The Lady Vanishes Read Online Free

pulling it out of his pocket. “Hello?”
    “Milton?”
    It was a woman’s voice, sounding just a little uncertain, and he remembered with horror that he had a date tonight with a lovely woman named Michelle, whom he’d met at a fundraiser for literacy.
    “Michelle,” he said, wincing, putting a hand to his head. He was an idiot, a complete idiot. “I’m sorry. I got tied up with something.” True enough, he supposed.
    “That’s okay. Did you need to reschedule?”
    Milton wanted to. He most definitely wanted to, but in the background he could hear the clink of glasses and the sound of voices, and knew she was probably already at the restaurant.
    “No, I’ll be there in”—he glanced at his watch—“fifteen minutes. I’m so sorry to keep you waiting.”
    She didn’t hesitate to assure him that it was fine. Her voice was even teasing as she ended the conversation by saying, “I bet you’re worth waiting for.”
    He made a face—he couldn’t help it. He knew he was good-looking, but no woman had ever said that crap to him until he became stupidly wealthy. “A beautiful woman should never be kept waiting,” he quipped back, and wanted to smack the phone against his forehead. He sounded like a douche-canoe. He was a douche-canoe. He’d completely forgotten about one woman while fantasizing about another.
    She laughed and said, “I’ll see you soon,” and hung up the phone.
    “God,” he groaned and punched the number of his driver, Shane.
    “Shane,” he said as soon as the man picked up the phone. “I forgot I have a date. Can you turn around and come back for me?”
    Shane didn’t answer right away, but then his South Boston accent came through the line: “Sure, boss. I’m on my way back now.”
    “Great.” Milton hung up the phone again.
    Glancing down at himself, he realized that he was still in the suit he’d been wearing at the hospital. He could wear it, he supposed, but it was a little too formal for a date, even at one of his favorite restaurants, a four-star French restaurant in the lobby of the Hotel Commonwealth.
    He wondered if Dr. Burke liked French food. An image of her tasting their famous fondant au chocolat floated through his mind; he could see those luscious lips parting, her eyes closing in ecstasy as the melted bittersweet chocolate slid over her tongue. His dick stirred, and he groaned. He needed to get a grip.

REGINA WASN’T SURE how Celeste had managed it, but by the time Corbin showed up at her door, flowers in hand, her sister had convinced Regina to put on just a little more makeup and let her hair fall in long waves around her shoulders.
    “Rose-Lindsey has been telling you to go out, get a life, right? Well, you need to make an effort, even if this guy is the snore of the century.”
    Regina wasn’t sure if it was the logic of the argument, which was true enough, or the memory of the magician and the tingle of awareness that had lingered all afternoon, but she’d taken her sister’s advice.
    When she opened the door, Corbin looked astonished, his mouth falling open a little, and Regina smiled. It wasn’t every day that she made a man’s jaw drop. Though to be fair, she rarely gave them the chance.
    “Thank you,” she told him, gesturing to the flowers, and he remembered to hand them to her. “I’ll just go put these in some water.”
    She motioned for him to come inside. “This is my sister, Celeste,” she said, nodding in the direction of Celeste, who was sitting on one of the bar stools in jeans and one of Regina’s old Harvard sweatshirts texting someone. Celeste didn’t believe in going out before 11:00 p.m. “Celeste, this is Corbin Gould.”
    “Hi,” Celeste replied, and hopped off the stool. She marched over to Corbin and took his elbow. “Why don’t you have a seat here with me while she puts those in water?”
    Regina eyed her sister as she set the flowers on the counter. She wasn’t entirely sure what Celeste was up to, but she had