White Lace and Promises Read Free Page B

Glenn, the man she didn’t know, was dead serious. “Not this week,” she returned, deliberately flippant. “But if you’re interested, I’ll keep you in mind.”
    His gaze narrowed slightly as he tilted his head to one side. “How much have you had to drink?”
    Maggie wanted to laugh, and would have if not for a discouraging glare from Mrs.Longmier. “One martini.”
    The sound of a soft snort followed. “You’ve changed, Maggie.” Just the way he said it indicated that he wasn’t pleased with the difference.
    Her spirits crashed to the floor with breakneck speed.
Good grief
, she thought angrily, it didn’t matter what Glenn thought of her. He had made her feel like a teenager again, and she’d behaved like a fool. She wasn’t even sure why she was flirting with him. Probably to cover up how miserable the whole event made her.
    Casually, Glenn dropped her arm as they entered the vestibule and stepped aside to make room for the others who followed. Maggie used the time to gather her coat and purse. Glenn moved in the opposite direction, and her troubled gaze followed him.
    A flurry of instructions followed as Steve’s father gave directions to the family home, where dinner was being served to the members of the wedding party.
    Maggie moved outside the church. There wasn’t any need for her to stay and listen. She knew how to get to the Grants’ house as well as her own. Standing at the base of the church steps, Maggie was fumbling inside her purse for her keys when Glenn joined her.
    “I’m supposed to ride with you.”
    “Don’t make it sound like a fate worse than death,” she bit out, furious that she couldn’t find what she needed.
    “Listen, Maggie, I’m sorry. Okay?”
    “You?” Amazed, Maggie lowered the purse flap and slowly raised her dark eyes to his. “It’s me who should apologize. I was behaving like an idiot in there, flirting with you like that.”
    He lifted a silken strand of hair from her shoulder. “It’s rather nice to be flirted with now and then,” he said with a lazy smile.
    Maggie tore her gaze from his and withdrew her car keys. “Here,” she said, handing the key chain to him. “I know you’ll feel a whole lot safer driving yourself.”
    “You’re right,” he retorted, his mood teasing and jovial. “I still remember the day you wiped out two garbage cans and an oak tree backing out of the driveway.”
    “I’d just gotten my learner’s permit and the gears slipped,” she returned righteously.
    “Unfortunately, your skills haven’t improved much.”
    “On second thought, I’ll drive and you can do the praying.”
    Laughing, Glenn tossed an arm across her shoulders.
    They chatted easily on the way to the Grants’ home and parked behind Steve and Janelle in the driveway. The four car doors slammed simultaneously.
    “Glad to see you still remember your way around town,” Steve teased Glenn. The two men were nearly the same height, both with dark hair and brown eyes. Steve smiled lovingly at Janelle and brought her close to his side. “I hope everyone’s hungry,” he said, waiting for Glenn and Maggie to join them. “Mom hasn’t stopped cooking in two days.”
    “Famished,” Glenn admitted. “The last time I ate was on the plane.”
    “Poor starving baby,” Maggie cooed.
    Glenn was chuckling when the four entered the house. Immediately, Janelle and Maggie offered to help Steve’s mother and carried the assorted salads and platters of meat to the long table for the buffet. Soon the guests were mingling and helping themselves.
    Maggie loaded her plate and found an empty space beside Glenn, who was kneeling in front of the coffee table with several others. He glanced up from the conversation he was having with a bridesmaid when Maggie joined them.
    “Muffie, you know Darcy, don’t you?” Glenn asked.
    “Muffie?” Darcy repeated incredulously. “I thought your name was Maggie.”
    “Muffie was the name Glenn gave me in junior high. We were