"Improper English" - читать интересную книгу автора (MacAlister Katie)

УThat sounds rather uncomfortable.Ф

УThe Cheeto-rubbing or the creeps? DoesnТt matter, they are both uncomfortable, so if you have some guy just hanging around looking for a babe, IТm your girl.Ф

УIТm not sure he is hanging around looking for a babe...Ф

УCourse, heТs got to be fun. I donТt like those stodgy types, like lawyers and what-have-you. And I donТt have time for a real romance, you understand, just a quickie or two.Ф

Isabella frowned. УIТm sure my friend would want more from a relationship than just casual sex.Ф

УOh. Damn. Well, then, youТd probably better not fix me up with him. I donТt have the time or strength to go through the whole serious-relationship thing with a guy. Do you know of anyone who does want casual sex?Ф

She smiled a distant, rather cold smile. УIТm sure you could find any number of such men at the DrakeТs Bum.Ф

I made a face. IТd been to the DrakeТs BumЧit was a local pub that had been modernized within an inch of its life. Now it was a trendy hangout, populated with people there to see and be seen; not my type of crowd at all. УI was kind of hoping for a guy who had been creep-vetted already.Ф

УIТm afraid I canТt help you there. I seldom count creeps amongst the men of my acquaintance.Ф She tried to sidle past me.

I turned to block her progress and took a moment to wax philosophical. УYou know, Isabella, IТve always said that men are like a bag of potato chips. They may look scrumptious and tasty, but once youТve had them, all youТre left with is an empty bag.Ф

She paused, frowning slightly. УI donТt quite see the analogy.Ф

I waved a dismissive hand. УIt doesnТt matter. The point is that unless you know of a non-creep who wants a fling, IТm not interested in this guy of yours.Ф

She eased past me. УIf you change your mind, let me know. The man I have in mind is a perfect match for you. I thought so the day you arrived, but I wanted to know you a little longer before I suggested him.Ф

A matchmaking landladyЧjust what I needed to complete my happiness. УThanks, but no thanks.Ф

She nodded and stepped out the door. I watched her start up the stairs to the floor above, which she divided with another tenant, and leaned back against the door-jamb to scratch an itch between my shoulder blades. A perfect man. Ha! In the whole of my twenty-nine years IТd yet to see such a thing. Perfect for someone else, no doubt, but not me. I wasnТt going down that slippery slide into hell again. No sir, not me. Once burned, twice shy. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. A bird in the hand is worth two in the ... oh, dear.

УUm ... Isabella?Ф

УYes?Ф she called down without pausing in her ascent.

УYou said this guy is a perfect match?Ф

УPerfect for you, yes.Ф

She rounded the landing and disappeared up the last flight of stairs.

УHow perfect?Ф I yelled after her, good manners flying out the window even as I told myself I wasnТt in the slightest bit interested.

УPerfect.Ф Even her voice was elegant, all rounded vowels and languid English richness.

I walked to the banister and peered up the stairwell. УIs this perfect man a friend of yours?Ф

УIn a manner of speaking.Ф Her voice drifted downward, growing fainter. I heard the chimes that brush her door tinkle softly as she went into her flat. УHeТs my lover.Ф