Broken Resolutions Read Online Free Page A

conservative black dress, appeared to take a moment to gather herself before reading her part. “ ‘Yes, my virile pirate master,’ she replied, her voice hushed and filled with awe at his prowess. She could smell his enticing scent: sandalwood, musk, and man. It was a scent she couldn’t resist. A scent that made her loins throb even now, after having been satisfied so thoroughly. So powerfully. ‘I will belong to you forever, body and soul. Let us make beautiful pirate babies.’ ” By the end of her section, the poor woman could barely speak. She trailed into silence, her shoulders hunched.
    “That’s the end of the scene,” the skinny man announced. A look of profound relief crossed his partner’s face, and she slumped in her chair.
    “So, Clarence,” Penelope ventured, “why . . . why did you pick this scene?” It was the same question she’d asked after each team finished. This time, though, it seemed to stick in her throat, reluctant to emerge.
    “Well, I may not have a peg leg, but I own a pirate costume, including an eye patch.” Clarence waggled his brows. “And when I have a woman over, I like to put it on and shiver her timb—”
    “Okay, I think we’ve got it,” the librarian interrupted.
    “Have her walk my wooden plank, if you know what—”
    “Thank you, Clarence,” she said firmly. “Now we need to move on to the next pair.”
    Jack braced himself. Only he and the guy across the circle with the red tie hadn’t yet been matched with a partner, along with the librarian and a scantily clad woman in her early twenties. If Casey ever tries to dress like that for a date, I’m not letting her leave the house , he thought. Thank God she’s only four. I still have years to find a nunnery with a decent pre-med program.
    Red Tie had been eyeing Skintight Dress for the past forty-five minutes. Jack sincerely hoped the two would be matched. Then he and the librarian could each bow out, since neither one of them had planned on participating in this insane exercise. Jack could swear that she too found the game horrifying, despite the poker face she was trying to maintain. But how could that be? Hadn’t she planned the whole goddamn evening?
    The librarian drew a name out of the women’s hat. After glancing at the slip of paper, she took a deep breath. “It’s me,” she said with a strained smile. “And my partner is . . .”
    Me. Me. Let it be me , thought Jack.
    “. . . Julian.”
    Shit.
    Red Tie immediately protested. “But you weren’t even supposed to be part of this. Why don’t I read with her?” He pointed at Skintight Dress, who frowned back at him.
    Penelope looked discomfited. “Later in the evening, people can choose their own partners, Julian. For now, let’s just—”
    “You didn’t come here to meet someone tonight. I did. So I want to read with”—he took a long time peering at Skintight Dress’s nametag, which she’d stuck on the top of her dress, right over her breast—“Courtney.”
    Jesus, what a dick . No matter whether the librarian wanted to read with Red Tie or not—and he’d be willing to bet “not”—no woman wanted to be passed over in favor of another. In front of a crowd, no less. The pale skin of her upper chest had turned pink, and she was looking down at the floor. He couldn’t see her face, only the top of her head and the short wisps of brown hair there. A pixie cut, he’d heard it called. Appropriate, since she resembled a pretty elf in that green dress.
    Red Tie was a moron. Even if she’d engineered this entire train wreck of a gathering, the little librarian was clearly the prize in the room.
    “I’ll read with you,” Jack found himself saying to Penelope.
    “If Courtney agrees, you can both read with her,” Penelope finally said, her voice quiet. “It’s okay. Julian’s right. I wasn’t even supposed to be part of the events tonight, except as a host.”
    “No offense to Courtney. I’m sure she’s a wonderful