Window on Yesterday Read Online Free Page B

retrieved the articles she was balancing, along with his jacket.
    “I hope you don’t mind the intrusion,” Sean said, raising his brows questioningly, his expression saying quite clearly that he wasn’t sure.
    Reading his wary look correctly, Karla and Andrea hastened to assure him that he wasn’t intruding at all.
    “I invited Alycia out, but it appears just about every restaurant is closing due to the weather, so we shopped for dinner,” he explained, the beginnings of a grin easing his wariness as Andrea and Karla attempted to eye the pastry box with casual disinterest. “I hope you both like steak and salad, followed by coffee and cheesecake.”
    “Cheesecake! My favorite.” Karla groaned. “There goes my diet.”
    Snapping out of her bemusement, the ultra-slim Andrea smiled smugly. “I love cheesecake.” She threw a teasing glance at Karla. “And I never diet.”
    “Oh, give it a rest,” Karla advised in a mild tone, delving into the paper bag. “Wine! Red and white,” she exclaimed, extracting the bottles and holding one aloft. “How did you know we were bone dry?” She smiled at Sean.
    “Alycia told me about the deplorable state of your wine cellar,” he said solemnly.
    “Wine cellar! Anybody could tell this guy’s a historian,” Karla said, laughing as she continued pulling their dinner from the grocery sack.
    Sean managed to suppress his laughter, though the corners of his lips twitched with a smile.
    “And I think you’d better come in and sit down,” Alycia advised him in a dry tone. “If only to get out of range of missiles.”
    Backing into the living room, Sean examined Karla’s cool expression with sparkling blue eyes. “Dangerous, are you?” he asked, arching one russet eyebrow.
    “Not nearly as dangerous as Alycia,” she retorted, ignoring her friend’s soft gasp. “I’m obvious. She’s subtle.”
    Sean shifted his gleaming gaze to Alycia’s flushed cheeks. “How fascinating.” He lowered his voice. “You’ll have to tell me all about this subtlety”—he lowered his voice for her ears only—”later.”
    Embarrassed, Alycia was raking her mind for a response, any response, when Andrea inadvertently came to her rescue.
    “Oh, damn!” Frowning at the books stacked precariously in her arms, Andrea gazed around helplessly. “What should I do with them?”
    “You could put them back where they were “ Alycia suggested, crossing over to relieve her friend of several weighty volumes.
    “But they give the place such a cluttered look,” Andrea wailed, still hesitating uncertainly.
    “Not true,” Sean contradicted in a stern tone. “Books never clutter, they enlighten.”
    While Andrea looked chastised and Alycia looked on the verge of launching a defense of her friend, Sean carefully folded his large frame into the corner of the sofa. After stretching his long legs out in front of him, crossing his ankles, and sighing comfortably, he grinned up at Andrea. “So dump them anywhere and let’s get to know each other.”
    * * * *
    The dinner was a delightful, at times hilarious, success. The steak was tender, the salad crisp, the cheesecake creamy, the wine tangy, and the conversation animated.
    With an ease of manner so polished that no one even noticed, Sean steered the flow of conversation away from himself and onto the subjects most dear to Andrea’s and Karla’s hearts.
    “I’m thrilled and fascinated by the probability of space probes beyond our universe,” Andrea said in response to a cleverly worded remark by Sean.
    “And what are your hopes for these future intergalactic explorations?” Sean sent out a probe of his own.
    Andrea fairly quivered with excitement at finding an intelligent person who was genuinely interested in the exploration of space. “The possibilities are endless,” she answered, leaning forward intently.
    Exchanging an understanding smile with Karla, Alycia settled back to enjoy her wine, as well as the lively discussion. Only