Sleeping Beauty by Dallas Schulze Read Free Book Online

chunky block of a building with its plain name.
    He'd planned on eating at the diner down the street, but now he thought of the kitchenette that had come with his room. It had been awhile since he'd cooked himself a meal, unless you counted reheating Chinese take out. He liked to cook—had actually spent a few months working as a short-order cook once upon a time—and it occurred to him that it had been too long since he'd set pan to stove. Letting the impulse carry him, he pushed open the door of Bill's Grocery and went inside.
    Anne hefted a cantaloupe and tried to remember the trick for telling if it was ripe. Was it supposed to have a yellow spot where it had rested on the ground and sound hollow when you thumped it? Or was that watermelons? There was something that was supposed to feel heavy for its size—lettuce or cantaloupe?
    "Try smelling the stem end," a masculine voice suggested behind her. Startled, she turned and found herself staring up into smiling blue eyes. Recognition was immediate. It was the stranger from the gas station, the one she'd assumed was halfway across the country by now. Surprise had her blurting out the first thing that came to mind.
    "What are you doing here?"
    "Buying vegetables," he said, as if there was nothing odd in her abrupt question.
    "No, I mean what are you...?" Anne stopped and bit her lip, feeling color flood her cheeks as she heard the echo of her own words. "I just...I thought you'd be...somewhere else by now."
    "In the junk food aisle, maybe?" He sighed, looking regretful. "I get that a lot."
    "No, I meant somewhere else." She waved one hand as if to indicate distance. ''Another town or state or something. I didn't know you were staying here. In Loving."
    "I hadn't planned on it, but it looks like it's going to be a few days before my bike is fixed. Your friend, David, is going to have to track down parts."
    "Oh, I'm sorry. I hope you didn't have somewhere you needed to be today."
    ''That's what you get when you have an old bike," Neill said, shrugging. "And I'm not on any kind of schedule, so it's not a problem to hang out here for a little while."
    In fact, at the moment, this unexpected stopover was starting to look rather promising. He'd thought about Anne with her big gray eyes, pretty smile and rather spectacular legs several times over the last twenty-four hours. When he'd realized that he was going to be stuck here for a while, he had wondered if their paths might cross again. It was a small town, after all, and it wasn't beyond the realm of possibility. When he'd seen her studying the cantaloupe display with such a serious expression, it seemed like his luck was running high. He decided to push it a little further.
    "Lunch hour?" he asked, looking at her slim black skirt that ended several inches above her knee and blacksilk blouse whose color was reflected in her clear gray eyes. Simple black pumps with slim, tapered heels that displayed those killer legs to perfection, and her dark gold hair was pulled back in a soft twist. A few baby-fine curls had escaped to lie against her nape—a look he found ridiculously tantalizing.
    ''Yes. I work at the bank." Anne realized she was still clutching the cantaloupe and turned to set it back with the others, using the moment to try to gather her scattered senses. When she turned back, she felt her smile achieved just the right amount of friendly distance. "I was going to pick up groceries and run them home."
    "Have lunch with me," he asked-
    "What?" She stared at him, her eyes wide and startled. "I...I can't."
    "Why not? You have to eat. I have to eat. Why shouldn't we eat together?"
    Why not eat together? All the reasons why not tumbled through Anne's mind and finally came out as one simple protest. "I don't know your name."
    "Neill Devlin," he said promptly.
    "Anne Moore." The response was automatic, as was accepting the hand he held out, but she had to struggle not to jump at the electricity that arced from that casual