"Once Upon Stilettos" - читать интересную книгу автора (Swendson Shanna)

The waitress dropped the check on our table as she walked past, and he grabbed it before I had a chance.  This one s on me, he said.

 No, I can pay my part.

He shook his head.  No. I owe you.

 For what?

 Well, if you don t count saving my life which I do I do owe you for a breakfast.

I felt like I should protest more, but I also got the impression I d never win. I gave a sigh of defeat.  If you insist.

 I do. He grinned.  You should know better than to get in my way.

 Oh, like you could do anything against me?

 I m sure I could think of something.

I laughed at the mischievous look on his face. There was something familiar about the way I felt at that moment. It wasn t the crush. It wasn t even like anything I d felt with a man before. Then I realized that it reminded me of the times when my brothers and I sparred verbally, all in love and fun. Great. Just what I needed, another big brother.

As he walked me home, I realized that if this had been an actual date, it would have been the best date I d had since I d moved to New York. Maybe even since before that. I couldn t remember a date where I d had that much fun, been that at ease with someone.

It hadn t been a date, though, even if he had picked up the check. In spite of all the bonding we d done, he still didn t come close to touching me no hand holding or even near-miss brushing of hands as we walked, no arm draped around my shoulders. But did that really matter? I d had fun. I enjoyed being with him.

When we stopped in front of my building, I said,  Well, thanks for dinner. I m glad we did that. Otherwise, it was going to be mac and cheese in front of the TV.

 I m glad you joined me. I think I needed to get out.

There was a long pause. I wondered if I should invite him up. I hoped he was wondering if he should kiss me good night. Before I made a decision about what to do, he said,  See you in the morning, then turned and headed off toward his place. He didn t even try to hug me or shake my hand.

With a deep sigh, I climbed to the third floor. The apartment was still empty when I opened the door. Both roommates must have made their own dinner plans. The light on the answering machine was blinking, so I hit thePLAY button as I removed my coat.  Uh, this message is for Katie, my mother s voice said. Someday maybe she d get used to newfangled things like answering machines.  This is your mother. I need you to call me as soon as you can. I have big news for you.




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My mother will wait to tell you about a death in the extended family so it won t ruin your day, and she hates answering machines, so the fact that she d actually left a message and had said she needed me to call as soon as possible could mean only one thing: a death or serious injury in the immediate family. One of my brothers must have accidentally shot another brother while they were out hunting, or something equally dire.

I wished I d invited Owen to come up with me so I d have someone nearby when I got the bad news. My hand shook as I picked up the phone and dialed home. When my mother answered, I could hear a quaver in my voice as I said,  Mom, it s me, Katie.

 Frank! It s Katie! Her voice sounded like she was talking away from the phone. Then she spoke into the phone.  Hi, honey, that was fast. I wasn t expecting to hear back from you tonight.

 You said to call as soon as possible, I reminded her. The fact that she d left a message would have made me call back right away. If she just wanted to chat, she d keep calling over and over again for hours instead of leaving a message. She always said she didn t want to be a bother or make anyone feel obligated to call her back if it wasn t important.  What is it, Mom? What happened? I asked.

 We have some news for you, she said. She didn t sound grief-stricken, so I allowed myself to relax slightly.