Surrender to Love Read Online Free PDF Page A

know—it’s driving me crazy.”
    Tony knew during the ensuing silence that she was struggling for an excuse for Paul’s behavior. In a way it made the situation worse. Of course she would defend her father. Shewas supposed to. But he didn’t like the uneasiness he felt when she chose Paul’s side, nor did he like the fact that the issue forced her to choose a side.
    “Let’s give him some more time,” she suggested with pleading eyes.
    He looked away.
    “Come on. You know the way he found out about us had to have been a shock for him.” Her face flushed from the memory.
    Tony nodded, remembering Paul entering Michelle’s apartment with a bouquet of flowers and discovering them making love near the fireplace. She’d forgotten to cancel her dinner date with Paul and, in turn, had set an awkward stage for all involved.
    “It wasn’t exactly how I wanted him to find out about us,” Tony said.
    Michelle exhaled but her smile remained tender. “Nor did I. But what has happened, happened. We need to give him more time to adjust to the idea.”
    “We’re more than an idea. We’re the real thing.”
    “I know. I know,” she agreed. “But can you do this for me? Give him some more time.”
    What she was asking wasn’t unreasonable. The way she looked at him through her wire-rimmed glasses made him feel that perhaps he was reading too much into things. Maybe if they had told Paul about their two-year relationship, he wouldn’t have taken things so hard.
    She read his troubled expression. “What?” she asked.
    “Nothing,” he lied, then leaned over to kiss her gently on the lips. As he drew near, he inhaled the faint scent of roses. It was in her hair and on her skin. It was one of the things he loved about her. At times like these she was soft and vulnerable, but as a lawyer she was hard and unyielding.
    She was an interesting combination of contradictions. Witheach day that passed, he found himself more fascinated with all the facets that made her who she was.
    Their lips met and a familiar flutter returned in his heart. Yes, she was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, despite the obstacles and challenges that lay before them—and since they were an interracial couple, there were sure to be plenty.
    When their lips parted, he was satisfied with her widening smile. Her eyes fluttered open, and the love that radiated from them overwhelmed him.
    “It’s not nothing , and you know it,” she said, undaunted by this attempt to distract her.
    He groaned and smiled at the same time. She knew him too well. “Okay, then maybe it’s just not a big deal.”
    Unconvinced, she held his gaze.
    “Really. I think I’m going to do just like you said and just give your dad more time. I’m sure that he’ll come around.”
    “You mean it?” she asked.
    Tony drew her into his arms with the full realization that he was willing to do anything to please her. “Of course I mean it.” He kissed her, and all thoughts regarding her father were forgotten for the rest of the night.
     
    Paul couldn’t get the mall shooting out of his head. There were too many holes in the puzzle, and it didn’t sit well with him.
    Still dressed in his work clothes, minus the tie, Paul sat at his desk in his home office and reviewed his notes. He had to be missing something—call it a hunch. The crime scene didn’t make much sense.
    The hour grew late, and by the time he was ready to head off to bed, Paul had made up his mind to start his investigation with Newman’s team members. In the morning he’d suggest that Tony talk with Newman’s partner.
    On the way to the bedroom, he stopped in the kitchen and retrieved a beer. It was the perfect nightcap to a grueling day. It would also help numb the pain of retiring to an empty bed. But it would be only a temporary fix. Within an hour or two the familiar ache of loneliness would return, as it had every night.
    Often he’d thought about moving to a place where there