Invitation to Love Read Free Page B

sang in unison.
    Taryn
had to admit she was excited, also. It will be good to dine with another adult,
exchanging mature conversation for once, instead of the usual interchange of:
“Yes, that’s the shape of my head.”— “I’m sure that marble statue did not wink
at you.”—and—“No, you can’t ask him if he has a glass eye.”
    “Mummie,
can I wash my hair before we go out? I got a lotta sand in it.”
    “We’re
all getting in the shower when we get back to the hotel.”
    “Now
look what you did,” Remi glared at her sister.
    “What?”
Rachel retorted with her own scowl.
    “You
had to go and open your big mouth. Now, I gotta take a shower.”
    “So?
You want Michael to see ya all sweaty and dirty?”
    “I
ain’t dirty.”
    “Are,
too.”
    “Am
not,” Remi tried to grab one of her legs.
    Rachel
flailed her legs around to dodge her hand.
    “Girls,
girls,” Taryn cut into the flow of are-too’s and am-not’s. At once the yelling
halted and two pairs of eyes focused on her. “It’s too hot for this. Sit still,
will you? Look,” she indicated to the front of them. “The bridge is letting
down. We’ll be on our way soon.”
    “Yaaay,”
their cries lessened a few tired degrees.
    vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
    “You’re
very pretty tonight, Rachel,” Michael said from his seat across the white linen
table.
    “Thank
you,” her face lit with pride toward her mother.
    Taryn
was very grateful he complimented her. After all, Rachel picked that yellow dress
just for him.
    “And
so are you, Remi,” he added.
    But,
her heart-shaped face didn’t light up the way her sister’s did. “Thank you.
But, I don’t feel pretty. Momma made me wear this thing,” she made a fretful
tug at the collar of the identical blue dress.
    Taryn
hid her smile at the thought that she had to practically hold her down and
wrestle a good ten minutes to get her into it.
    “Well,
I’m glad she did. I’m the envy of every male here for being in the company of
such beautiful ladies.”
    His
gaze switched to Taryn, who instantly lowered her eyes to her clean plate with
the glazed pansy décor. The warmth he ignited covered her like a blanket; Add
to that, him sitting across the table in his black suit, and perfect hairstyle.
And the way his eyes seem to just reach out and evoke a soulful response from
her is destroying her proper resolve.
    “Mummie,”
can I go to the salad bar now?”
    “Uh—sure,
Rachel.”
    “Wait
for me,” Remi hopped down from her chair and scurried after her.
    “Do
you think they like it here?” he asked, watching as they stood deciding what to
put on their plates.
    “Oh,
yes,” she inspected the impressive room with its beige colors. Glass
chandeliers emitted soft, yellow lighting, while eager-to-please waiters
dressed in crisp, white shirts, and black trousers tended to their customers’
needs;
    A hush of conversation
clothed the atmosphere. “Thank you for inviting us. I think they were getting
tired of Happy Meals and pizza in the hotel room.”
    “It’s
you I should be thanking. You saved me from a lonely dinner with nothing but cable
for company.”
    “That’s
hard to believe—You sitting alone in your hotel room without a girlfriend
accompanying you.”
    “Sad,
but true,” he threw her a beguiling smile. “I’m so single, I don’t even have a
shadow following me.”
    Taryn
couldn’t help laughing at that. “That’s a good one. But seriously, a fi…somewhat
attractive man as yourself surely has no trouble in that area.”
    “Thank
you,” he inclined his head slightly. “But, I’m a serious sort of fellow. You
know, meaningful relationships and all that. I’ve settled down quite a bit from
my much younger days. Hopefully, the right one will cross my path—soon.”
    The
way those words trailed away, and his eyes glistened across her face, made it
difficult to breathe. She wanted to say something encouraging, even
complimentary, but her throat was tight,