A Man Apart by Joan Hohl Read Free Book Online

more than thrilled. She felt allover warm and excited.
    â€œLong, hot nights on smooth, cool sheets.”

Four
    A t last the wedding day arrived. The candlelight ceremony was scheduled for six, with the reception following immediately at the hotel.
    To Hannah’s amazement, after the nervous fits Maggie had suffered the day before, her friend had been calm and remained so throughout the day.
    Although she revealed not the slightest hint of it, Hannah felt like the basket case she had expected Maggie to be. Of course, her inner jitters had nothing whatever to do with her encounterwith Justin in the parking lot, she kept telling herself.
    Yeah. Right.
    So stunned had she been by Justin’s blatant suggestion—suggestion, heck, it was an outright declaration of intent—Hannah retained only a vague memory of him, chuckling softly as he walked her to her car. And, darn it, how had he been so surefooted, when he’d been wearing heeled boots, too?
    â€œTime to dress,” Maggie happily announced, ending Hannah’s brooding introspection.
    At last. At last. Hannah smiled, nodding her agreement. She was of two minds about the coming hours; relieved at finally getting it over with, and filled with conflicting amounts of trepidation and anticipation, more of the latter than the former.
    Calling herself all kinds of a ditz didn’t do a thing to calm down her seesawing emotions.
    One thing was for certain. Hannah was determined there would be no slipping on black ice. At her advice, both she and Maggie wore low-heeled winter boots and carried their fancy wedding shoes in shoe bags. At least they didn’t have any concerns about holding up their dresses out of the slushy mess, as both garments were cocktaillength. Maggie’s dress was a simple and elegant, long-sleeved white velvet, with a nipped-in waist and full skirt. She looked both innocent and gorgeous.
    Hannah’s dress was as simple and elegant—a sheath with three-quarter-length sleeves and a modest neckline.
    They arrived at the church with five minutes to spare until show time. Apparently everyone else, including the groom, was already in place. Karla and Adam were waiting in the small foyer. Adam took their coats, and Karla handed them their bouquets. Maggie’s was made of white orchids. Hannah’s bouquet was the same as Karla’s, a mix of dark-red rosebuds with lacy ferns and delicate white baby’s breath.
    Now Hannah knew why Maggie had insisted she hunt down a dress in forest green. Hers was only a shade darker than Karla’s.
    Music from the organ filled the church.
    Flashing Maggie an encouraging smile, Karla stepped out, heading down the aisle. Offering her own smile to the bride, while drawing a calming breath for herself, Hannah followed two steps behind Karla.
    And there he was, standing beside Mitch, looking devastating in a white shirt, somber tie and dark suit that was fitted perfectly to his wide-shouldered, narrow-waisted, long-legged body.
    As she drew nearer, Hannah lowered her gaze, fully expecting to find black slant-heeled boots. Surprise, surprise. Justin was actually shod in classic black men’s dress shoes.
    When she raised her eyes, her gaze collided with his smoldering stare.
    Good grief! The man was a menace. Hannah felt hot. She felt cold. She felt exhilarated. She felt exhausted. In short, she felt like a woman fiercely physically attracted to a man. A man who didn’t so much as attempt to hide his intention from her.
    Unaware of the ceremony going on about her, she automatically received Maggie’s bouquet.
    Her heart pounding, her pulse racing, finding it increasingly difficult to think straight, Hannah almost completely missed the exchange of vows.
    â€œWith this ring, I thee wed.”
    The firm, clear sound of Mitch’s voice broke through Hannah’s mental fog. She blinked, and just caught the movement of Justin handing Mitch a plain gold ring.
    Her cue. Releasing