Sunday Kind of Love by Dorothy Garlock Read Free Book Online Page A

glamorous, myself. Hawaii, maybe. But with all my work at the firm, I can’t be gone for that long. Still, I’m sure it will be wonderful!”
    Gwen could only sit and stare, stunned at how everyone was acting. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. What was she supposed to do now? Should she speak up, point out that she hadn’t agreed to marry Kent, thereby throwing a bucket of cold water on their good cheer? Or should she just go along with it, smile and nod her head, saying as little as possible, all while waiting for an opportunity to talk with Kent alone and set everything straight?
    Or should I just give up my dreams of becoming a writer and be happy to become Mrs. Kent Brookings?
    “What kind of flowers would you like, Gwendolyn?” Meredith asked while Warren and Kent began discussing the merits of Champagne. “I know you’ve always been fond of roses, but lilies would look better with a white dress.”
    But as Gwen struggled to reply, the front door opened and then closed with a bang, followed by the sound of footsteps coming down the hall. She turned in her seat and finally learned who’d be joining them for dinner.
    It was her aunt Samantha.
    “Sorry I’m late,” she said, breezing into the room, rainwater dripping from her short-cropped hair. Samantha unwound a soaked scarf from her neck and flung it onto a chair by the kitchen door. Half a dozen bracelets around her wrist clattered together as she took off her coat.
    “I told you we were eating promptly at six,” Meredith scolded.
    “You should know by now that if you wanted me here at six, you should have told me we were eating at five thirty,” her sister-in-law replied.
    “Samantha will be late to her own funeral,” Warren said to Kent.
    “Probably,” she said with a wink.
    Other than a few almost unnoticeable wrinkles, her aunt was just as Gwen remembered her. Samantha was only a couple of years younger than Warren, but she carried herself more like she was Gwen’s sibling. She dressed in the latest fashions, styled her hair like the stars in the Hollywood gossip magazines, and listened to rock-and-roll music, all in an effort to stay as young as possible. Though she was a beautiful woman, always talking about men who interested her, she had never been married. In fact, she’d never stayed in a relationship for long. Gwen had often thought that it was because her aunt was always on the move. If she settled down, she might miss something exciting.
    Finally free from her coat, Samantha came around the table to stand beside Gwen, smiling down at her niece. But then, seeing Gwen’s shaken expression, her good cheer faltered. “What’s the matter, sweetie?” Samantha asked. “You’re as white as a sheet!”
    “Well, I…I just…” Gwen sputtered.
    “She’s getting married!” her father blurted, bursting with pride.
    “She is?” Samantha asked, looking every bit as confused as Gwen felt. She glanced at Kent and said, “And I suppose you’re the lucky fellow…”
    “Kent Brookings,” he introduced himself, smiling brightly as he extended his hand. While Samantha shook it, he added, “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
    “I just bet,” Warren said with a chuckle.
    Samantha had always been Gwen’s favorite relative, one of her favorite people , actually, and she’d spent hours telling Kent about all the scandalous things her aunt had done: wearing a skirt short enough to make Reverend Jordan write her a disparaging letter or driving her brand-new convertible down Main Street with the top down during a rain storm, laughing as she honked the horn. Samantha Foster did as she pleased, no matter what anyone else might think.
    “Are you taking good care of my niece?” she asked Kent, her eyebrow arched, looking comically like a movie detective grilling a suspect.
    “Of course,” Kent answered, his voice honest and his smile bright, all his charms on display. “I love Gwen with all my heart.”
    His words cut through any