A Distant Summer Read Online Free Page B

trouser pocket in frustration. For a heart-hammering instant he held her gaze, and then control straightened his shoulders. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair. It’s just that I want very much to share this evening with you.”
    Her breath hung precariously at the base of her throat, and the thought that this wasn’t really happening spiraled aimlessly inside her. Oh, God. She’d never dreamed she would see him again. She’d thought it was over long, long ago. If she’d had any idea of the sheer physical attraction that would scintillate between them.... If she’d even suspected the emotional pull he could evoke in her....
    Even had she realized the danger, Kris admitted, it wouldn’t have changed this moment of self-knowledge. Elemental longings drew her to Tucker now, just as they had drawn her to him years before. She’d been naive, innocent, then. But she’d been only slightly less so in thinking she could see him again without igniting embers that should long since have grown cold. And now she was helpless before the tiny flicker of warmth inside her.
    She pressed her lips together before drawing a low breath of courage. “I’m flattered by your interest, but the truth is....” And there the impending lie faltered with the cautiously self-protective angle of his chin.
    When she didn’t continue, the corners of his mouth lifted in a rueful smile. “The truth is there’s someone else, isn’t there? Someone waiting for you in Arkansas.”
    “No.” She denied it without understanding why she did so. Her hand went to her temple, brushed distractedly at the wispy blond strands that had strayed from the chignon. “And it has nothing to do with your lawsuit. If I were looking for a vacation romance, Tucker, I’d like to believe I might find it with you, but I’m not looking.”
    Seconds ticked past in leisurely succession, but his blue eyes didn’t waver in their intense regard. “Somehow I don’t think that matters, Kristina. Whether or not we were looking, we’ve found something. Something special. I can’t explain how I know that or why I think you know it, too, but I can tell you that I have no intention of letting it end here.”
    Her logic stumbled into a solid wall as she tried to understand his persistence, tried to think of a believable refutation. She stroked the back of the chair beside her with restive fingers. “I’m not good at social games, Tucker.”
    “Then we’ll skip the games and start the evening with a little honesty.”
    Her chin lifted; her gaze locked with his in a second of startled precognition. He was going to mention the past, their past. She could almost see the words forming on his lips and knew she had to stop him. She wasn’t prepared for honesty. It was her secret, her mistake, her regret. He had no right to remember.
    “Kristina?” he said in a hushed, throaty tone. “There’s not a subtle way of bringing up this subject, but I think we should get it into the open.”
    For all her resolve, not a sound would come from her lips. She stood, watching him, aware of the betraying tension in the casual combing of his hand through his hair, aware of her own spiraling doubts. “Don’t, Tucker, please.” She had no idea if the words were whispered about the room or simply echoed in her mind.
    “I know we’re virtually strangers, but we were lovers once.” His voice, husky with decision, was like the first sip of a summer wine, and it became a slow reminiscent ripple through her veins. “I know you must have thought I’d forgotten, and I’ll admit that I didn’t recognize you when you first walked into the courtroom yesterday; but it has been a long time, and you’ve changed.” The wry tilt of his mouth was touchingly brief. “I know I’ve changed a little myself. But you seemed different, so reserved. Not like the winsome girl I remembered.”
    His gaze drifted past her shoulder and returned to touch her in confession. “The day I met you was special for