If Ever I Loved You Read Online Free

millionaire financier and art fancier. Their
art collection was housed in their mansion in
the
Seacliff area and was viewed only by invitation. I understand they
built the new gallery on Maiden Lane and opened it to the public about
three years later."
    She picked up her cup and saucer and sipped at the still
warm coffee. "I met Peter when my art class took a tour of the famed
Van Housen art collection. We were studying Dutch artists at the time
and they had an excellent collection of van Goghs, Rembrandts, Jan Steens and Vermeers. Peter had chosen to be our guide
that day because the Dutch collection was his special area of
expertise. So help me it was a classic case of love at first sight."
    Gina took the last swallow of her coffee and set the cup
and saucer aside. She gave a short, mirthless laugh. "Oh how trusting
are the young! It sounds silly when I try to talk about it, especially
in the light of what happened less than two months later, but there was
something magical in the feeling that sprang to life between us."
    "He was a stranger. I didn't even know he existed when I
woke up that morning, but by nightfall the whole direction of my life
had changed. I'd come under the spell of a man eight years older than I
but light-years older in experience, and from then on no one could
deter me from my dream, the dream of spending all eternity in the arms
of Peter Van Housen."
    "He kept me close to him that afternoon but I didn't see a
picture or hear a word he said. He claimed later that he didn't
remember what he said either. Before I left he asked for my address and
phone number, and from that time on we were together every spare
minute."
    "Now wait a minute," interrupted Twyla. "Surely it wasn't
as idyllic as all that."
    "Idyllic?" murmured Gina. "Of course not. We had
opposition right from the start. My parents were concerned and his were
furious! Mom and Dad tried to tell me that I was way out of my depth,
that Peter was too old, too rich, and too sophisticated for me, and at
first the Van Housens didn't even take me seriously. They treated me
like a mongrel pup their spoiled son had brought home and insisted on
keeping. They tolerated me only because they were sure he'd soon cast
me aside for the show dog he already had."
    "Hold it," interrupted Twyla holding up a hand. "Are you
telling me you lived with this man in his parents' home?"
    "No," snapped Gina. "That's not what I'm telling you! I
was just trying to be cute because if I delve too deeply into this
hellish experience I'm not going to be able to talk about it at all."
    "When Peter first introduced me to his parents they were
polite but totally uninterested because they had plans for their young
son to marry the daughter of State Senator Frederick Miller. Her name
was Veronica and she was all they could possibly want in a
daughter-in-law—snobbish, rich, and well-connected. They
assumed Peter was having a last fling with one of the local peasantry
before settling down to marriage and family life."
    "And was he?" Twyla said. "Having a 'fling' I mean."
    Gina sniffed. "If you mean 'affair' the answer is no. My
parents had strong moral values and they'd taught me well. I was
convinced that it was wrong to go to bed with a man before the wedding
vows and until I met Peter it had never been a problem. None of the
boys I'd gone out with had attracted me in that way, although Mel was
beginning to make some headway."
    "Who's Mel?" questioned Twyla.
    "Mel was Melvin Calicutt, a photography student whom I had
been dating before I met Peter. We had a lot of fun together and he was
pretty upset when I quit seeing him and started spending all my time
with Peter."
    She spread her hands and lowered her voice as though
speaking to herself. "At the time I didn't realize just how upset he
really was."
    Twyla was watching her closely. "So you didn't sleep with
Peter before the wedding?"
    Gina winced and closed her eyes and tried to block out the
memories Twyla's question evoked.