An Irresistible Temptation Read Online Free Page B

her imminent departure made Sophie want to stay
longer, just to spite her. Why the woman provoked her ire, Sophie
couldn’t really say. What a shame that she could look so lovely and
yet seem so unfriendly at the same time.
    “Well, I won’t take up anymore of your time
then.” With a wave of her hand, Eliza Prentice was gone, strolling
out to her awaiting buggy with its blue hood that kept the sun off
her unblemished skin.
    “Hm,” Sophie said to herself. Had Charlotte
mentioned something about Miss Prentice? Perhaps it would come to
her. She turned and looked at the two open trunks, each partially
filled, and sighed. Maybe tomorrow she would finish them. Right
then, she wanted to lose herself in her music. And brood.
     
    *****
     
    With the late afternoon sun on her back,
Sophie strolled into town, nodding at Dan, the feedstore owner, and
then at Ely. She was headed to Doc Cuthins’ practice to find Sarah.
They were going to eat at Fuller’s, Sophie’s treat for all that
Sarah had done for her so far.
    But when she pushed open the door, Sophie saw
no sign of Sarah. She sat down to wait on one of the comfy seats
for Doc’s patients. Sophie had discovered that he was very
well-respected in town and had been ever since arriving as a young
doctor over twenty-five years earlier.
    Next to her chair was an old newspaper, and
she was surprised and delighted to see that the article on the
front page had the byline “Charles Sanborn.” What a smart
sister-in-law she had! And, it was clear that Sarah loved
Charlotte, like a daughter.
    Picking up the paper, she started to read,
then heard the door to the back examination room open.
    “Sophie,” came a masculine voice that was
definitely not Doc Cuthins.
    Riley. Now, why did his voice cause some
subtle reaction in her body and brain? She definitely felt her
pulse quicken and her mind started casting around for something to
say. Perhaps it was the same reason she’d taken care with her hair
and clothing before walking into town, on the off chance she’d
encounter him again.
    Sophie slowly put down the newspaper, giving
herself time to get a hold of any wayward emotions, then looked up,
knowing she’d see his strikingly handsome face.
    She gasped. “Sweet mother,” she said aloud,
standing up. “What happened to you?”
    He laughed. His face—and she assumed the rest
of him, too—was scrubbed clean, and without his hat, she could see
that his hair was as russet brown as Alfred’s mane and looked soft
to the touch. And touch it, she wanted to do. Gracious—clean pants,
bleached shirt, even clean boots.
    “Are you finished looking me over?” he asked,
arms crossed.
    She blushed for the first time in years. She
only hoped her mouth hadn’t been hanging open.
    “I didn’t know you had it in you to tidy up
so well.” She tried to sound nothing more than jovial.
    She was rewarded with his dimpled grin that
actually made her stomach flutter.
    “Believe it or not, beautiful lady,” he said,
“this is how I look every morning and every evening. It’s the
in-between hours that give me a bit of trouble. At least, when I’m
in Spring.”
    She was thinking about how he’d called her
beautiful and about seeing him in the mornings and last thing each
night . . .
    “And when you’re not in Spring City?” Sophie
asked.
    He shrugged. “Then I look like everyone else,
I guess. I don’t have a reason to get covered in dirt in San
Francisco.”
    She was just thinking that Riley Dalcourt
could never look like everyone else, not with that face, those
eyes, that smile, when his words caught up with her.
    “San Francisco?”
    “Yup. I thought Sarah might’ve told you.”
    “Told her what?” Sarah asked, coming in the
door with a package in one hand and her purse in the other.
    “That I don’t live here full time, but
am—”
    “Riley, why would we be talking about you,
son?” She looked at Sophie. “Men! They believe they’re all we think
about and all we talk