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being him.
David, I don t know what to say.
Say yes. He flashed what she had always
thought to be his fake smile. The one he used for
humoring patients.
I can t. Her gaze flitted from his to the
beautiful ring and back. Not right now. This is
such a big step. I know we ve talked about getting
engaged, but that s all I thought it was. Just talk. I
have to think about this. I can t answer right
away. She pushed away from the table and
stood. Pulling some money out of her wallet, she
added, This is to cover my untouched food. I
wouldn t feel right making you pay for something
I didn t eat.
You don t have to go.
The sadness in his voice made her heart go out
to him, but she held back any signs of that
showing.
Tori laid the money on the table. Yes, I do.
She drove around aimlessly for the rest of the
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afternoon, contemplating her future. Before the
sky began to grow dark, she ended up on Sally s
porch.
Inside, she explained all the events leading up
to her appearance on Sally s doorstep, apologizing
the whole time for not returning to work. When
she was done, Sally began an unrelenting diatribe.
I don t know what you ve seen in him,
anyway. Sally said for the tenth time in as many
minutes. A friend of mine used to be a patient of
his, but after a few sessions she switched to
another practitioner. She said she didn t like his
condescending attitude. I don t know how you
could take it. Listen to me. Babbling away like a
brook. What are you going to do?
I don t know. She gnawed on a ragged
fingernail.
You mustn't marry him. Sally narrowed her
gaze at Tori, then out the bay window of the
family room. She rubbed her chin. You know I
like to give advice and I understand the times
when you haven t followed it, but this time, dear,
it s different. You must do as I say. Take it as an
order from your friend and boss. Do not marry
David.
Should she give up the prospect for security, a
constant companion in her life, the fact that her
mother would be ecstatic a doctor in the family
even though the affection wasn t there, all for
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something that may just be a whim? Or should she
take a chance and see if she and Geoff could
develop a relationship? Victoria turned away,
wearied by the tumult of thoughts racing through
her head. I ll take your advice to heart and
strongly consider it, but I m the one who should
make the final verdict. Deep down David is a
good man& Sally huffed, but she ignored it. He
really can be when he stops being so self-centered.
We had a lot of good times together. She paused,
remembering the pleasant reminiscing she and
David had done during lunch. Aware Sally wasn t
satisfied with her answers, she added, Tell you
what I ll do, boss. I ll go home, make out a list of
pros and cons and see which weighs more.
I hope you ll be able to be impartial when you
do it.
So do I, Tori replied in a broken whisper,
wishing she didn t have to make the decision.
The two women sat quietly for a moment until
Sally, pointing her finger in the air, sprang from
the couch.
What? Tori leapt up with her. What is it?
Nothing. Sally s expression was a bit puzzled
then, in a blink, she smiled. Nothing s wrong.
Just something I had forgotten about till now. Sit
tight. I ll be right back. Sally patted her arm, then
hurried from the room.
Tori sat back and sipped the tea Sally s maid
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Concealed Affairs
had brought in earlier. But the drink had grown
cold. On the wall across from her hung a painting
she still had yet to figure out. She assumed the
picture was what artists considered abstract, with
its straight lines, square shapes and bright, bold
colors. But what was it? Was it a person s face,
square-ish and done larger than life? Or a building
with a couple of windows, a door and a crack in
the middle? Maybe the artist was a beginner in the
craft.
It s whatever you want it to be.
Excuse me? she asked, peeling her attention
from the weird piece of art to Sally
The painting. It s whatever you want it to be. I
like to think it s a man: proud, strong, focused on
a goal. Anyway, here. She placed two slips of
heavy paper into Tori s hand. Those are what I
almost forgot about. Two tickets for the Children s
Charity Banquet this Friday. Frank and I can t go. I
want you to go in our place.
I can t go to this, either. You know I m not a
part of the social crowd. I couldn t possibly.
Nonsense, you can and you will. The tickets
are already paid for and I won t accept no for an
answer. There will be others going from our
company and some of our clients will be there,
too. If it makes you feel better, mix some business
in. You could invite Geoff.
That would make for an interesting evening out. She
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absentmindedly played with the tickets. Okay.
I ll go.
Good. That settles that part. There s something
else, too. Sally opened her checkbook, which she
had brought back with the tickets and wrote on
one of the slips. She tore out a check and handed it
to Tori. That s two thousand dollars for the
charity. I want you to deposit it in your account,
and when you re there, make out your own check
for that amount.
Tori s mouth hung open as she stared at the
check. I can t take your money. And if I did, why
couldn t I just give your check straight to them?
Oh, Victoria, don t you see? I d think it d be
fun for you to whip out your own checkbook.
You ll feel like you fit in more. On this, too, I
won t take no for an answer.
Yes, boss. Tori smiled and stuck the check
into her purse.
Great! I knew this was just the thing to cheer
you up. Now tell me, how are things going
between you and Mr. McKenzie?
I guess you can say things are going well. You
wouldn t recognize my little place now. He s done
a wonderful job.
Okay, so the situation between your house
and him is good, but how about between the two
of you?
There was a misunderstanding, but it s been
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Concealed Affairs
straightened out.
Misunderstanding? Tell your friend Sally all
about it. She sat on the couch and patted Tori s
leg.
It started at David s, she replied, twirling a [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] - zanotowane.pl
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