Eye of the Tiger Read Free Page B

you, Mr. Granger,” he said easily. “Sorry I’m not getting up, but I’ve had some trouble with my hip and sitting down feels better.”
    “Yes, your daughter was telling me about your fall,” Wade replied. “I hope it’s better.”
    “I’ll be able to go back to work next month,” her father assured him. “The Tabers have been wonderful to me, to us.”
    “I know the Tabers,” Wade said. “Keegan’s a character, isn’t he?” he added conversationally. “Quite a guy.”
    Her father immediately brightened. Anyone who liked Keegan was instantly a friend, Eleanor thought with bitter irony.
    “Keegan often plays chess with me,” Barnett Whitman said proudly.
    Wade raised an eyebrow and grinned. “I can’t imagine him sitting still that long. He always seems to be on the run, doesn’t he?”
    “In a dead heat,” Barnett agreed with a smile. “But he’s a good chess player, for all that.”
    Quickly Eleanor took Wade’s arm and said, “Shall we go into the dining room?” to prevent her father from further extolling the virtues of the one man she wanted to forget. “I hope you like spaghetti, Wade. I was on seven-to-three today, and I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare.”
    “Spaghetti is fine,” Wade told her. “I should have brought a bottle of Chianti to go with it. Or a nice rosé. What do you have?”
    Eleanor stared at him. “I beg your pardon?”
    “Wine, darling,” he said.
    “Oh!” She felt her cheeks grow hot. “I’m sorry, we don’t drink.”
    “I’ll have to take you in hand and corrupt you, youinnocent little thing. Shhh, we don’t want your father to think I’m a rake,” he added in a stage whisper.
    Her father, liking this obvious attention, grinned as he sat down. Eleanor smiled as Wade seated her, but she felt oddly uncomfortable, as if her social graces were nonexistent. Without meaning to, Wade made her feel like a country mouse.
    It wasn’t the most successful evening Eleanor had ever had. She felt uncomfortable, although her father did his best to liven things up. By the time dinner was over and Eleanor had served up her special homemade apple pie with ice cream, she was more than willing to show Wade to the door.
    He shook hands with her father and walked out onto the porch with Eleanor.
    “Not a wild success, was it?” he asked with a rueful smile. “I’m sorry, darling, did I hurt your feelings?”
    “Yes, you did,” she said, surprised at his perception. “But it’s not your fault. It’s just…I guess I felt the difference in our situations….”
    “You little snob,” he accused her lightly.
    She blushed furiously. “I am not!”
    “I think you’re charming, Eleanor Whitman,” he said with an intent stare. “A nice person as well as a sexy lady, and I like you. I really didn’t come to appraise the furniture,” he added with a grin.
    “Sorry,” she murmured with downcast eyes. “I guess I’m a little uneasy about it, that’s all.”
    “Stop worrying about the differences, and let’s concentrate on the things we have in common. Over dinner. Tomorrow night.”
    She hestitated.
    “Come on, sweet thing, you know you want to,” he teased, bending to kiss her soft mouth gently. “Come on, go out with me, Ellie.”
    He made the hated nickname sound special and sweet, and she smiled dreamily up at him. He was handsome, she thought. A nice, lovely, ordinary man, despite his wealth and prominence.
    “All right,” she agreed.
    “Good girl.” He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her again, breaking the line of her lips this time. He was adept at lovemaking—it showed in the sensuous deliberation of his warm mouth. And if some spark was missing, Eleanor ignored it. It was very pleasant to kiss him. She relaxed and gave him her mouth, smiling when he finally drew back.
    “Whew!” He whistled, looking breathless. “Sweetheart, you’re delicious.”
    She laughed at the warmth in his eyes. He made her feel special,