One Pink Rose; One White Rose; One Red Rose Read Online Free PDF

asked with a grin.
    Her chin came up a notch. “Why is that amusing?”
    â€œHe sounds like a . . . pansy.”
    â€œI assure you he isn’t. His poems are beautiful. Will you quit grinning at me? They are beautiful, and it’s apparent to me that he’s a very intelligent man. You may read his letters if you don’t believe me. I have all three of them tucked inside one of my satchels. Shall I fetch them for you?”
    â€œI don’t want to read his letters. You still haven’t explained why you’re so determined to marry a stranger.”
    â€œI tried marrying someone I knew, and look how that turned out.”
    â€œYou decided on this course of action after you got jilted, didn’t you?”
    â€œLet’s just say that it was the last disappointment I was going to suffer.”
    â€œIs that so?” he remarked, wondering how she was going to prevent further disappointments.
    She seemed to read his thoughts. “I stayed up all that night . . . my wedding night,” she said.
    â€œCrying?” he asked.
    â€œNo, I didn’t cry. I spent the entire night thinking about my circumstances, and I finally came up with a plan that I believe will change everything. I’ve always been forthright and honest. Well, no more, thank you very much.”
    â€œHow come you’re being honest with me?”
    She shrugged. “I shouldn’t be, I suppose. Still, I won’t ever see you again after today—at least I don’t think I will—so it doesn’t matter if you know I’m a fraud. No one else will.”
    â€œTrying to be something you aren’t will only make things worse.”
    She didn’t agree. “Being me didn’t do me a lick of good, and once I figured that out, I decided to reinvent myself. I was sick and tired of working hard and being so boringly practical all the time.”
    â€œYou’re overreacting, that’s all.” And crazy, he silently added. “Your pride was wounded, but you’ll get over it.”
    His cavalier attitude irritated her. “I know exactly what I’m doing, and pride doesn’t have anything to do with my decision. Working hard hasn’t gotten me anywhere. Shall I give you an example?”
    She didn’t wait for his answer, but plunged ahead. “Randolph was studying to become a banker. He was just beginning his last year at the university when we became officially engaged. His studies were difficult for him, and because of his grades, he was worried he’d be asked to leave. I told him that if he wouldn’t accept every social invitation that came to him, he would have time for his studies, but he wouldn’t listen to me. He asked me to help him with his research, and because I was such a ninny and wanted to please him, I ended up writing several lengthy papers for him. He was supposed to use the papers as his study guide, but I later found out he put his name on the top of the first page and handed them in to his professors. It was a dishonest thing to do, of course, and do you know what his punishment was? He took honors for his last year’s work and was hired by one of the most prestigious banks in Boston. He started out making an impressive salary, and that was when my sister became interested in him. Ironic, isn’t it? If I hadn’t helped him, he wouldn’t have gotten such a fine position, and my sister would have left him alone.
    â€œI’ve learned from my mistakes though, which is why Mr. O’Toole and I are going to do well together. Randolph broke all the promises he made to me, and I won’t let Mr. O’Toole ever break his word.”
    â€œHow are you going to stop him?”
    She ignored the question. “He might not be as rich as Randolph is, but almost, and he lives out here, in this beautiful, wild, untamed land, and that makes him just as appealing to me. I really hated living in the