Waiting for Lila Read Online Free Page A

the men.
    There was an awkward silence, then Jack said, "Well, I guess well let you get on with your repairs." His voice wasn't quite so hearty as he turned to Frank. "I'll catch up with you in the bar."
    As soon as Frank was out of sight, Jack glanced at Delilah. "What's this? I don't get it. If I were a woman, I'd be drooling all over the place. He's exactly the kind of man I would choose for—"
    "Jack darling." Delilah patted him on the shoulder. "Think about that statement, then get back to me."
    Jack glanced at Bill. "I'm not positive, but I think IVe just been insulted." He gave them both a good-natured grin and saluted. "I adjust."
    As Jack walked away, Delilah stooped again beside the bicycle without offering a word of explanation. Bill stood for a moment, looking down at her, then a slow smile spread across his face.
    He wanted to laugh out loud at the wonder of her. She was a pirate's cache. And he was going to have the time of his life sorting through the treasure.

Chapter 3

    As Delilah worked on the bicycle, she openly studied the man beside her. He was of average height and weight, and his thick brown hair was the kind that looked habitually tousled and was a perfect match for his slightly crooked front teeth. He had the offbeat, carefree look of an adventurer.
    She had noticed his blue-gray eyes in the bar, but now, as he glanced at her, she saw that his left eye was not completely blue-gray like the right one. One small section of the left eye was distinctly, brightly, green. It made her want to laugh in surprise and delight.
    Cute. Definitely cute , she thought. But why was he smiling in that peculiar moonstruck way?
    "By George, I think we've got it," Bill said, turning the pedal smoothly. Then he looked at her and grinned. "At least, I think you've got it. I would never have managed to fix it by myself."
    "No," she agreed without Inflection. "You wouldn't have."
    He laughed, then stood and waved toward a group of boys on the beach. "Luis! The bicycle's ready."
    Minutes later, after the boy and his friends had collected the bicycle and disappeared. Bill wiped his hands on a handkerchief as he stood smiling at Delilah.
    "Lovely Lila to the rescue," he said. Taking her arm, he began to walk away from the terrace. "You've saved my reputation in Acapulco. I can hold my head high and not be afraid that people are snickering and making rude comments about me behind my back."
    She laughed. "I suppose that's important, especially here in Mexico, the birthplace of machismo."
    "The word may have come from Mexico, but I'm afraid the concept is universal. The majority of the men in the world, no matter what their nationality, waste big pieces of their lives trying to convince themselves that they are real men, whatever that means."
    "You too?" She studied his features, her curiosity genuine.
    "I'm afraid so." he admitted ruefully. "I tell myself I'm not as bad as a lot of men, but today, when I stepped off the plane . . . You see, I live in Houston, a nice city, but there is a sameness about big cities that makes them almost invisible to the people who spend their lives there. Acapulco is blinding in contrast. And a couple of hours ago, when I saw those again"—he gestured toward the mountains that rose on their left—"I felt the same thing I always feel."
    "Small?" she ventured. "Helpless?"
    He shook his head in a wry, negative movement. "No, I felt uncomfortable . . . embarrassed."
    She stopped walking, her expression puzzled. "Why on earth would you feel embarrassed?"
    "Because beauty so intense"—his gaze moved slowly over her face—"is a real problem for a man to deal with. It brings all the passions too close to the surface for comfort. A real man isn't supposed to get a lump in his throat simply because the world is suddenly a lovely place."
    Delilah fell silent. There was much more to this man than she had supposed. She had been thinking of him as an attractive but ordinary man, the kind of thoroughly nice