Скачать книгу

wrong?” she asked breaking his trance.

      He blinked and gave a slight shake of his head. “No, I’m sorry. I guess I was staring.”

      Lee Ann shifted in her seat.

      He put down his glass and released a tight breath then leaned forward. His voice was low when he spoke. “Listen, I’m going to be honest because I like to be clear and up-front right from the beginning.”

      She nodded and waited for the shoe to fall.

      “I rarely date. I don’t have time. Because of my choice of careers, it’s hard to have a lot of downtime or privacy. And coming from the family that you do, I’m sure you can understand that.” He paused, started to speak then stopped and started again. “What I’m trying to say is I don’t know what’s going on in my head, and I know we’ve only met and you don’t know any more about me than a stranger on the street. But I want to get to know you—Lee Ann the woman, not Branford Lawson’s daughter. And I want you to get to know me, Preston Graham—the guy with student loans, dishes in the sink and a Lab retriever named Rocky.”

      The tension that she felt burst into effervescent bubbles of laughter. “So, besides dirty dishes, student loans and a dog named Rocky, what else do I need to know about you?”

      The afternoon went by much too fast, but over a light lunch of grilled chicken salad, several glasses of wine and raspberry sorbet for dessert, they talked and laughed and talked. Lee Ann discovered that they were both avid joggers. Preston was delighted to learn that Lee Ann was captain of her debate team in college and had also majored in political science. He was devoted to his mother, she to her father. His favorite book was James Baldwin’s Another Country; hers was Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. They both loved New Orleans jazz and boasted about their collections. They were angered, appalled and frightened by the devastation along the Gulf Coast resulting from the catastrophic BP oil spill and the still unresolved devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.

      Preston took his last satisfying spoonful of sorbet. He glanced around Treme’s and noticed that the clientele had changed several times since their arrival, and early dinner patrons were starting to drift in.

      “I’m thinking they’re going to actually ask us to leave if we don’t do it on our own,” Preston quipped.

      Lee Ann ducked her head and took a cursory glance around, catching the eye of their empathetic waitress. “I think you’re right.”

      He signaled for the waitress, who brought the bill. Preston paid the tab and ushered Lee Ann out into the sweltering early evening. It was almost after four.

      “I didn’t know it could take that long to eat a salad,” Lee Ann joked. She slipped on her wide, dark sunglasses.

      “Neither did I, but I enjoyed it.”

      She glanced at him as they walked to the parking lot. “So did I.”

      “Where are you parked?”

      She pointed to her beloved car.

      His brows rose in appreciation. “Very nice,” he said, drawing out the two words.

      “What about you?”

      “The blue one over there,” he said with a lift of his chin.

      Lee Ann turned her gaze in that direction. “Oh, you mean the Jaguar over there,” she said tongue in cheek.

      Preston grinned.

      “We’ll have to swap rides one day. I’ve always wanted to get behind the wheel of a Jaguar.”

      “Anytime you’re ready.” He walked her to her car and waited while she opened the door.

      She turned to him, and her heart did that thing again in her chest. “Thank you for a wonderful afternoon. Really.”

      “I’m glad you said yes. And if you’re not busy tonight, I hope you’ll say yes to doing something fun. There’s a concert in the park. It starts at seven. Then the after-dark movie. It’s always pretty good, something old and in black-and-white.”

      She blinked away her surprise. “Tonight? I… Yes, I’d like that.”

      “I’ll pick you up at six-thirty. Will that give you enough time?”

      “Sure, if I leave right this second.”

      They both laughed.

      “I’ll see you soon.”

      Lee Ann got in her car. Preston closed her door and waved before walking off to his. She sang off-key all the way home.

      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/4QAYRXhpZgAASUkqAAgAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP/sABFEdWNreQABAAQAAABQAAD/4QN4aHR0cDov L25zLmFkb2JlLmNvbS94YXAvMS4wLwA8P3hwYWNrZXQgYmVnaW49Iu+7vyIgaWQ9Ilc1TTBNcENl aGlIenJlU3pOVGN6a2M5ZCI/PiA8eDp4bXBtZXRhIHhtbG5zOng9ImFkb2JlOm5zOm1ldGEvIiB4 OnhtcHRrPSJBZG9iZSBYTVAgQ29yZSA1LjAtYzA2MSA2NC4xNDA5NDksIDIwMTAvMTIvMDctMTA6 NTc6MDEgICAgICAgICI+IDxyZGY6UkRGIHhtbG5zOnJkZj0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMTk5 OS8wMi8yMi1yZGYtc3ludGF4LW5zIyI+IDxyZGY6RGVzY3JpcHRpb24gcmRmOmFib3V0PSIiIHht bG5zOnhtcE1NPSJodHRwOi8vbnMuYWRvYmUuY29tL3hhcC8xLjAvbW0vIiB4bWxuczpzdFJlZj0i aHR0cDovL25zLmFkb2JlLmNvbS94YXAvMS4wL3NUeXBlL1Jlc291cmNlUmVmIyIgeG1sbnM6eG1w PSJodHRwOi8vbnMuYWRvYmUuY29tL3hhcC8xLjAvIiB4bXBNTTpPcmlnaW5hbERvY3VtZW50SUQ9 InhtcC5kaWQ6NWRmNGUxZTAtMzZmMy00ZDBlLTljMTQtYTIzODUxMjNmOWFiIiB4bXBNTTpEb2N1 bWVudElEPSJ4bXAuZGlkOjY5NjM4NjNGN0NFNTExRUFCRTQxRDE3QUQ2N0I1Njk5IiB4bXBNTTpJ bnN0YW5jZUlEPSJ4bXAuaWlkOjY5NjM4NjNFN0NFNTExRUFCRTQxRDE3QUQ2N0I1Njk5IiB4bXA6 Q3JlYXRvclRvb2w9IkFkb2JlIFBob3Rvc2hvcCBDUzUuMSBNYWNpbnRvc2giPiA8eG1wTU06RGVy aXZlZEZyb20gc3RSZWY6aW5zdGFuY2VJRD0ieG1wLmlpZDpENEMxRDJCNTFCMjA2ODExODA4OUNC ODkzNEUwQzY1QSIgc3RSZWY6ZG9jdW1lbnRJRD0ieG1wLmlkOjA3NTM2ZmYyLTBhNWYtMzk0Mi05 Yjg4LWJlNTQwN2UyMTFkZiIvPiA8L3JkZjpEZXNjcmlwdGlvbj4gPC9yZGY6UkRGPiA8L3g6eG1w bWV0YT4gPD94cGFja2V0IGVuZD0iciI/Pv/iDFhJQ0NfUFJPRklMRQABAQAADEhMaW5vAhAAAG1u dHJSR0IgWFlaIAfOAAIACQAGADEAAGFjc3BNU0ZUAAAAAElFQyBzUkdCAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAAD2 1gABAAAAANMtSFAgIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAEWNwcnQAAAFQAAAAM2Rlc2MAAAGEAAAAbHd0cHQAAAHwAAAAFGJrcHQAAAIEAAAAFHJYWVoA AAIYAAAAFGdYWVoAAAIsAAAAFGJYWVoAAAJAAAAAFGRtbmQAAAJUAAAAcGRtZGQAAALEAAAAiHZ1 ZWQAAANMAAAAhnZpZXcAAAPUAAAAJGx1bWkAAAP4AAAAFG1lYXMAAAQMAAAAJHRlY2gAAAQwAAAA DHJUUkMAAAQ8AAAIDGdUUkMAAAQ

Скачать книгу