One corner of her mouth lifted. “And the menu.” The quirky line of her lips became more defined. “And the seating