The Promise of Love Read Free Page A

try.
    “Later, Petrok.”
    “Right. Later.” She laughed.
    The coldness of the wintry air added something to the dash through the snow. He wanted to catch up to Will before he could reach the blonde. Something odd, like a sensation that would stay with him for a long time, crept over his shoulder blades, making him slow as he approached. A shiver raced down his skin when she came into view. She had her back to them, but as they approached, she spun and grabbed her throat with one hand as if they’d frightened her.
    The first thing that struck him was the unusual color of her eyes. They were blue, but so pale, they might be called gray. She lowered her hand and sighed in relief when he grinned. She was even prettier close up than she’d been from a distance. Dressed in a light blue snow cap with white snowflakes, matching mittens and a light blue fleece, she reminded him of a snow bunny ready for the slopes, only sweet and kind of timid.
    “You scared me,” she said breathlessly. But she must have thought two guys wearing snow BDUs were safe, which really made him want to grin for some insane reason.
    “Sorry,” Will murmured next to him. Thank God, because David couldn’t get his tongue working.
    He’d never been good at being so easy with a woman like this—a pretty, sweet woman. He stopped when he got close enough and waited, but when Will didn’t go on, and neither did the girl, he walked over to her car and tried to jump-start his brain.
    “What’s the problem?” he managed. He played like he was studying the car, when he really knew jack shit about automobiles. He could change oil, fix a flat and a few other things, but he hated working on cars. “Car died?”
    “Yes, it just, well, it did this.” She gestured to the smoking hood with a blue mitten, giving the car tire a disappointed kick with her boot.
    “Damn, that’s too bad, but we have a truck—we can take you into town, if you want, or Will knows a thing or two about cars,” David offered.
    Will stepped forward, and she took a step back, a little wide-eyed, then hurried to say, “It’s not my car. It’s Sara’s. Maybe I should go back and well, tell her.”
    “Sara’s the friend you dropped off?” Will asked quietly.
    “Yes, she, oh…” She paused and seemed to think of something more distressing than the car or meeting two strangers out in the middle of nowhere. She bit her bottom lip and winced. “She might be busy,” she whispered with a shy smile, blushing pink to her blonde roots. “So, maybe that’s not an option, oh, for… A while?”
    David coughed hard to cover his laugh at her words. Clearly she knew what her friend was probably already doing.
    Will ignored him and focused on her like David maybe should have instead of laughing at what she wasn’t saying—her friend was having sex with her boyfriend. By the sound of it, she thought they might be going at it like bunnies for a while, too.
    “I’m William, Will Bryson and this is my buddy, David Jansen.”
    “Oh.” She appeared even more nervous and took a few steps backward again. Her boots crunched in the fresh powder until she seemed to realize she was retreating. Her gaze bounced from Will to him and back again nervously. “Right, well, um, I’m Paris—”
    “Hey, we’re safe, promise.” David kept his voice low, wanting to ease the nervousness he could feel coming off her. “Really, you can trust us. Besides, it’s cold out here. Let’s take you to town after Will sees what’s wrong. They’ll have an auto store in town and we can get what we need to fix it.” She seemed uncertain so he grinned and said, “I’ll even let you buy us dinner.”
    “ We’ll buy dinner,” Will said sternly, making David’s unease settle. Will always knew what to say. “Can you open the hood?” Will asked, indicating the driver’s side door. “And I’ll fix it while Jansen tries to entertain you. I can see what’s up, no problem. It won’t take long.”
    She