Voracious Read Online Free Page B

slid into the booth opposite her. “You look good tonight. Are you still doing okay … you know … after?”
    She nodded, though inside the events at the dam had left her shaken. Her hand felt for her bracelet.
    “You’re playing nervously with your bracelet again,” George told her.
    “Oh, sorry. It’s a habit.”
    “I’ve noticed. What’s in the little box, anyway?”
    “A treasure,” Madeline said and didn’t expand.
    He glanced around for the waitress then, and Edna didn’t disguise her horror at having to return to the table so soon. She started over empty-handed, and to save her the trip, George called, “Menus?”
    Edna froze as if he’d just pulled a gun on her. “Menus?” she said weakly.
    “Yeah,” George said, his brow furrowing.
    “I can tell you our specials,” she offered after a pause.
    “That’s okay,” George said back over the din of the other diners. “I want to peruse it.”
    “Um …” Edna glanced over at the menu box next to the counter, which was full to the top. “You can come up and pick one out …”
    George wrinkled his forehead, obviously confused. “What?”
    Madeline knew all too well what was going on. She nudged George’s foot under the table. He turned to her, confused. “She doesn’t want to bring the menus, George. She’d have to touch them, see, then hand them to us.”
    His mouth came open. “You’re kidding me.”
    She averted her eyes. “Unfortunately, I’m not.”
    He’d seen this stuff before with her. But now his eyes flared, and he turned to Edna. “Bring us the menus now!” he said angrily.
    Madeline’s face flushed. No one had stood up for her since Ellie all those years ago.
    Flustered, Edna looked down and twisted her hands, then hurried over to the menus. Wrapping her hand in her apron, she grabbed two menus and carried them over, dropping one on the table and the other clumsily on the floor.
    “And how are you going to deliver the food?” George demanded.
    Madeline nudged his foot again under the table, her face hot. Others turned in their chairs and booths to stare. “Thanks,” she said to Edna, who was already halfway back to the counter.
    George picked up the one from the floor and gave Madeline the clean one.
    Then, shaking his head in disbelief, he shrugged out of his coat. Beneath it he wore a dark purple shirt and black pants. The shirt sported a Nehru collar, which wasn’t buttoned, and as he leaned over to place the coat on the far side of the booth, Madeline caught a glimpse of a shapely collarbone.
    Instantly she averted her eyes to her coffee cup. What was she doing? He’d never been attractive to her before. He’d always been somewhat, well … stiff. Good company, but not deep company. Nice eyes but not alluring eyes. But somehow, things were different tonight. Had been from the moment he walked in the door.
    She wondered if the recent serious event had awakened something within her, some desire to experience things on a deeper level.
    His lips were full and inviting. Surely they hadn’t been the last time she’d seen him. She remembered him having a gray, pursed, slash of a mouth. His hair cascaded over his shoulders seductively, strands curling before his face. Every other time she’d seen him, he had his hair pulled back in a ponytail. The effect of seeing it down was dramatic. She even noticed how shapely his body was: lithe, athletic. She tried to look away but couldn’t. She was mesmerized, fascinated at how different he looked.
    And it wasn’t just that he looked different. He felt different. A wave of something utterly alluring wafted off him. Other people noticed it, too. The woman in the booth behind them half turned to look around the room and ended up doing a full double take when she saw him behind her.
    Madeline had been rebuffing his advances for months, and to show interest now would be too weird. They were friends. And friends were much harder to come by than dates. There was nothing powerful