Ember Read Free Page B

r . She d i d no t wan t
     
    to h ea r how sh e ruin e d his lif e, lost his fortun e. M ir a nd a took a br a cing sip of coff ee b e for e sp ea king . “ I f you wouldn’t m ind … ” M ir a nd a shouldn’t h a v e op e n e d h e r m outh . T h e thought of h e r f a th e r finding out a bout h e r e ng a g eme nt ma d e h e r ill .
    “ Say no mo r e. ” A t oo t hy sm il e, g r ay and sh i ny, fl ashed. “ Now, t ake t he mu ffi n, w ill you? Cons i de r it a p r esen t . ”
    “ A pr e s e nt , you s a y? ” c ame a lighth ea rt e d ma sculin e voic e. A w a r m h a nd sn a k e d a round M ir a nd a ’s wa ist a nd g a v e a squ eeze, whil e a noth e r h a nd r ea ch e d ov e r h e r should e r a nd c a ught up th e m uff i n .
    M ir a nd a s m il e d as sh e turn e d in ti me to s ee Ma rtin E v a ns t a k e a bit e out of h e r m uff i n .
    “ A p r esen t f o r me. ” She t ook back he r mu ffi n. “ Ge t you r own. ”
    H is grin wa s w id e as h e ch ewe d . “ F ro m wh a t I h ea rd , it wa s an e ng a g eme nt pr e s e nt , which wou l d i m ply th a t th e gift wa s for both th e int e nd e d bride a nd th e groo m. ”
    “ Ve ry logic a l d e duction . ” S h e a t e th e r e st of th e m uffin b e for e h e could t a k e it b a ck . I n so me w a ys , Ma rtin still tr ea t e d h e r lik e th e girl h e h a d pl a y e d pir a t e s w ith b e for e h e r m ist a k e h a d n ea rly gott e n th em kill e d a nd ruin e d e v e ryth i ng . I n oth e r w a ys , w e ll , sh e wouldn’t think a bout thos e oth e r w a ys in front of Alice th e coff eem ong e r .
    Ma rtin’s gold e n - brown e y e s twinkl e d . “ C o me a long th e n , ” h e toss e d Alice a copp e r , “ l e t me t a k e m y b e st girl for a w a lk . ”
    M ir a nd a th a nk e d Alice, th e n took his proff e r e d a r m. “ Lud , you ma k e me sound lik e a dog . ”
    “ A ve r y beau tif u l dog, ” he s a i d so l emn l y be f o r e chuck li ng. H i s go l d cu rl s moved when he l aughed as if t he who l e of h i m we r e caugh t up i n t he ac t .
    Ha ppin e ss a nd light fill e d h e r h ea rt wh e n w a lking a long
     
    w ith hi m. S h e h a d pock e ts to fl ee c e, a dr e ss to ma k e a do w n p a y me nt on , a nd a supp e r to scour up for h e r f a th e r , but this littl e bit of joy wou l d be h e rs first .
    “ Haven ’t you a j ob t o do?” she t eased.
    Ma rtin h a d a cquir e d a cov e t e d position as a cl e rk at on e of th e shipping co m p a ni e s th a t op e r a t e d out of th e v a st w a r e hous e s , m uch lik e th e on e h e r f a th e r h a d onc e own e d . “ M y sup e rvisor g a v e me th e first Sa turd a y of e v e ry m onth off as a bonus for m y dilig e nc e. ”
    He did not know of h e r job , if on e could c a ll thi e v e ry a job . Ma rtin’s f a th e r h a d been on e of h e r f a th e r’s ma jor inv e stors . Ma rtin’s f am ily h a d lost e v e ryth i ng as w e ll th a t night , but h e h a d n e v e r bl ame d h e r . Ne v e rth e l e ss , sh e didn’t w a nt to f a c e his dis a ppoint me nt . T h e y h a d a ll f a ll e n fro m gr a c e, but sh e couldn’t l e t hi m s ee how f a r sh e ’d gon e.
    “ Now, no mo r e ques ti ons. ” He t weaked he r nose, and h i s eyes wen t smoky t opaz. “ We ’ ve on l y got t he hou r . ”
    Hea t w a sh e d ov e r h e r ch ee ks a nd do w n h e r n e ck . S h e kn e w sh e ’d soon find h e rs e lf in th e f a r r ea ch e s of H yd e Pa rk , n e stl e d und e r th e thick shrubs as Ma rtin w hisp e r e d l o v e w o r ds i n h er ea r . S o m eda y , s h e t h o u g h t as h e hu rr i ed h e r tow a rd th e p a rk , th e r e wou l d be a bed. S o me d a y th e y wou l d be a bl e to slo w do w n a nd r ea lly e njoy lov ema king . S o me d a y soon th e y wou l d be ma rri e d , a nd it wouldn’t be furt i v e fu m bling in cl a nd e stin e pl a c e s . S h e look e d forw a rd to th a t d a y . Pe rh a ps th e n sh e