The Man Every Woman Wants Read Free Page B

their glasses. His glittered with wry amusement whilst she kept hers as cool as always. But, underneath the silk lining of her black jacket, Laura was startled to feel her heart beating a little faster.
    Maybe she wasn’t as immune to the man’s charms as she imagined. But it was not enough to worry about.
    Nevertheless, she glanced away at the harbour. It really was a spectacular setting for a city, especially on a warm spring afternoon. Lots of boats were out on the sparkling water, creating a visual feast for all the tourists who’d flocked to the quayside area to take holiday snaps of the bridge and the Opera House.
    â€˜Sydney’s a truly beautiful city, isn’t it?’ Laura said with pride in her voice.
    â€˜It surely is,’ he agreed. ‘You only have to live in other cities in other countries to know how lucky we are.’
    She looked back at him. ‘You sound like you’ve lived in lots of other countries.’
    Ryan shrugged. ‘Quite a few. But no more prevaricating, now,’ he said as he put down his glass. ‘Tell me what’s going on in your life which has sent you into such a spin today.’
    â€˜I’m not in a spin,’ she said defensively.
    â€˜Laura, you’re sitting here having a drink with me. That’s evidence enough that something has thrown you for a loop. So stop denying it. Given you’re not the sort of girl to make a professional mistake, it has to be a personal problem. And I’m involved in some weird way. Am I right about that?’
    â€˜Yes,’ she said, seeing no point in lying. It was obvious Ryan wasn’t going to let up until he knew every depressing detail, so she took a deep breath then launched into her tale of woe.
    â€˜It’s a bit of a long story, so please be patient with me.’
    Patience, she knew, was not one of Ryan’s strong points. But he didn’t say a word, the expression on his face showinggenuine interest. He might feel differently when he learned the part he’d played in her disaster, albeit unknowingly.
    â€˜Two weeks ago, my grandmother had a bad fall down some steps and ended up in a coma in hospital. Not in a Sydney hospital— In John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle. Gran lives up in the Hunter Valley. Anyway, the family was told she wasn’t likely to pull through. In fact, the doctors didn’t even expect her to last the night. So I sat with her all that night and, because I didn’t want to go to sleep and not be with her if and when she did pass away, I kept talking to her. And, because I thought it wouldn’t matter, I told her all the things that I knew she’d always wanted to hear: that I’d finally found Mr Right and I was very, very happy.
    â€˜Of course, it didn’t take very long to make that simple announcement, so I was forced to elaborate somewhat to fill in time. Unfortunately, I’ve never had a great imagination; creativity is not a talent of mine. So I thought of all the men I knew and worked with and came up with the one who fitted the bill of Mr Right from my grandmother’s viewpoint. Superficially, that is,’ she added with a rueful glance Ryan’s way.
    â€˜Good God,’ he said, sitting up straight. ‘You’re talking about me, aren’t you?’
    â€˜Unfortunately, yes,’ she admitted dryly.
    He laughed, then laughed again. ‘Damn it, but that is funny, Laura. In an ironic way,’ he added. ‘I don’t think what happened to your poor grandmother is funny. I have a soft spot for grandmothers.’
    Indeed, his eyes did soften with his words.
    â€˜I must be missing something here,’ he went on, his forehead crinkling into a frown. ‘What harm did it do for you to invent a fictitious Mr Right on your grandmother’s deathbed? Frankly, I think it was rather sweet of you to do what you did.’
    Laura sighed. ‘Sweet, but stupid. I should have known that