Every Vow She Breaks Read Online Free

“It’s chilly tonight and getting dark fast. I’ll start a fire.”
    “I’ll wash the dishes while you’re building one.”
    Turning, he laid a hand on her arm and squeezed. “We make a good team.”
    “Hmm…the jury’s still out. Any man who lives someplace that requires shoveling to get out the front door has to be a little crazy. It’s going to take more than good looks to compensate for being snowbound six months of the year.”
    “Sounds like a challenge.”
    Her brows shot up. “Oh?”
    “By the time you finish your Bigfoot story, my list of sterling qualities will far exceed the negatives. Just wait and see.”
    * * * *
    Claire leaned back in her chair, propped her booted feet on a rock outside the fire ring and tucked her chilled hands into her pockets. The fire crackled and snapped. Above the dark shadows of towering trees, stars filled the night sky.
    “You’re sure you don’t want a s’more? I’ll toast the marshmallow.”
    “Positive.”
    Jed shook his head. “When it comes to food, you’re absolutely no fun at all. It’s not like you need to watch your weight. You’re tiny.”
    “I’d like to stay that way. Besides, all that sugar and fat is bad for you.”
    “I work off the calories, and I’m disgustingly healthy. I have good genes.”
    “Is that supposed to be a mark in the positive column?”
    He pressed a graham cracker down over a beautifully browned marshmallow and slid out the stick. “Why not? You wouldn’t want to pass along any wimpy genes to your kids.”
    “True.”
    “Enough about me. I want to hear all about the near miss you had with marriage.”
    She suppressed a smile. “Why?”
    “Well, duh. If I’m going to lure you to my snowbound cabin, I need to know what turns you off.”
    “Is that your goal?”
    “Sure. You can cook and clean and…do other things to keep me happy all winter.”
    Rolling her eyes, she reached for the chocolate bar sitting between them and broke off a square. Popping it into her mouth, she savored the rich flavor. “Are you ever serious?”
    “On occasion. Spill it. Who’d you almost marry?”
    “Not almost. Remember that ski trip I mentioned while I was in college? My boyfriend talked me into eloping to Reno.”
    He juggled the s’more, swore then sucked on his marshmallow coated thumb. “Why’d you do something stupid like that? How old were you?”
    “Nineteen. He was twenty-three. My parents were living in North Dakota—don’t ask why—and I hadn’t seen them in nearly a year. Ian was a grad student. I met him when he was a teaching assistant in one of my classes. He was finishing his master’s and planned to move to Seattle where he already had a job lined up.” She shrugged. “I was feeling a bit lonely and left behind.”
    “So you actually married him?”
    “Yep. I was already regretting it before the Elvis impersonator who performed the ceremony told him to kiss the bride. It wasn’t until the next day…” She pressed her lips together.
    His warm hand covered hers where it rested on the chair arm. “What happened?”
    “For some reason, I insisted he drive by our old house. I told him I wanted to show him where I used to live. Your mom was on her front porch doing something with a bunch of pinecones—”
    “She made Christmas decorations out of them.”
    “I broke down and started crying. All I could think about was how nice she’d been to me and how much I’d missed you after we moved….” She drew in a long breath. “Ian probably thought I was a complete loon. Anyway, our parents freaked when we told them, and I had their full support when I went to court to get the marriage annulled. Everyone but Ian was completely relieved when it was over.”
    “He wanted to make a go of the marriage?”
    She nodded. “He was still pretty angry when he left the Bay Area. I haven’t heard from him since, though, so I guess he got over me and moved on with his life.”
    “Wow. That’s quite a