Texas Tiger TH3 Read Online Free PDF Page B

is a friend."
    Georgina felt deflated. At the same time she felt relieved. She could say what she wanted to this man, and he wouldn't laugh or walk off or take her in contempt. She touched his arm again, leaving her hand there this time.
    "I want a friend. Will you dance?"
    Music poured through the open windows, and Daniel glanced up at the heavy draperies preventing any sight of the lavish ballroom beyond. He looked down into the plea in her eyes, and held out his arms.
    "I'm not very graceful, but I'd be delighted to try. There's more room out here than in there."
    The flagstones beneath their feet weren't a polished dance floor, and their motions were less than graceful as he had said, but it was a wonderful dance anyway. Georgina gave in to the sway of the music, the brush of a breeze against her skin, and the firm hold of this tall stranger's arms around her. He took a strong lead, leaving her with no concern other than the pleasure of their movements. It was like heaven. She didn't have to say a word, didn't have to be concerned about her appearance, didn't have to watch her steps. None of that mattered with this man. The dance was everything.
    She was sorry when the music stopped. The cowboy's hand lingered briefly at her waist, and even when he dropped his arm, he continued holding her other hand. Their fingers entwined when he looked down on her.
    "I just wanted to see if you were happy," he said in measured tones, as if the speech were practiced.
    Georgina plastered on her vapid smile. "Why, of course I'm happy. I have it all, don't I?"
    "That's what I thought." His gaze was curious, though, and not relieved by her reassurances. "I've decided to stay around a while. I've bought a printing press over near your father's factory. Do you still want me to call on you once in a while?"
    "A printing press?" Her eyes widened in excitement. "Will you start a newspaper? Will you have an office with photographs in the window?" The excitement suddenly departed. "Or are you just printing cards and posters and such?"
    Even if he hadn't contemplated his own paper, he would have after that. Daniel grinned. "I'll be doing both. There's not much money to be made in a newspaper until it gets some circulation. I have to eat somehow."
    Remembering her role as a mature adult, she replied with muted excitement. "I wish you would call on me sometime and tell me about it. I've always been curious about how a newspaper works."
    "I would be happy to tell you what I can, but I don't know if I can get away at proper calling hours. I have a business to run."
    "Give me your card, and I'll see you get the next invitation. I've got to return to my guests."
    Somehow, Georgina knew Mr. Martin wouldn't enter the ballroom with her. It was as if a curtain had been drawn between them. Even when he handed her the card and their fingers touched, that knowledge was there. There was no good reason why their worlds should ever touch again.
    She tucked the piece of cardboard between her breasts and winked. She would almost swear that he colored, but he stepped back into the darkness, and she hurried toward the door as the music started up again. It felt good just knowing he was there. She wouldn't think about all the other things he made her feel.
    * * *
    Peter sprawled his long frame across the blanket they had spread over the grass. His dark curls fell over his forehead as he finished the chicken leg he had been gnawing on. Georgina found him an exceedingly virile specimen of manhood, but she was still searching for the magic she had hoped to find in her future husband.
    At least Peter hadn't been terribly reluctant to indulge her with this intimate little picnic she had talked him into. It was just the two of them for a change. There were no other men to distract him with their talk of business, no other women to distract him with their charms. His attention was all hers.
    She had worn one of her gowns from London, one of those requiring no structured