Love's Battle (True Blue Trilogy) by Angela Hayes Read Free Book Online Page B

vu?”
    Faith snickered as Hope’s mouth dropped open. I grinned. I wouldn’t mind experiencing a little déjà vu with the best man, under much different circumstances of course.
    “Certainly not.” Came Hope’s too fast reply.
    “Too bad.” I said honestly. “You know you had fun. Faith and I did.” I crowed.
    “I did.” Faith agreed, a big smile on her face.
    I allowed myself a moment to gush before turning somber, trying to understand Hope’s aversion. “What’s there to be upset about? Five hundred years later, no one knows it was us. You’re such a tightwad.”
    “Tightwad!” Hope exclaimed. “I know was us. Besides, what happened to the ‘No one will see it Hope. The war is coming Hope. They’ll burn it, and if it survives it’ll be too revolutionary and they’ll burn it anyway,’” Hope mimicked with accuracy. “The damn thing is hanging in France!”
    I shook my head at Hope’s vehement dial. She was and would always be lost to the confines of modesty. Still, I couldn’t stop myself from trying to help her see reason. “We’re talking about fine art here Hope. You’ve been captured in oil and canvas for all the world to see time and again. You’re immortal!”
    “I’m already semi-immortal.” Hope tossed back smartly.
    But I could see her resolve beginning to falter as she looked away from me toward the bar again. “Your soul may be immortal. But not your body.” I corrected, allowing hurt to come into my voice. “Raphael did a great job. You were beautiful.”
    Hopes eyes met mine, the last of her reticence falling away. In the short time we had known him we had all become truly fond of Raphael. “Beautiful my ass.” She answered, finally laughing. A throaty sound that was a close to real as I was going to get.
    “No, my ass.” Faith corrected joining in.
    “Here, here.” I grinned, raising my milkshake glass. “To Raphael who portrayed Hope in her modest glory. Who gave the world an awesome view of Faith’s backside, and gave me my first full frontal.”
    “May it be the last.” Hope prayed, clinking her glass to mine.
    “You know I kind of miss the red hair.” Faith said solemnly, touching her glass to ours. “To the Three Graces and to Raphael, may he rest in peace.”
    “To the Three Graces.” Hope and I agreed in unison.
    Fragments from the past given their due, Hope drained her glass, motioning for me to continue. “Tall, dark, handsome. Yadda, yadda, yadda. What else?”
    “What do you mean what else? I was in a hurry remember, I didn’t get much more than that. Ask Faith, she saw him.”
    “Please.” Faith snorted in her cup. “Two seconds does not qualify.”
    When I found myself pinned once again by the all knowing stare all sisters seem to possess, it was my turn to throw my hands up. “Really! I never got a good look at him. More of a distant overall impression. One of pent up fury combined with an extra dose of sexy and a healthy helping of testosterone thrown in for good measure.” There was no need to mention the way my heart felt as he watched me from across the crowded church or what I had seen the second I‘d laid eyes on him. Thanks to the waitress bringing the check I didn’t have to.
    “I got it.” Snagging the ticket, I dug through my purse for my wallet, missing Hope’s signal to Faith, drawing her attention to the bar. Neither did I see the answering smile that broke across Faith’s face or the wiggling of her eyebrows.
    “Tall, dark, and handsome, huh!” Hope summarized for a second time. “Would you recognize him again if you saw him?”
    Smoothing the wrinkled bills on the table suddenly took a lot more of my concentration than it required. “Sure,” I shrugged, trying to seem casual. His image would be imprinted on my mind for the rest of time. “You know how I feel about those Italians.” I teased.
    “Oh boy do we.” Faith joked.
    “What about that guy at the bar?”
    “Where?” I demanded, turning my whole body