130 of 226

Write now Article Tools

Page 4 of 4

under his dark blazer was clean, and his jeans had a neat press crease on each leg. She took his hand.

"I'm Grace."

He raised her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. "What a perfect name for such a compassionate woman," he said, his dark eyes smoldering.

With a laugh, Grace withdrew her hand. "Hardly that," she said, collecting her purse and standing. She dropped a bill on the bar and pushed out the door, determined to get home, clean up and be on time for her date with Dennis. He wouldn't be happy if she were late, and he certainly wouldn't want to hear about a roadkilled dog.

"Hey, wait!" Edward came out of the bar on her heels, and began walking next to her in the fading light. "I'm sorry, that was pretty hokey, wasn't it?" he said.

Grace smiled. "No, really, it was fine," she said. "I just have somewhere to be."

"Somewhere far from the crazy guy in the bar?" Edward asked ruefully.

Grace blushed. "I'm meeting someone," she said.

"Oh." Edward reached into a blazer pocket. "Here," he said, holding out a small card dancing with color. "This is my number. Call me and let me buy you lunch tomorrow." He paused, shuffling his feet. "Not everyone would have stopped for that dog, Grace. I'd like to get to know the kind of person who would." He turned in the opposite direction, looking back over his shoulder to wave. He smiled when he saw Grace was standing where he'd left her, looking after him.

She started as her phone rang and began walking toward her apartment. She absently tucked the card into her purse before answering. "Hello?"

"Grace, sweetheart!"

Grace inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. Dennis only called her sweetheart if he was canceling his plans. "What happened this time?" she asked.

"She heard I was back in town, sweetheart. I have a command performance tonight. I'll make it up to you later, I swear."

Of course. Dennis's wife, frigid bitch that she was, always took priority. She'd expect him to come home as soon as he was back in town, not spend two days in an expensive hotel with one of the pretty girls on his staff first. They'd kept things secret for four years. Grace was used to taking a back seat.

"Do what you need to do, Dennis. I'll see you at work tomorrow." She hung up on his empty promise of taking some time away together. It was nothing she hadn't heard before.

A flash of color and light caught her eye as she dropped her phone back into her purse. She pulled out Edward's card, looking at it closely for the first time. It was one of the expensive projective cards. Images of sunny beaches and a sailing boat danced across a cartoon landscape. Edward's number was scrawled across the billowing sails on the tiny ship. The ship moved across the face of the tiny card, then turned and sailed in the opposite direction as the sun overhead put on dark glasses.

Grace smiled as she touched the tiny chip that froze the image. Suddenly the thought of lunch with Edward didn't seem all that bad.

Learn more about this author, Marna Martin.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

• << previous page
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4

Add your voice

Know something about Novel excerpts: Romance?
We want to hear your view. Write now!