The Antique Love Read Online Free PDF Page B

open wide. “You and your daydreaming. White River. That’s priceless.”
    A few weeks ago, Penny would have laughed along but not since David’s hurtful outburst. Now it seemed even Tehmeena thought she was ditsy. Penny picked up the folder Kurt had left and flipped through it without looking up.
    There was silence for a couple of minutes, and then Penny felt her friend’s hand touch her shoulder.
    “Hey,” Tehmeena said quietly. “I’m not doing a David. I know he used to have a go at you all the time, but you should take no notice. You’ve got a brilliant imagination. And customers love you for it.”
    “Mmm.” Penny returned the brochure to her desk.
    Tehmeena squeezed her shoulder affectionately. “And you’ve got the head of White River doing our accounts. That’s one in the eye for smarmy David, anyway.” She lifted one slim eyebrow. “You must have really impressed him.”
    Penny shrugged. “I didn’t say anything,” she protested, slipping Kurt’s card into the folder with the rest of his paperwork. “It’s just that he didn’t want to give up. The more I kept telling him we didn’t have time to work with him, the more persistent he became. I expect he’s the sort of man who just likes a challenge.”
    Tehmeena cocked her head. “Well, I saw the way he was looking at you, hon.” A mischievous grin appeared. “If Penny Rosas is the challenge, seems to me the cowboy from White River was enjoying playing the game.”
    Penny looked up quickly. “Ha ha. Very funny. Now you’re the one with the imagination.”
    “Uhuh.” Tehmeena refused to budge. “Let’s see how long it is before he asks you out.”
    Penny stared. “Asks me out?” she repeated. “Kurt Bold is looking for a marriage based on logic and rational decisions. Do you really think that’s me?”
    Tehmeena’s grin was so broad it nearly met her ears. “You know what they say—opposites attract.”
    “Yeah, right.” Penny finally smiled back. Tehmeena looked so ridiculously hopeful, she couldn’t help but laugh. “Opposites do attract. I’ll give you that. But I think you’d need a pretty big magnet for this one.”
    * * * *
    Kurt clicked the green button on his screen and waited whilst his laptop dialled through to Wyoming. The tone sounded several times without response, and he was on the verge of disconnecting when his sister’s face suddenly filled the screen.
    “Hey Kurt. Sorry for the wait. I was just feeding Selina.”
    “Girls keeping you busy, Ann?”
    “Yeah, I guess,” his sister said. Her petite features were looking a little wan, despite her tan. “Selina slept through the night last night, though, so that’s helped. And Caitlin’s a doll. She tries to help with the chores. And she told me today she’s too big a girl to cry now that she’s four.”
    Kurt laughed. “Guess four’s a big age,” he said. “Give them both a hug from their uncle. Wish I could be there to help you with those chores.”
    He kept his tone light, but his concern was evident in the way he leaned forward toward the screen. Ann shook her head swiftly, the microphone catching the faint tinkling sound of her earrings.
    “There’s no need. You’ve already done plenty. I paid someone to clear the garden with the last money you sent. Caitlin has a swing and a slide and everything a little girl could want.”
    Everything a little girl could need…except a father. The words went unspoken between them. Ann’s latest boyfriend had left her, just the same as the previous one. Kurt’s sister ran into relationships with boundless optimism, expecting everything to be rosy—always sure that this time it was definitely true love. But every time the guy was either faithless or feckless. Kurt had lost count of the number of times his sister had used his shoulder to cry on. But no matter how he tried to convince her, she continued to hold blindly to the belief that true love was just around the corner.
    Kurt had been protecting his