Heart Craving by Sandra Hill Read Free Book Online Page B

out of you being at a prom,” she said with a laugh. Her breath tickled his ear and sent slingshots of white-hot messages to other important parts of his body. “I like him—and his wife, too.”
    “Yeah. O’Malley’s okay. His daughter was a little embarrassed to have her parents here, though.”
    “Wouldn’t you have been, at that age?”
    He stiffened with sudden memory. He knew exactly where he’d been the night of his senior prom. And it hadn’t been a high school gym. More like the city hospital, watching his mother die of liver failure. Too many years of whatever cheap wine she could scrounge up with her welfare checks. And his father . . . he hadn’t seen the worthless bastard since he was five years old.
    “Nick . . . Nick . . . what’s wrong?”
    “Huh?” He forced his thoughts back to the present. Paula was staring at him with concern. “Nothing’s wrong. By the way, did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?”
    “Only a hundred times.”
    She looked so sweet, and seductive at the same time, in the gown he’d bought for her earlier that day. The strapless top pushed her breasts up, creating a cleavage he’d have liked to sink his hands into. And the skirt billowed out like a froth of white cotton candy, brushing against his legs enticingly as they danced.
    No wonder he’d been in a state of blistering half-arousal the entire night.
    “You look pretty spectacular yourself, cowboy.” She swayed in perfect rhythm with him to the music.
    “You think so, huh?” He winked at her. “Does that mean I get to jump your bones?”
    She laughed. “Not on your life!”
    “How ’bout a drive before I take you home, then?”
    “I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” she said dubiously.
    He didn’t look forward to cramping his body into that motorized tin can, but he’d do anything to keep her at his side just a little longer.
    “Aw, c’mon. We’re supposed to be pretending this is our senior prom. Don’t young kids go out somewhere afterwards? All-night parties. Restaurants. Movies.” Motels.
    “Well, yes, but—”
    “Be a sport, Paula. Don’t you crave a little fantasy?” Good Lord, I hope so! If not, Madame Nadine is a gold-plated fraud, and I’m the sucker of the year. “Besides, this might be the last time . . .” His words drifted off. He couldn’t voice the possibility that this might be their last time together.
    But Paula honed in on the fantasy part. “I think you gave me enough fantasy yesterday to last a lifetime.” Her lips parted, reflexively, in remembrance.
    You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, sweetheart. “Just a drive.”
    He got to second base . . . then struck out . . .
    NICK HAD DRIVEN all the way to Sandy Hook to show her the beautiful sight of a full moon and bright stars shining on the mirrorlike surface of the ocean at low tide. But Paula wasn’t fooled for one minute. He’d come here to park and neck . . . and more.
    She couldn’t be mad at him, though. He’d given her this magical night, a gift to make up for the past year of pain, a special way to end their marriage . . . amicably, without rancor.
    They pushed their seats all the way back and arched their necks so they could gaze at the sky. Still, Nick’s long legs were bent at the knees, and his tall frame spilled over onto the gear shift. He was definitely not made for a VW.
    “Why are you smiling?” he asked, putting his right arm behind her seat and twirling one of her long curls around a finger.
    “I was just thinking that when I asked you for a VW, I never realized that you wouldn’t fit.”
    “Who says I don’t fit?” he said, feigning affront.
    “I say. Well, at least I’m safe in this cramped space. No way could two people—”
    He tugged on her hair, still wrapped around his finger, and pulled her closer. Against her lips, he whispered, “Don’t bet on it.”
    “Nick, you promised,” she demurred, faintly, before his lips captured hers, sliding back