Ladies' Man Read Online Free PDF Page B

celebrating?”
    “Now, there’s a myth.” Sam unwrapped the plastic from the top of the bottle, exposing the cork. “Who says we need to celebrate something in order to enjoy a glass of champagne? It’s really just beer made from grapes.”
    The phone rang, and again Ellen put on the speaker. “Hang on, folks,” Ron’s voice said. “I’ve got a lot of brake lights ahead.”
    The limo slowed, all the way to a stop.
    As Sam watched, Ellen reached for a button on a control panel, and the opaque privacy panel that separated the back of the limo from the front seat went down. She moved across onto the other seat, sitting sideways so that she could look out the front windshield.
    “What’s going on?” she asked the driver.
    He shook his head. “I don’t know. But it looks as if some people up ahead are getting out of their cars.”
    Sam looked at his watch. “There’ll be a traffic report on WINS in just a minute.”
    Ron nodded. “I’ve been going back and forth between the stations—nobody’s said anything about this. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything. But from the way this looks, we could be here for a while.”
    Ellen turned back to look at Sam as she put the panel back into place. “If there’s one thing I hate about New York City, it’s the relentless traffic. I hope you don’t need to be anywhere soon.”
    “No, I’ve got the whole night.” For the first time in his life, Sam was ecstatic about being stuck in a traffic jam.
    Who said they had nothing to celebrate?
    He smiled and popped the champagne’s cork.

THREE

    M y all-time favorite movie?” Ellen mused, leaning back against the soft leather of the seat, her sandals off and her feet up on the facing seat. “That’s a hard one. I think it’s a toss-up between
E.T., The Sound of Music
, and
The Usual Suspects
.”
    Sam laughed as he poured himself another glass of champagne. “I can see your problem deciding,” he teased. “They’re all so similar.”
    His feet were up on the seat, too, and Ellen nudged his foot with her toe. “They
are
. They’re all great movies.”
    Sam shifted slightly, moving closer to her so that their feet were touching all the time. “More?” he asked, holding out the bottle.
    Ellen shook her head. “No, thanks. At least not until we can get something to eat to go with it.” She looked down at their feet—his were still touching hers—and then up into his eyes.
    “So, tell me what made you decide to come to New York City for the summer,” he said with a smile.
    Ellen had to laugh. “This is my fault, isn’t it?” she asked. “I touched you first, so now you figure it’s okay to touch me.”
    He still didn’t move his feet away. He’d pulled off his white athletic socks when he’d taken off his sneakers, and his feet were warm, with straight, evenly shaped toes. But compared to his arms and hands, his feet were lily white, as if he didn’t spend much time with his socks and sneakers off. They were nice to look at, though, and even nicer to feel against her own slightly chilly toes.
    He took another sip of his champagne as he gazed at her. “I’d rather hold your hand, but I thought I’d start slowly. You have to admit I’ve shown incredible restraint, considering we’ve been sitting here together for…” He glanced at his watch. “Nearly two hours.”
    “Your subtlety has been astonishing,” Ellen agreed, “for a man who claims not to be subtle.”
    He reached across her to set his wineglass in an inset holder along the side of the interior, and their shoulders touched. But when he shifted back, he didn’t move far enough away. She wasn’t all that surprised when he picked up her hand and laced their fingers together.
    The sensation made her heart accelerate, but she couldn’t seem to pull away. She didn’t
want
to pull away.
    “You seem just a little gun-shy,” he told her softly, bringing her hand up to his lips. “I’m trying really hard not to scare