Semiautomatic Marriage Read Online Free PDF Page A

you, Carolyn, and he must have loved your mother very much to leave almost everything he had to her daughter.”
    “All this is too sudden. I still can’t believe it.” Her fingers tightened on her cup. “How could my life change so radically in the span of a few moments?”
    “That’s the way it does sometimes, both good and bad. But nothing stays the same, and we really don’t have much choice how to handle change. We can make it work for us or just mark time.”
    The challenge in his tone was clear, but she ignored it. She wasn’t ready to make any kind of a commitment. Certainly not the kind he was proposing. She needed time. Time! She glanced at the kitchen clock. Almost one o’clock. She was due at the free clinic at twelve-thirty.
    “What’s the matter?” he asked as panic flashed across her face.
    “It’s my afternoon at Friends Free Clinic.” She hurriedly got to her feet. “I completely forgot. Oh, no. My car. Taking a bus will eat up another hour.”
    “Well, if mine is still working, I think we’re in business.”
    She nodded. “Thank you. I’m surprised Dr. McPherson hasn’t called to chew me out. He’s an ornery old codger who should have retired years ago, but he can’t ignore the need. Just a minute while I grab my medical bag.”
    “What about lunch?” he asked as if he hadn’t been planning on coaxing her to have it with him.
    “I’m used to skipping it.”
    “Doctor, doctor,” he teased. “For shame.”
    She laughed then, a full, wonderful laugh that wrinkled her nose, brought a shine to her crystalline blue eyes. She was utterly beautiful. Vibrant. And desirable. He was stunned by the sudden realization that Carolyn Leigh was about to touch some guarded depth of emotion that he thought he’d put away forever. He couldn’t afford such feelings. First of all, she was on the threshold of a lifestyle of money and prestige, and getting involved with her would go nowhere. Second, any personal feelings would wreak havoc with the impersonal marriage of convenience that was vital to the success of his mission.It would be pure idiocy to allow himself to be attracted to her on any level.
    Carolyn directed him to the clinic, which was housed in an old building that had once been a small neighborhood school. The place was still run-down and in need of remodeling, but the first floor had been refurbished to handle the various demands of a free clinic.
    A valiant sun had lost its battle to the overcast sky and a soft rain began to fall as he let her out of the car.
    “Thanks a bunch,” Carolyn said quickly as she prepared to make a dash for the front door.
    “Carolyn, will you think about what I’ve said?”
    “I’ll…I’ll be in touch.”
    From the look on his face, Carolyn knew he was expecting more than this vague promise, but at the moment it was all she had to give. If he’d pushed her for an answer to his proposition, it would have been an immediate and definite No!
    “I could give you a ride home,” he suggested.
    “Thanks, but I’ll catch a ride with someone from the clinic when it closes.”
    As she hurried away, she could feel his intense gaze on her back. Why in the world hadn’t she told him straight out that playing house with him was out of the question? She sympathized with his personal loss, admired his dedication to his job, but she wasn’t cut out for a game of deception. Just pretending to be his wife, and opening herself up to all kinds of undefined emotions, was more than she could handle.
    “Well, now. Who’s the hunk that made you late?” Rosie DiPaloa teased as Carolyn hurried intothe reception area. Obviously the dark-haired young woman had been looking out the window as Adam drove up in front of the building. “Don’t tell me our brand-new doctor is spreading her wings already. What gives?”
    “Sorry to disappoint you, Rosie. Nothing gives. I’m late because of a business meeting. And my car won’t start—again. Would you have your brother