A Night to Remember Read Free Page A

the rest of the gang joining her. Several people moved close to the edge to offer assistance and make sure she wasn’t injured.
    â€œI can get out on my own,” Eleanor stated with a grin. “Don’t get too close to the edge or you’ll be joining me for a swim.”
    Her comment brought another round of laughter, as she had intended. She made a move to regain her feet but the sudden, overwhelming silence stopped her. It was so quiet one could hear the proverbial pin drop. Eleanor lifted her head curiously.
    The group crowding the edge of the pond stepped aside, parting like a zipper. A newcomer came into view, standing dead center at the end of the two neat rows of people.
    Mr. Joshua Barton.
    Eleanor’s knees felt wobbly ... even though she was sitting down ... in a murky, scummy pond, with all manner of insects and microorganisms crawling over her flesh. Yet she made no move to rise.
    Instead she hastily glanced away. It was sort of like pretending to be invisible. Maybe if she stayed really still and didn’t move a muscle, he wouldn’t notice she was sitting in the water.
    Eleanor risked a quick glance toward Joshua to see if her strategy was working. Sunlight filtered around his head. Men weren’t supposed to be gorgeous. But there were no other words that could adequately describe him. He had an incredible face with classically handsome features, a strong, masculine body that drove women crazy.
    Well, any woman above the age of seventeen and below the age of eighty. Eleanor surveyed him from head to toe. Make that eighty-five.
    He advanced, his eyes widening slightly as if he had just noticed she was sitting in the pond. He quickened his pace and made a move forward to offer his help. Panicking, Eleanor raised her hands to ward him off. “I’m fine, really. I don’t need any help.”
    â€œAre you sure?”
    â€œYes. Thank you.”
    Eleanor hastily stood on her feet, sloshed out of the water, and scrambled up on the bank to prove her point. The murky bottom of the pond had stained her socks and sneakers, bits of stringy vegetation clung to her arms and fingers. The smell was rank, and she prayed fervently that she was standing downwind of Joshua.
    â€œCan I get you anything?”
    Eleanor’s first inclination was to curl into a ball and slide back into the scummy pond. Instead she straightened her spine and told herself that people did not die of embarrassment. Unfortunately.
    â€œI’m fine,” she repeated with a forced smile. She tried but failed to hold his gaze. Her eyes swept down to his left hand, which rested casually on his hip.
    Eleanor blinked. Then her face broke into a broad smile, and before she could control the impulse and swallow her words, she heard herself declare in obvious delight, “You’re eating a Rice Krispie treat!”
    Â 
    Â 
    Joshua Barton always prided himself on dealing well with the unexpected, the difficult, the crisis situation. He was known for having a cool head while others panicked, a quick, solid grasp of impossible circumstances, and the intelligence and courage to make the tough choices.
    Yet as he stared down the table at the endless desserts displayed before him like some ancient tribute to the gods, he felt the beads of sweat start to gather on his forehead.
    It was warm and crowded under the catering tent. Employees and their families jockeyed for position, but Joshua knew the heat wasn’t causing his discomfort.
    Every eye was trained upon him. He was used to the attention, accustomed to the scrutiny. It had existed for all of his life. In fact it was only recently that he no longer felt so defensive about his position, for even though his great-grandfather had been a founder of the firm, everyone acknowledged Joshua had earned his place as managing partner.
    And now, as leader of the financial firm of Hamilton, Barton and Jones, the employees were waiting anxiously to see which dessert