LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

was unsettling. She responded with a restrained, “Good evening.” Her polite smile encompassed both men briefly, then turned warm when her gaze focused on the boy.

      “Hi, Mike. How did your game go?” All afternoon he had bounced around her apartment, keyed up and nervous as a caged cat, fretting over the baseball game scheduled for that evening. The outcome of the contest was vital to Mike and his teammates, since the winner would advance to the play-offs.

      “We clobbered ’em, six to three,” he bragged, grinning from ear to ear.

      “Congratulations. That’s terrific.”

      “Hey! Way to go, sweetie,” Amanda drawled, ruffling his dark hair.

      “Yeah, it was a great game. We were just about to celebrate with double cheeseburgers and shakes.” Reilly hefted the four sacks he carried and looked expectantly at Amanda. “We’d be delighted to have you lovely ladies join us.”

      “Reilly.” Ryan practically growled his twin’s name, the low tone reverberating with warning.

      Reilly ignored him. He leaned closer to Amanda and gave her a heavy-lidded look. “Whaddaya say?”

      One of Amanda’s eyebrows arched. “No, thank you.”

      The frosty look and clipped tone had annihilated more than one man in the past; Reilly merely grinned wider. “C’mon, Mandy. You know you want to.”

      “Mr. McCall. My name is Amanda, not Mandy. And furthermore, I wouldn’t have dinner with you if you—”

      “What Amanda is trying to say is we’re busy tonight,” Tess put in hurriedly. “We’re on our way to class, and if we don’t hurry we’ll be late as it is.”

      “Class?”

      “Yeah, you know, Uncle Reilly,” Mike piped up. “Lamaze class. Amanda is Tess’s coach.”

      The statement drew a sharp look from Ryan. He opened his mouth to say something, then seemed to think better of it and said instead, “We won’t keep you, then.” He gave Mike a prod in the back. “Let’s go, son.”

      “’Night, Tess. ’Night, Amanda,” Mike said as he and his father squeezed past them and continued up the stairs.

      “Ryan’s right,” Reilly said. “We don’t want to make you late. We’ll just give you a rain check on dinner. You ladies have a nice class.” He winked and started after his brother and nephew, taking the stairs two at a time.

      “Hey, wait a minute! We didn’t ask for a rain check!” Amanda yelled after him, but Reilly merely laughed and kept going.

      Making a strangled sound, she whirled and stomped off down the stairs. Tess had the feeling that she had forgotten all about her.

      “Amanda! Amanda, wait for me!” she called, hurrying after her as fast as her ungainly body would allow.

      By the time she reached her friend’s car, Amanda was already behind the wheel, revving the engine. The instant Tess climbed inside and fastened her seat belt, Amanda rammed the floor shift into gear and sent the little red fireball of a car careening out of the parking lot.

      “The gall of the man! Of all the overbearing, egotistical, Neanderthal jerks!” she spat, taking a corner with a squeal of tires.

      “Amanda, for goodness sake. What are you getting so worked up about? Reilly merely asked you to dinner. It’s not as though he made an obscene suggestion.”

      Amanda shot her a blistering look. “His words may have been harmless, but believe me, his thoughts were obscene. Take my word for it, that man wants a lot more than a meal and conversation. I’ve met his kind before. The cretin.”

      Tess wanted to laugh, but she didn’t dare. She had never seen her friend in such a snit over a man before. Cool, unflappable and thoroughly sophisticated Amanda had been fending off passes and winding men around her little finger since she was a preschooler. She couldn’t remember a time when her friend hadn’t had a whole pack of males panting after her. Amanda never so much as turned a hair over any of them. She tolerated their fawning and salivating with a blasé, almost cynical amusement. Yet a few simple words and a teasing look from Reilly McCall had shattered her insouciance and sent her temper soaring.

      Studying her friend’s set profile, Tess pursed her lips. What an interesting reaction.

      Personally, she thought Reilly was charming. A bit of a flirt perhaps, and no doubt a rascal…but charming. It was just too bad that some of that charm and cheerfulness had not rubbed off on his dour twin.

      Tess was sure that Ryan’s brother meant to pursue her friend. She also had a strong hunch that Reilly would not be as easily discouraged or manipulated as Amanda’s other admirers. One thing was certain; whether it was war or romance, whatever developed between those two would not be dull. Tess found that she was looking forward to witnessing the next meeting between them.

      Amanda visited Tess frequently—more so than usual, now that Tess was in her last trimester—and Reilly was in and out of his brother’s apartment all the time. They were certain to run into each other again soon, Tess was sure.

      The next day, however, Amanda called to tell her that she was being sent overseas to cover a fast-breaking story in one of the world’s hot spots. She was leaving within the hour.

      “Oh, Tess, I’m so excited. This could be my big break. I’m sick to death of covering local holdups and fires and political rallies. I’ve just been waiting for something like this so I could show the bigwigs what I can do. And who knows, if I can get a really fresh angle on the story or ferret out an exclusive of some kind it might even lead to a network job.”

      “I’m happy for you, Amanda.” Tess bit her lip, hoping that Amanda had not heard the catch in her voice.

      Ever since they were children, Amanda had been driven by the need to prove herself, to succeed, to be the best at whatever she did. Beneath that sophisticated nonchalance was a burning ambition to make it to the top.

      Amanda was very dear to Tess, and she wanted her to be happy, but the thought of her taking a network job in New York or Washington filled Tess with dread. So did the possibility of Amanda getting hurt.

      “You will be careful, won’t you? Things are horribly unstable where you’re going. Promise me you won’t take any unnecessary chances.”

      “Honey, taking chances comes with the territory. But I can handle myself. You know that. I’ll be fine. So don’t you fret about me. You hear? It’s not good for junior.”

      “I won’t,” Tess lied, but Amanda must have heard the forlorn note in her voice, for she immediately sobered.

      “Tess, honey, I’m really sorry about running out on you like this. But I’m sure this assignment won’t last long. Three…four days tops. Don’t worry. I’ll be back in plenty of time for Lamaze class next Thursday night.”

      Three days passed with no word. Then four. By Wednesday Tess was almost frantic. Then that evening she received an overseas call.

      “Tess, it’s me,” Amanda hollered over the static. “I’m sorry I didn’t make it back, but things are really popping over here.”

      “Never mind me. Are you all right?”

      “I’m fine. Great!” Even over the crackle and pop on the line and the disturbing shouts in the background, Tess could hear the excitement in Amanda’s voice. “Look, Tess, I’ve gotta run,” Amanda shouted over the worsening static. “I’ll be back…few days if all goes well. Should th…ituation get wor…be a week…more. If that hap…I’ll ca—”

      The line went dead. Tess replaced the receiver with a heavy sigh and closed her eyes. Thank God, Amanda was all right.

      She collapsed on the sofa, her relief so great it was some time before it occurred to her that she was now without a Lamaze coach.

      She

Скачать книгу