"Bennett, Cherie - Sunset Island 009 - Sunset Scandal" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bennett Cherie)

After Carrie left, Emma got into the
shower herself. As she shampooed her hair she thought again how terrific everything was with Kurt. And how terrible she had felt when they'd broken up. I'll never let anything come between us again, she vowed to herself as she rinsed her hair.
Not that it was any fault of hers that they had broken up in the first place. Oh, it had been her decision all right, but not only had Kurt gone out with her archenemy, Diana De Witt, he had actually slept with her. Just remembering how betrayed she had felt was like sticking a knife into her heart all over again. She hadn't even slept with Kurt yet, because she wanted to make sure that the time was absolutely right.
Actually, I'm still not sure, Emma thought with a small smile. She turned the hot water on even hotter and let it pound against her face. Once they'd gotten back together, she had decided that "go slow" would be her motto. Still, maybe the infamous right time was coming soon. . . .
"Wow, Emma, you look pretty!" five-year-old Katie told Emma when she came downstairs dressed for the party.
"Thanks," Emma said, kneeling down to hug the little girl.
"Katie's right, per usual," Jane Hewitt said, walking into the hall. Jane and Jeff Hewitt were Emma's employers for the second summer in a row. Both lawyers in their mid-thirties, they had a great relationship and three super kids. Twelve-year-old Ethan, who had had a crush on Emma the summer before, was the oldest. Then there was freckle-faced Mils, a seven-year-old ball of energy, and five-year-old Katie, who was as smart as she was darling. Emma had come to love the entire family, and they seemed to feel the same way about her.
Jeff Hewitt came up behind his wife and put his arms around her. "Remember, Jane, when you said that miniskirts would never come back into style because women would never put up with how impractical they were?" he asked in a teasing voice.
Jane rolled her eyes. "So I'm no predictor of fashion," she said. "I gave away all my miniskirts shortly after the sixties ended."
"And now you have to go out and buy more that look exactly like the ones you gave to Goodwill!" Jeff exclaimed.
"Fortunately I'm better at law than I am at guessing fashion trends," Jane said ruefully.
"Don't tell anyone, Em," Jeff said conspir-atorially, "but Jane wore hers a lot shorter at your age than you do!"
Jane laughed. "You're much saner than I was, EmmaЧthank God!"
Emma smiled warmly at them. They were really so terrific.
"You're still pretty wild, in your own lawyerlike way," Jeff said, kissing his wife's cheek.
"Kisses for me, too, Daddy!" Katie said, running up to hug her father's knees. He hoisted her quickly and covered her cheek with loud kisses. Jane kissed the little girl from the other side.
Suddenly Emma felt her throat close up. Jane and Jeff loved each other and their kids so much. Emma had lived with them long enough to know that their closeness was no artifice put on for public consumption.
That was what Emma had thought it had to be, at first. After all, coming from her unhappy home, how was she to know there
really were genuinely loving families around? Her parents had been in the middle of an ugly divorce for an eternity, and both were engaged to people closer to Emma's age than to their own. Even before the breakup, they'd never shown any real affection to each other. Nor to me, Emma added to herself bitterly. They had showered her with money instead.
Okay, enough of this melodrama, she told herself. You're on your way to a party with the cutest, greatest guy in the world, so snap out of it!
Emma drove Jane's car to the other side of the island, where Kurt lived with his father and his two younger sisters. He had had his own apartment for a brief period, but had opted to move back home to save money. Emma had never met Kurt's family but knew that his mother had died of cancer when Kurt was in high school.
Emma pulled into the narrow driveway and eyed the small frame house. Her gaze fell on the other houses lining the narrow lane, where fishermen's families lived their lives. This was a world where buying a new
dress or a pair of shoes had to be planned and budgeted for. This was a world where a vacation meant a stroll on the beach and where a car was kept until it just wouldn't run anymore. To Emma, this was a foreign country.
"You are one gorgeous sight," Kurt said with a big grin when Emma knocked on the front screen door.
"I must have washed a bucketful of mud off myself," Emma said, laughing.
Kurt opened the screen door and gave Emma a kiss. "You taste good, too," he added.
"Your chariot awaits," Emma said, sweeping her hand toward the BMW in the driveway. Kurt always picked her up when they went out, but his car had broken down and was in the shop.
"Much fancier than my chariot," Kurt noted. "Bye, Dad, I'm going!" he called into the recesses of the house.
A weathered older man appeared from around a corner, wiping his hands on a dishtowel.
Why, he looks just like Kurt! Emma thought. But older and tired. No, she cor-
rected herself as he walked toward her, he looks like an old, tired, suspicious Kurt.
"Dad, this is my girlfriend, Emma Cress-well," Kurt said, introducing her. "Emma, this is my dad."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Emma said in her cultured voice. She winced inwardly. Even to her own ears, she sounded like she'd just stepped out of an elite finishing school.
"Hmph," Mr. Ackerman said, eyeing Emma.
For once, poised Emma didn't have a clue as to what to say. "You have a nice house"? But that was ridiculousЧthe house was a tiny frame bungalow that looked like all the others on the street. "You raised a great son"? "Sorry your wife died"? "Your son is a terrific kisser"?
"Well, we have to go," Kurt said, saving the moment.
"I ... I'm glad we finally met," Emma managed. She looked at Kurt. "Your son means a lot to me," she added.
"He means a lot to me, too," Mr. Ackerman said levelly, then he nodded and headed back to the kitchen.
"Did I say something wrong?" Emma asked Kurt when they got into the car. "He hates me!"
"He doesn't hate you," Kurt explained. "He's just ... I guess you could say he's protective of me."
Emma backed the car out of the driveway. "Well, then, he should be happy that you're happy, shouldn't he?"
"He just needs time to get to know you," Kurt said soothingly, "and when he does, he'll see why I'm so crazy about you."
Emma gave Kurt an arch look. "Is that so?"
That's so," he affirmed. He put his arm under her hair and stroked the back of her neck.
"Mmm, that feels great," Emma sighed. She stopped for a red light and looked over at him. "Carrie and I had a talk today after we left you," she told him. "We're both planning to join COPE tomorrow."
Kurt's face lit up with admiration. "Really? That's great!"
Emma smiled back at Kurt as the light turned green. She loved him so much. He was such a good personЧa really moral guy
who cared about people. He's also incredibly hot-looking, she added to herself with a secret smile.
"I'm really proud of you, Emma," Kurt said. "I mean, someone like you, you could just write a check and not get involved in the dirty work."
"I want to do more than that," Emma said seriously. She wasn't about to tell him that she had certainly considered doing exactly thatЧjust writing a check. She hoped she was joining because it meant something to her, and not just to see that look of pride on Kurt's face.