Love Songs Read Free Page A

grew suddenly more serious, remaining as intense as ever. Formally extending his hand across the table, he introduced himself. “I’m Alexander Knight. Alex.”
    Alanna hesitated, yet somehow her slim hand found its way into his larger, stronger one, warmth spreading through her. Only after several moments did his identity sink in. And with the realization came a heightened flush of pink to her cream-soft cheeks. Her smile crept out unbidden. “So you do own the place—or practically. I understand that the new wing—the Knight Center—was your doing.” Her hand remained in his. She was aware of the strength he exuded and found it strangely comforting.
    “Only in part. My family made the original gift. The rest was the work of other donors and members of the hospital staff. They deserve most of the credit.”
    “Ah, such modesty,” she chided, though her teasing was gentle, her voice soft. His smile was quite disarming—as was his touch. He continued to hold her hand, even faintly caress her fingers. Clearing her throat, she smiled. “My hand, please?”
    He released it reluctantly, his eye falling to its partner with curiosity, even a certain tension. “No rings?”
    “No.”
    “Husband?”
    “No.”
    “Fiancé?”
    “No.” Her gaze now held his with confidence.
    “Special guy?”
    “No.”
    She didn’t actually hear his sigh of relief when he paused, yet he chose his words with care. “Any particular reason? I mean, you are striking enough…”
    She overlooked his compliment in the urgency of expressing her deepest feeling. “I’m unattached because I choose to be so. It’s as simple as that … and as irrevocable.” The last was added in warning; it had always been quite effective in the past. Now, however, it merely elicited a broad white grin from amid his tanned features.
    “I’ll enjoy seeing you eat those words one day.”
    “I doubt it.” She was equally as calm and composed. “But,” her pause was punctuated with a frown, “I’m curious as to why you seem so sure of that. You don’t know anything about me.”
    “Well, then, we’ll just have to do something about that, particularly since you’re going to be my wife one day.…”
    If he had expected an outburst of disbelief or indignation, even fury, he did, indeed, have much to learn about Alanna Evans. She was given to neither, particularly on a subject about which she felt so sure of herself. Her laugh was light and airy, as though it had flitted off the wings of a butterfly on a warm spring day.
    “I may have a name for the face, now, Alex,” she said melodiously, “but you’re still strange! Whatever would put such a bizarre thought in your mind?”
    “There’s nothing at all bizarre about it,” he returned, equally as good-humored, yet oddly sober. “You will marry me.”
    Again she laughed. “I’ve never heard anything so improbable! I don’t know you, nor you me. You’ve never laid eyes on me before now. Besides, you happen to be talking to a confirmed bachelor-ess!”
    “Even the most confirmed of bachelors can change.” His dark gaze broke through her veneer of humor with its raw intensity. “I have.”
    “On a moment’s notice?” Incredulity replaced amusement, covering up a more significant emotional spark.
    “Not just a moment’s notice.” He spoke with a velvet tongue and frightening conviction. “I’ve had years to ponder who and what I want. I’ve never even caught sight of it … until now. And now that it’s finally appeared I have no intention of letting it slip through my fingers.”
    “ It? You sound as though you’re referring to a business deal. If that’s the case, this is one business that’s not on the market.”
    “Perhaps not on the open market,” he persisted softly, “but available, to say the least. It may just take you awhile to acknowledge it.”
    “You’re incredible!” Her eyes widened. “You don’t even know my name!”
    “Ah-ah,” he chided, “never