Скачать книгу

to each other again—casual hands, polite smiles—and he wondered what it was going to take for this to get easy.

      Go back and erase the past, maybe?

      Six years back, to Linnie and Ryan’s wedding, and then another five to the night of Shallis’s sixteenth birthday party, when he’d almost kissed her. That little word “almost” was the only thing that gave him any hope and any self-respect, when he looked back on his behavior that night.

      He’d wanted to, and Shallis at that point in her life would have practically fainted with ecstasy in his arms. Yeah, her crush had been as obvious to him as the sweet champagne on her breath, and as innocent and doomed as a baby doe caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.

      She wouldn’t have turned him down, even though she wouldn’t have had a clue what was really happening. She’d have gone as far as he wanted, believed everything he said. The sweet-natured seventeen-year-old boy who’d been agonizingly and just as innocently in love with Shallis that year wouldn’t have had a chance.

      And Linnie, who’d considered herself just about engaged to Jared at the time, would never have known…unless Shallis herself had told her. Jared would have gone on his merry way, feeling like a winner after an easy victory, as usual.

      Two sisters wrapped around his little finger, when he didn’t have serious plans for either of them.

      But he hadn’t done it. He’d run his fingers softly through Shallis’s golden hair. His mouth had come within an inch of hers. She’d sighed up at him, her eyes huge and awed and gorgeous, as she waited.

      She was young enough to trust him, to have faith in her own feelings, and to believe that Linnie would forgive her such a betrayal, because this was love, and love conquered all.

      He didn’t understand how he’d been able to read her layered feelings so clearly, but somehow he had.

      Finally he’d muttered, “I can’t do this,” and he’d torn himself away, left with an enduring sense of protectiveness toward Shallis Duncan that he didn’t understand, either.

      It was one of the few moments in his life that had had the power to convince him, over the past six years, that he had any sense of honor in him at all.

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEBLAEsAAD/4Q/7RXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgABwESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEaAAUA AAABAAAAYgEbAAUAAAABAAAAagEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAUAAAAcgEyAAIAAAAUAAAAhodp AAQAAAABAAAAnAAAAMgAAAEsAAAAAQAAASwAAAABQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIDcuMAAyMDEzOjEy OjE5IDE4OjE2OjU2AAAAAAOgAQADAAAAAQABAACgAgAEAAAAAQAABXigAwAEAAAAAQAACMwAAAAA AAAABgEDAAMAAAABAAYAAAEaAAUAAAABAAABFgEbAAUAAAABAAABHgEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAIBAAQA AAABAAABJgICAAQAAAABAAAOzQAAAAAAAABIAAAAAQAAAEgAAAAB/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEASABI AAD/7QAMQWRvYmVfQ00AAf/uAA5BZG9iZQBkgAAAAAH/2wCEAAwICAgJCAwJCQwRCwoLERUPDAwP FRgTExUTExgRDAwMDAwMEQwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwBDQsLDQ4NEA4OEBQO Dg4UFA4ODg4UEQwMDAwMEREMDAwMDAwRDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDP/AABEI AIAAUAMBIgACEQEDEQH/3QAEAAX/xAE/AAABBQEBAQEBAQAAAAAAAAADAAECBAUGBwgJCgsBAAEF AQEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAEAAgMEBQYHCAkKCxAAAQQBAwIEAgUHBggFAwwzAQACEQMEIRIxBUFRYRMi cYEyBhSRobFCIyQVUsFiMzRygtFDByWSU/Dh8WNzNRaisoMmRJNUZEXCo3Q2F9JV4mXys4TD03Xj 80YnlKSFtJXE1OT0pbXF1eX1VmZ2hpamtsbW5vY3R1dnd4eXp7fH1+f3EQACAgECBAQDBAUGBwcG BTUBAAIRAyExEgRBUWFxIhMFMoGRFKGxQiPBUtHwMyRi4XKCkkNTFWNzNPElBhaisoMHJjXC0kST VKMXZEVVNnRl4vKzhMPTdePzRpSkhbSVxNTk9KW1xdXl9VZmdoaWprbG1ub2JzdHV2d3h5ent8f/ 2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/AKGRAr1HcK/0v021AOO3UjxGpVDKJFMgx7hr4Kx03MYyoV2iTuI8ASSm5aM/ oHpufJB+g/7p1cvp1r63uoBN4EPa2dzw36TI/faszFY62vfVMCw66btGtY4e8H85btfU3U7SKw5z D7S4mdfzT+crOT0/G6lgWZ+E19OU/SyhpaALI93sLfc+799rv0iXCDtu5HumMtdrcWoMc+Xz79Gl 3kY/76j9PY1uY2tsB5JLQRrp7n/9EbmphV6dobaAy4N2FpHvYOWj03Dd7d3v9is9OqbWw5PpB7qG lxc4iYJ2Oj79ibwC18s2jZfSLm2R7qHexrncl7I93/bbvpLJv6exmGXhoknw51Wri5QuJYKzU0tc 8AmZl59/+dvUL2h9mLjdnul3wT+AEM+CZAAP8gHDuNuMWOxADWXG2oEfQdBY5s/nM925ZDan2F1t pMu+gd0Gfd7tf7K3HHdgGytpPpFjT377fb/WWMaba69hDZcTPMHcfdu/8mquQAbaEtrEbu9eHS3/ 0KGWB6BHeRHxQ6rGVtDLBurdPviQPN6sZjHtp3EEAOaSe3KjQ1z6NQJMgiPNNzge4K7PT87qR5D9 rZxcy2ktewturg7WO12/1HLX6b1tldhe5npseA2wCSCBqxzuPez+ouUzMS+gC/GdG3+cLHa/Db+6 mw+pOFTW5BJkn9KI7a+5v/kU2JIcbJCyX0p9/TM2o25hYaqmOe3JJAdWxo3WO9b8xjdu93+DWFh5 WC+mzIwHevjZAex91m0Fwgenu9MfnW++1vs9Jcz1TLD8A4tFo23OG9oJghvv9Ozb7ve/YodGtvxM dzN4G95dtk9wGn/qU6c9NN2LHAiVG+F7Bpi92S/Yxr2Na0B0ztEP7D3blKv3dSoe4ewQA7trxDli faKsqo0W1WPa1wsdWwnc2B/O0uHv/sf4Viv9FyujOAqxLi57jp6pMmPN5c1qGPITQJFNyJAjX9Xh +jGnCdRi5uPkNItYzdIPYD2Ws/eZurWRnEC5hGgidNPErruo47rsVxrbvtq9zWnQlv8Ahqv+uVfm rhc2127aHAhpjdGsS4t/zpUXMQ1DZ5Wd8R8bp//Rj1QFvTy46S+s6HsVUw3ja1ridrpa+ORDuWlW +pbnYRY0gElkHg7vzJWdWIaa2kyCSPH953+rlFzB/WfQPS5YnhouxW7YA23ZB1skAbRHuhyz8vCx W2P+zgGtxDwR9HcdLFVyb78kVB8EV6AAAT/Le76T3KeNmObo7Vusj4JvH2c+WLUknVenpzLrGh4P t2ueRoIkpsnGfSS+mbMcgniXMA/0rPpOZ/wiv62VgUu8Inw/78ntoYWkM2teS0G06SGjWGhOuJDC YyEnKZc9ha+C+o8W0v8Ac3+SWxuardN/ruDsmgdSo4L6/blM/r+ltvd/X/S0/wDFqTsKkubbXlV1 5DtJBLTztizTY5Wm01l7Bktrssr/AMI2D7gedzPopCIJoEfy8GWMfF6LAup+z1nGe59USx7nFxj+ s5cr9Y8JmP1EvY3bXaN7dIaTB37f5TPz/wDzNdDRfLR5oHW8dmX0q+wuDH4r23bzrDNu24f22p+a Po06M2KoTBO0jw/bs//Shk7rcY1tDn+4D2Anj5KltOxzDo4EzII2RrZ7T7t21rFffTfk9Msoobve bQ4tHJAb7iJ9vta

Скачать книгу