Adelaide Confused Read Free Page B

Francesca was half crazed
over.
    The first glimpse I got of
Reed Wallace was his backside as he hunched over. Next I noticed
his shoulder blades jutting sharply as he flexed to press a duffle
into the trunk of his car. The only illumination came from tall
parking lamps; they dropped a gentle glow on the entire area. How
Francesca had recognized him, I didn’t know.
    She waltzed right up to his
car, but for all her bravado, I could feel an anxiety she didn’t
often carry around men. “Mr. Wallace? Oh hello, I thought that was
you. We met here last summer, but I doubt you’ll remember me.
Francesca Black,” she prompted.
    He turned and quite
literally took my breath away. He wasn’t generically handsome like
a catalogue model. He was striking, unforgettable. He had light
skin that seemed smooth as marble, and a contrasting shock of dark
hair. Pale, icy eyes framed in black lashes sat stark among his
various sharp features.
    He wore nothing more than a
T-shirt and jeans, his tall, toned body fitting them well. I didn’t
believe he was everything she described. Real estate tycoon?
Doubtful. He didn’t look much over thirty.
    “ You don’t strike me as the
type of woman men forget easily,” he said. It was the type of line
that made me want to roll my eyes. But then he smiled, and I wanted
him to love me too.
    Francesca tittered. “I’ll
make sure you remember me the next time we meet.” She was wafting
her enthrallment at me, at least I suspected it was hers.
Suspicious, I turned to Stephen. He seemed to be in a trance,
staring mutely at Reed Wallace. With all of our emotions mixing I
was having trouble distinguishing my own.
    “ Do the three of you come
to the club often?” He glanced past Francesca, his eyes shifting
from Stephen to me. When his attention focused on me, for that
moment the world went quiet. I noticed his scent, his movements,
his voice, each pulling me in, making me want to please
him.
    His attention shifted back
to Francesca when she spoke. “This is Adelaide Graves and our
friend Stephen, they’re dropping me off. I’m having dinner at the
club tonight.” Her needy desperation was becoming obvious, it made
me uncomfortable. The whole situation made me uncomfortable. But
then he looked at me again and I didn’t want to leave, didn’t want
the conversation to end.
    Reed Wallace reached out to
shake Stephen’s hand, then mine. I was happy when he touched my
hand, when he smiled at me. But the moment split and shattered when
I felt a creeping boredom.
    His lack of interest cut at
me. But like so many times before, I shook it off, pulling my hand
from his grasp abruptly before looking away. The last few minutes
had felt like being dunked in a pool of warm and bubbly champagne.
But feeling his boredom had changed things. My warm fuzzies had
vanished, leaving behind a chill.
    Reed was confused by my
reaction, but didn’t let it show. “I suggest you try the crème
brulee,” he said to Francesca. “It seems to get better here each
time I taste it.”
    “ A girl only orders dessert
if she wants to prolong the date, so I can’t make any promises
yet.”
    He laughed, she laughed,
and Stephen watched spellbound. The whole thing seemed strange, my
reaction, Stephen’s. Francesca had redefined the concept of playing
hard to get, but here she was behaving like a needy
puppy.
    “ I’m leaving,” I
interjected. Catching Francesca’s eye I added, “If you want those
carpets I suggest you don’t keep Brock waiting.” I grabbed Stephen
by the sleeve and hauled him away with me.
    I’d already installed him in the passenger
seat and was about to get in the car myself when I heard the beat
of approaching feet. I felt his curious interest before I even saw
him. He was feeling incomplete, like he needed something, no, more
like he wanted something.
    I turned, door in hand, a
foot resting on the floorboards. Francesca had walked toward the
club entrance, but was now stopped, rooted in place