Letters from Home (Entangled Flirts) Read Online Free PDF Page A

who wrote them. I’m fed up with thinking about it. I’m finished.” She rested her elbows on the table, and her shoulders relaxed. “Wow. Feels good just saying it.”
    She had funny feelings?
    “So, you’ve been getting letters?” Zack picked up his napkin and folded it once, then twice. He glanced at Lena, hoping to come off nonchalant.
    “Ugh! Don’t even start. I am not going over it again. If I have to hear one more time about how silly it is for me to fall in love with a guy just because he writes beautiful letters, I’m going to leave town. Maria’s the only one who has any sympathy, but the way she keeps sighing and swooning over it makes me feel like an idiot.”
    He stared, the coffee forgotten in front of him. His thought process came to a grinding halt. There was even a flutter in that region of his chest, right under his sternum. He cleared his throat, set his coffee down, and opened his mouth to say…what? She fell in love?
    “Zack, you’re a guy.”
    He’d had a moment. She hadn’t. No problem. He unscrambled his brain. A guy. “Yes,” he answered with some hesitation, then grinned. “Thank you for finally noticing.”
    She stopped, gave him a look, and shook her head with a smile. She pulled her coffee mug into her lap as she sat back, relaxed. She tilted her head and studied him with those dark eyes. Dang, those eyes and the mischievous twinkle in them.
    He felt a sigh coming on, which pissed him off a little. What was he? Some little old lady? Or worse, like Maria? But that look said everything. Friends. Compatriots. Pals. Like she was about to tell him secrets she would never tell a lover. Which of course, they weren’t… yet .
    “We’re both very practical.”
    Maybe. He shrugged. “Okay.”
    “Why the secret? Why would a guy pull the secret admirer bit on a woman halfway around the world?” She leaned forward again, crossed her legs, and set the coffee back on the table. “Why not just tell her? If I know the guy…don’t you think that would only be a bonus for him?”
    “Maybe he likes surprises.”
    But Lena guffawed over that answer. “Please. Surprises are for birthdays or vacations. And this…this is exactly why I’ve decided to completely forget about the whole thing—”
    What? Disappointment slammed into him. “You’re not going to meet him on Christmas morning?”
    “Oh, my God. You know, too?” Lena rolled her eyes. “Mike told you, didn’t he?”
    Oops . “Uh, yeah, Mike told me.” Shit . If only Mike had said something. Then he wouldn’t be lying his ass off. He hated to lie to her, but she had to go to the gazebo. If she didn’t go…
    “I like surprises,” he said. “The good kind, anyway.”
    “I’m just not sure anymore. This could end up being a very bad surprise, you know?”
    “What?” He grabbed her hand. Surprise flitted across her pretty features. He didn’t know what else to say. He wanted to surprise her, and for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why. Maybe it was because she’d always been so—like she’d said—practical, even predictable. So smart, most of the romance in life seemed to go right over her head.
    “I’m starting to think I’ve created some kind of Don Juan in my head. No matter what, how can anyone live up to that? I’m—I’m just afraid that whoever is there, I’m going to be disappointed.”
    “But he could be the love of your life.”
    “We are not going to talk about my desperate attempt to find someone to love me.” But the relaxed Lena was gone, and her frown returned.
    The bitter edge to her words struck him, actually pushed him back into his seat. He stared at this beautiful woman with the scowl on her face. “Everyone loves you.”
    Jeez . He knew her parents would never admit to a favorite, but he’d been around the Rodriguez family his whole life. Carlos adored her, always going the extra mile to get her exactly what she wanted. Anabel could talk an ear off about the wonderful