Straight From The Heart Read Online Free PDF Page B

then in the course of her frenetic life, she’d dropped him from her thoughts. Betsy brought his name up upon occasion, of course, but one day the word “divorce” was mentioned in conjunction with Stephen Wright. That caught Kim’s attention.
    “They weren’t meant for each other,” was Betsy’s blanket assessment. And then, because she was loyal and true, “He deserves better.”
    Kim had wanted to query her further without seeming overly curious, but Betsy, a friend who generally loved to speculate on people, could sometimes be as closemouthed as a clam. Kim sensed that she was protecting Stephen, which was admirable but downright frustrating! Kim knew her own appreciation of the man could easily turn into an out-and-out attraction. And it would be the first time she’d actually wanted to date another man since she’d met her ex-husband—a lifetime ago!
    But, no  . . . Stephen and Pauleen Wright might be divorcing, but he was in no mood for dating; Betsy was clear on that. She then alluded to the messiness of the split up and became like a mother hen clucking over her injured chick. What Stephen thought of Betsy’s concern, Kim never knew, but she decided to keep her interest in him to herself.
    She saw him at several social functions during this transition. Once he’d even had a beautiful woman on his arm, though Betsy, unsolicited, remarked that the woman, Samantha, had clamped onto Stephen when he’d walked through the door and that he was doing his best to disengage her.
    Kim learned this was true when at the hors d’oeuvre table she was suddenly right next to him, and he desperately looked like he needed a rescue.
    “Hey, there,” he said to Kim, the dark-haired beauty still fervently clutching his sleeve.
    “Hi,” was all Kim managed to answer. As far as scintillating conversation went, she scored a perfect zero.
    The would-be girlfriend broke in right there. “Stephen, come over here. I want you to meet a friend of mine. He’s thinking of switching law firms, and I promised that I’d bring you over to him ASAP.”
    “Can’t do it right now,” Stephen answered politely.
    “Oh, sure you can!”
    “I’ll be there in a minute. I’m involved in a conversation.”
    Kim was surprised. After a moment of consternation, the lovely brunette flicked Kim an assessing look, then reluctantly released Stephen’s arm. Stephen gave Kim a sideways glance as he filled his plate. “Sorry I had to use you as an excuse. I know the guy Samantha wants me to meet, and believe me, I can wait.”
    “It looks to me like it’s Samantha who’s wanting a private meeting,” Kim said. As soon as the words were out she flushed with embarrassment. It wasn’t often she unthinkingly betrayed the thoughts that brushed across her mind. Her boldness shocked her.
    Stephen’s head turned to gaze at her sharply. Spying her flooding color, he started to laugh. “You’re right!” he declared.
    “I’m sorry. I—that was uncalled for. I feel like an idiot.”
    “No, no. It’s okay. I haven’t been socializing much these days, and I think I’ve lost the ability to politely get out of sticky situations. I mean, look, I had to depend on you for help.”
    “Depend away. I absolutely hate being trapped in something I can’t get out of without coming off like a jerk.”
    “I can’t believe you ever come off like a jerk.” He gazed into her eyes. He seemed about to say something—a compliment, perhaps?—but then Samantha reappeared.
    “Come on, Stephen! Come now. Hurry, hurry, hurry!” Her attempts at cuteness fell completely flat, but her insistence was rapidly putting Stephen in exactly the sticky social situation one couldn’t avoid. Samantha yanked on his arm, and he graciously followed, but not before glancing back to Kim and pretending to strangle himself, his tongue lolling out of his mouth and his eyes rolling upward. Kim laughed, and he pulled himself out of the pantomime just as Samantha looked around