Sweeter Than Wine Read Online Free Page A

not." Sam laughed.
    "John Wayne, huh?" she pulled away to look
into his face.
    "Come on," he motioned, "Let's go on deck and
try to enjoy the last few minutes of the sunset. I'm getting kind
of used to you being around."
    "Okay—I'll try." She said pulling away from
him.
    "Thank you..." she said minutes later as she
inhaled the crisp sea breeze. She glanced at the lapping water and
turned away quickly. Sam couldn't help but feel a tad sorry for
her. Seasickness was no fun.
    "For what?"
    "For not laughing at me," she smiled
slowly.
    "Tell you what we'll do," he said as he
helped her climb to deck, "We'll have ourselves a quiet little
dinner, and you can tell me all about why you are trying so hard to
make yourself do things you don't want or should not do."

Chapter Three
     
    She joined him in the restaurant. She chose a
light blue organza sundress that brought out the blue of her eyes,
she curled her hair just a little and let it drape down her
back.
    She noted how well he had cleaned up too. He
looked handsome in fresh denims, white shirt, and brown jacket. His
chin had a shadow, but his hair was light brown and it made him
ruggedly handsome .Almost dangerous looking.
    "Feeling better?" he asked as they sat at a
quiet little corner table. The candle light flickered in his face
as she glanced at him.
    "Much, thank you," she smiled.
    The candlelight made the table seem more
intimate...
    "Good, that's a start. Want a wine before we
eat?"
    "Oh…that sounds lovely," she replied taking
the menu from his hand.
    She had butterflies in her stomach, but she
wouldn't let him know it. This was the first time she'd been out to
dinner with a man in some time. She'd been to dinner with some of
the teachers before, but never an intimate dinner for two. It was
her own fault; she turned down plenty of invitations to dinner
before. However, she was bucking up. She lived far too far a sedate
life, and she had to change that. She vowed she wouldn't let the
Dean intimidate her again. She was determined to grit her teeth and
enjoy herself. It was just that she had forgotten how to enjoy
herself it had been so long.
    Her eyes scanned the prices on the menu, she
gulped, and her smile began to fade again.
    "Something wrong?" he asked.
    "Uh... no, it's just…well, these prices, they
are unbelievably high." She tried not to sound too indignant.
    "Nothing for you to worry about, I'm
treating," he said with a smile.
    "Oh but…" she glanced at him and saw his
smile and something within her reacted. It was like a glacier
slowly melting. She'd never had such a reaction to a man before and
it startled her. Not even Howard gave her that kind of reaction.
She recognized the attraction. It baffled her. How could she be
attracted to this man? It would do no good, of course and she
silently believed it was what attracted her…the fact that he wasn't
interested in her. Yet, neither was Howard and she had been
attracted to him too, for the same reason.
    Sam exuded a dangerous kind of attraction. He
was very tan, his hair was a little long and ruffled about him. He
looked native, primitive, and provocative.
    His brown eyes were menacing, his light brown
hair was longer in the back and trailed to his shoulders. In
addition, he wasn't overly tall, but by far, he was more appealing
than anyone else in the room. He was sort of a Michael Douglas
rugged looking man. A risk taker, a gambler, an exciting kind of
man, a man that could teach her how to enjoy life. And it was
exactly what she needed.
    She nodded, unable to bring herself to speak
at that moment.
    Good grief a handsome man was taking her to
dinner and she could do nothing but turn to mush. She had better
sense than that.
    She sipped the wine and tried not to look at
him too directly.
    "So…Ms. Malone…"
    "Please call me Lacey, all my friends do,"
she smiled.
    "Lacey, then, what's your story?" he asked
with mild amusement.
    "My story?" she queried. Looking at him with
new interest. It bothered her that he