Shades of the Past Read Online Free

the theater ghosts,” he said seriously, coming over to her. “The ‘Annover’s got two, you know, a gray lady and a one-eyed cat.”
    She managed a smile. “I’ll be sure to keep a look-out.”
    “They’re supposed to be lucky, so you do that, miss.”
    She smiled again. “Well, I guess I’ll go home now. Good night , Fred.”
    “Good night, miss.”
    She suddenly felt the need to quit the theater as quickly as possible. A gray lady and a one-eyed cat? She’d just seen many more theater ghosts than two !
    She hurried back to the dressing room, grabbed her coat and other things, then left, hardly noticing the January wind and rain as she stood on the sidewalk to call a cab. Nor did she notice the lingering intrusion of the past in the form of Lady Lowestoft’s carriage further along Haymarket.
    Estelle saw her, though. Not the Laura of the future, but Regency Laura, her hood raised as she took leave of Miles and Stephen by the alley to the stage door. It amused Miles to delay her by drawing her fingers to his lips in false gallantry, cupping her hand in both his, as if in adoration. To Estelle it seemed the tender gesture of a man in love.
    Lord Sivintree’s carriage drove past, and the earl glanced out, observing the scene by the theater door. The moment Miles released her hand, Laura seized her chance to get away. She hurried across the cobble street to the line of hackney coaches drawn up by a nearby corner.
    Estelle lifted her veil for a moment. There was anguish in her too-bright hazel eyes, and her hand shook as she pressed the unicorn ring to her trembling lips. Then she lowered the veil again and ordered her coachman to follow the hackney coach, but the hired vehicle had already disappeared in the crush of horses and vehicles at the end of Haymarket.
    Tendrils of the past still reached out beguilingly to modern Laura as she got out of the modern cab in Berkeley Square, but she was determined to find a rational explanation for what had happened. The whole company had been working very hard getting ready for tonight’s gala, and she’d just overdone it a little. Ghosts didn’t exist, nor time travel, but an overactive imagination certainly did!
    “You need that vacation in the Cotswolds, Laura, my girl,” she muttered as she let herself into the apartment.
    The exquisitely furnished Art Deco rooms were deserted; Jenny wouldn’t get back until dawn, and Lily and the fourth girl, Davina Huntley, were on a skiing vacation in Gstaad.
    Well, Laura Reynolds wasn’t going to dwell on imaginary goings-on! Taking a deep, determined breath, she forced the whole business from her mind, undressed, and took a shower. Luxuriating in the splash of warm water over her body, she closed her eyes and raised her face to the spray, remembering times when she and Kyle had showered together. How handsome he’d been, with his golden curls and vivid blue eyes. And that come-hither smile ...
    She could almost feel him with her now, his strong body pressed to hers, his knowing fingers teasing her nipples with caresses that filled her with desire. She remembered how she’d soaped her hands and run them all over him. All over him! Erotic thoughts drifted deliciously into her head as she slid her soapy hands sensuously over her wet skin. She trembled as the seductive memories became so real she could almost feel his erection, as hard as rock, pressing urgently between her legs. Almost, but not quite.
    With a sigh, she turned the shower to a lower temperature. “Cool down, Laura, the only hot thing for you tonight is a mug of cocoa,” she muttered wryly.
    She finished the shower and dried herself, wishing she didn’t yearn for so many aspects of her time with Kyle. It was the simple things, like waking up beside him in the morning, or cuddling up to watch a movie on TV. And the sex. Yes, there had been good times, but Kyle McKenna was a shallow cheat. True love—deep, emotional, and complete—was something he’d never