The Wedding Band Read Online Free PDF Page A

bird.
    Chris slanted a glance at Dakota. He looked amused, and a little perplexed. He caught her eye, and the grin he gave her was boyish, spontaneous. And twice as appealing as the Smile.
    Her heart sped up in response, and she smiled back without thinking.
    Instantly, his eyes glazed. He focused on her lips.
    She clamped them shut.
    Zach touched her arm. “May I present my daughter, Christy?”
    Chris pried her lips open. “I’m delighted to meet you, Mrs. Rain.”
    â€œPlease, call me Verna.” Her handshake was firm, but her fingers felt like twigs.
    â€œWhat a lovely name. I’ve never heard it before.”
    â€œOh, I don’t imagine you have many Vernas in Los Angeles anymore. But there’s a few of us in Wyoming yet.” She touched Dakota’s sleeve. “Remember Verna Presky? You had such a crush on her in sixth grade. She wouldn’t look at you twice.”
    Zach let out a laugh. “Bet that hasn’t happened lately,” he said to Dakota.
    â€œYou’d be surprised” was the wry reply.
    Chris felt his gaze on her face. She darted a glance at him.
    And Verna caught them red-­handed. A slow smile curved her lips. “Christy, dear, are you married?”
    â€œUm, no.” In Chris’s world, marital role models were thin on the ground. So were marital prospects.
    Verna patted her wrist. “Don’t worry, dear. The right man will come along. Maybe sooner than you think.” Deliberately, she looked up at her son. “I met your father at a wedding, you know.”
    â€œYeah, Ma, I know. A hundred ­people and your eyes met across the room.”
    â€œThat’s just how it was.” She turned to Chris. “My second cousin Noreen’s wedding reception. I was sixteen, in a sprigged muslin dress I made for the occasion, the most formfitting thing I’d ever worn.”
    One hand floated over her hip. “I was just filling out, and that dress caught the boys’ eyes. They gathered round as boys do, but I knew them all from school and wasn’t interested in a one of them.
    â€œThen Roy walked in.” Her eyes sparkled. “He was older, from a few towns over. We’d never met, but he took one look at me, I took one look at him, and we beat a path to the preacher.”
    She lowered her voice. “In those days, you know, marriage came before sex, so there was no time to waste. Roy was that handsome.”
    Dakota drew back, shock on his face. “Whoa, wait. You mean you and Pops have had sex?”
    â€œOh, a time or two. But even though we gave him ample opportunity, the Lord chose not to give us children until you and your brother came along.” She patted Dakota’s cheek. “And the moral of that story is, be careful what you pray for.”
    Dakota caught her thin hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. “God works in mysterious ways.”
    â€œThat he does, my boy.” She smiled boundless love at him. Then she tucked her hand in his arm. “We’ve pestered these nice folks long enough. Take me back to your father.”
    â€œYes, ma’am.”
    Chris watched them go, the broad-­shouldered man in the bespoke tuxedo towering over the tiny woman in the off-­the-­rack dress.
    Zach shoulder-­bumped her. “A guy who loves his mom can’t be all bad.”
    â€œI didn’t say he’s bad. I said he’s light in the brainpan.”
    But she had to admit it was hard not to like a guy who treated his mom like a queen.
    And it would be harder still to exploit their relationship for the Sentinel .
    K OTA SMILED AT the wannabe starlet manning the bar. “Gimme a Johnnie Walker, will you, sweetheart?”
    â€œWould that be red, black, blue or platinum, Mr. Rain?” She tilted strawberry lips, did a slow blink of bluebonnet eyes.
    â€œMake it red, honey, I’m a simple man.” Since it was expected, he dropped his gaze to the breasts