Love By The Book Read Online Free PDF Page A

was released as quickly as it had been taken. He seemed to find nothing awkward or inappropriate in the action. His expression was as casual as if he kissed strange women’s hands every day. Maybe he did.
    To keep him from seeing how weirded out I was by that, I cleared my throat and jumped to the first safe subject that crossed my mind. “I brought your watch back.”
    His brows drew together. “My watch?”
    “Yes.” Digging around in my purse, I produced the gold pocket watch. “I found this lying in the street beside you. I figured it had to be yours, so I held onto it for you. I really did mean to give it back before, but somehow I forgot.”
    I dropped the watch on the bedside table, and he picked it up. There was no recognition in his eyes as he turned the object over.
    “I can’t say I recall owning anything like this, but then I’m afraid the accident has clouded my memory. It was good of you to return it, Miss Hurst.”
    Okay. When he talked he was even weirder. There was something very odd about his voice—or more specifically his choice of words. He spoke in a stiff, formal style, like he was reading lines from a script. And his accent didn’t sound like anything I’d ever heard.
    But I shook my questions away. Maybe he was just feeling self-conscious. Even if he didn’t look it. Besides, despite his weird speech the smile he offered seemed genuine. I found myself thinking what a gorgeous smile he had with his shallow dimple and dazzling row of perfectly white teeth. They could’ve come from an ad for porcelain veneers, except I was pretty sure all of them were real.
    I realized I was staring again, but he didn’t seem to mind.
    “Please, sit down,” he invited. “I haven’t had a chance to thank you for what you did yesterday.”
    I took a seat on the edge of the straight-backed chair beside his bed. “Don’t thank me. I wasn’t much help really and I just did what everyone there should have.”
    “Yes, but none of them did,” he pointed out smoothly. “Only you.”
    I felt my cheeks redden. I’ve always been an easy blusher, especially when being heaped with praise from handsome strangers. It was my curse. I searched for something relevant to say that would remove the uncomfortably warm spotlight from me before I started sweating, something I did not want to do while wearing my favorite silk blouse.
    “It must have been a terrifying experience, looking up and seeing that car coming at you. I can’t even imagine.” As soon as the words were out I felt like an idiot. Naturally it was terrifying, you moron! Who wouldn’t be freaking if they saw a huge hunk of speeding metal flying at them?
    Luckily, my companion either didn’t notice how inane the question was or was too polite to let on if he did. “To tell you the truth,” he said, “I don’t remember much about it. Everything happened so suddenly. There is one thing I remember very clearly, though—lying on the pavement, waiting to die, and then…And then looking up to see you and thinking maybe I wouldn’t after all.” His tone and expression were matter-of-fact, his bluntness saving the statement from sounding romantic.
    He shrugged and went on. “Perhaps it sounds foolish, but I felt less alone to have you there. Something about you seemed so safe. I felt like I’d known you all my life.”
    My heart beat faster. Here it was. I was going to find out why he felt so familiar to me. I forgot my awkwardness and asked abruptly, “Can you tell me— that is, have we met somewhere before, D.C.?”
    I couldn’t say what made me add those initials. I had been thinking of the engraving on the watch and it just popped out.
    “D.C.?” He looked puzzled. “Who is D.C.?”
    “It’s you. I mean I had thought it was you, but I guess maybe it’s not.” I felt my face color further and scrambled to explain. “It’s the initials I found engraved on the watch. Not that I was looking! That is, I didn’t mean to snoop—” I