Breeze off the Ocean Read Online Free Page A

didn’t wake you, did we?”
    “No.” Micki shook her head emphatically. “I must have been slept out.” She smiled her thanks as Regina placed a glass of juice in front of her. “I’m used to getting up early, you know.”
    “All the more reason to sleep in when you get the chance,” Bruce replied placidly. “Regina’s scrambling eggs—would you like some?”
    “No, thank you.” Micki’s mild grimace drew a chuckle from her dad.
    “Kids!” The soft exclamation took the sting from his word. “Who can figure them out? You always loved eggs for breakfast until that last year you were in college.”
    Micki’s stomach seemed to turn over and for a moment she felt trapped while she raked her mind for a reply. Thankfully neither her father nor Regina noticed the way her face had paled, as their attention was occupied by Regina serving the eggs.
    “I guess I just got tired of them,” Micki finally managed weakly, eyeing the creamy yellow mound on the plates.
    “Just like that.” Bruce snapped his fingers. “It doesn’t make sense.”
    “Stop teasing, Bruce.” Unknowingly, Regina saved Micki from the effort of finding a more plausible excuse. “As youngsters mature, their tastes change.” As she sat down at the table, Regina offered Micki a tentative smile. “Don’t mind your father, Micki. He’s in a very good but devilish mood this morning, due, I’m sure, to your being home again.”
    The grin her father flashed at her confirmed Regina’s words. A slow, silent sigh fluttered through Micki’s lips as she returned Regina’s smile.
    “I can see”—Micki deliberately lowered her voice conspiratorially—”you and I are going to have to stick together to keep this feisty man in line.”
    Bruce’s head snapped up from his plate, his glance sharp between the two women. The spark of hope that had entered his eyes seemed to grow into wonderment as he studied first his daughter’s then his wife’s friendly expressions.
    Micki fully understood the almost breathless stillness that seemed to grip him. The two women had been opponents, at first silent and then very vocal, since the day Bruce married Regina. He had coaxed, cajoled, and even ordered Micki to make more of an effort at getting along with her stepmother. The only thing he’d achieved was to fill Micki with a deeper sense of resentment. She had made an attempt at friendship with Regina. At the very vulnerable age of eleven she had welcomed the idea of a mother. Regina, a younger, beautiful Regina, had quickly disabused her of that idea. Without actually saving the words, Regina had left little doubt in Micki’s young mind of exactly where she stood. If Micki wanted her father’s attention, she would have to fight for it. Micki had fought silently but bitterly, and until last night, she had thought it was a battle she could never win.
    Now the gentle smile Micki gave her father erased the doubt lingering around the edges of his expression. She saw him swallow with difficulty and the action brought a corresponding lump to her throat. Shifting her eyes, she caught the quick flutter of Regina’s lashes and the lump grew in size.
    “Princess,” Bruce murmured solemnly, “I wonder if you realize how happy I am to have you home.” The slight emphasis he placed on the word home told the full story.
    “And you can have no idea how happy it makes me to be home.” Micki let her own emphasis reflect his before she laughed a little shakily. “And if you don’t eat your breakfast, you are going to be late for work.”
    “Oh, but you see”—Bruce followed her lead in lightening the mood—”that’s the fun part of being the boss. I can breeze in and out of the office whenever I please.” He paused, a mock frown creasing his forehead. “The only thing is, as I have a very important client coming this morning, I damned well better please to get moving.”
    After her father had left for the office and Regina had refused her offer to help