Lined With Silver by Roseanne Evans Wilkins Read Free Book Online Page B

and then opened the door
before the occupant had a chance to respond. A tall, white-haired
man stood to greet him. “This is an unexpected surprise.”
    Zack’s voice was wry. “I figured you’d be
here. You always are.” He slid the prenuptial agreement and the
wedding license across the desk. “I didn’t want to say anything
yesterday, but Sondra and I were planning to marry. We just moved
up the date.”
    The man narrowed his eyes. “How long have you
known…” and his gaze turned to her. “Sondra?”
    “We met sixteen years ago.” Zack’s reply was
prompt.
    “Hmmmm.” The gray-haired man didn’t seem
impressed, but he glanced over the papers. “Who wrote this?”
    “Sondra is an attorney. She did.”
    Grant nodded. “It looks air tight.” He
glanced up. “Congratulations. I wish you all happiness.” He looked
down at the papers again and slid them across the desk. “I’ll need
copies for my records.”
    Zack nodded at his curt dismissal and led
Sondra back to the waiting area. He leaned over and whispered,
“Grant has been Dad’s lawyer since I can remember. He’s definitely
old school.”
    “And that means…” she prompted.
    “He doesn’t like his space invaded.”
    “I could tell.”
    As if on cue, the receptionist stepped up,
her hand out in a request for the documents. She returned them
quickly and asked, “Is there anything else I can do for you?”
    Zack shook his head. “We’re on our honeymoon.
We probably won’t be reachable for the next few days.”
    She smiled knowingly at both of them, and
Sondra hoped the warmth on her cheeks wasn’t another tell-tale
blush. She’d been doing far too much of it the last couple of days.
She snuck a look at Zack, who didn’t seem at all bothered by the
secretary’s clear assumptions.
    Instead of being embarrassed, Zack shocked
her with a quick dip down and a thorough albeit short exploration
of her lips with his own. Sondra could hardly stand up when he
pulled away, and his wicked grin didn’t look at all repentant.
    She took in a breath to deliver a severe
reprimand when she was stopped by the look on Zack’s face. Grant
had entered the room. Their charade had to look real. Zack was
adding in detail, she reminded herself. She wondered if his work in
Afghanistan included anything in the spy department. His ability to
fake their relationship astounded her.
    * * *
    When they were heading back toward DC, Zack
turned to Sondra. “Okay. Now that’s out of the way, what’s your
pleasure?”
    She was hit with a vision of him repeating
his earlier lip exploration in the comfort of her own room. She
closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and met his curious gaze.
“White House or Smithsonian?”
    “We can’t tour the White House. We don’t have
tickets.” He switched lanes to avoid a lumbering truck.
    “I knew that. Sorry. I meant the Capitol
Building.”
    “That one shouldn’t be a problem. The House
and Senate are recessed for the holidays, but I believe the
building is open for tours.”
    “Serves me right for making an unplanned
trip. I really wanted to see Congress in action.” Sondra couldn’t
help the disappointment that crept into her voice.
    “Maybe some other time?” he encouraged.
    “I doubt I’ll ever come back, so I’ll have to
make do.”
    “We’ll see about that.” He didn’t expand on
the comment, but Sondra got the feeling he wasn’t going to let her
give up on her dream. He continued, “The Capitol Visitor Center is
on the east side. There are always protesters of one kind or
another at the front.”
    “Photograph opportunities?”
    He chuckled. “Something like that.”
    They parked a couple of blocks from the
building. Sondra looked up at Zack, startled when he reached for
her hand. She decided the hand-holding was harmless, so she didn’t
pull away, and it didn’t take her long to appreciate the warmth of
his hand against the frigid air. She stuffed her other hand in her
pocket and didn’t pull