The Forever Dream by Iris Johansen Read Free Book Online Page B

consideration than she gave him.
    The shrill buzz of the phone caught her just as she was carrying the small blue-gray suitcase she'd packed earlier from the bedroom to the living room. Marguerite again? No, it couldn't be. It was the house phone, from the lobby. Who on earth could be wanting admittance at this time of night?
    "Miss Orlinov? Dave Lennox from Ever Ready Delivery Service." The male voice was buoyantly cheerful. "We have a gift for you from Mr. Tyler Windloe. May I bring it up?"
    "A gift?" Tania's brow knotted in puzzlement. "But I'm just leaving to join him now. Why wouldn't he wait to give it to me himself?"
    "I really couldn't say, Miss Orlinov." The voice was politely noncommittal. "All I know is that we received a call this evening to drive out to Mr. Windloes estate in Connecticut and pick up a package to deliver to you when you arrived home from the theater. He was quite insistent you receive it before you left."
    "I see," she said slowly. Estate? That was the first time she'd ever heard Tyler's New England farm described as an estate, but who was she to argue terms?
    Though she'd worked very hard to eliminate any trace of accent from her own speech in the last three years, she was still guilty of an occasional lapse in comprehension. Perhaps a small farm operated by a gentleman for pleasure, not profit, could be called an estate. "Then, I suppose you'd better bring it up." She pressed the security release for the door to the lobby, set the suitcase down, and sank down on the cushioned phone bench to wait.
    This was the second apparently impulsive thing Tyler had done within an eight-hour period, she thought with a tiny smile tugging at her lips. Maybe her own impulsiveness was becoming contagious after all, or possibly Tyler realized that she might be a little annoyed with him and wanted to pour oil on troubled waters.
    She leaned back against the padded back of the bench with a faint sigh and rested her head against the wall. Maybe she was a little tired. She certainly wasn't feeling her usual enthusiasm at the prospect of the next few days. She could usually find something to arouse her interest in any situation, but being on display as Tyler's charming little protégée was going to be quite a challenge to her imagination. Oh, well, it would only be for a few days, and she would be back in New York. Then she'd be free to pursue her own interests until it was time to resume rehearsals. Perhaps she'd take in those lectures on the Tutankhamen era that the Metropolitan was sponsoring. She felt her spirits lift at the thought and instinctively sat up straighter on the seat, her dark eyes brightening with eagerness.
    That same eagerness was curving her lips in a smile a moment later when she opened the door in answer to the knock. Over the brass chain lock, she peered up into the young, clean-cut face of the delivery man. He was dressed in a uniform consisting of dark blue slacks, crisp white shirt, and a waist-length jacket with Ever Ready
    Delivery Service emblazoned in gold over the right breast pocket. He held a long, white beribboned floral box.
    "Miss Orlinov?" The sandy-haired man's bright blue eyes were admiring as he grinned boyishly at her. "I can't tell you how glad I am to see a smile on your face." He grimaced. "You can't imagine some of the responses we get when we deliver packages at this time of night. Our company may have a reputation for being 'ever ready,' but some of our customers don't feel the same way."
    She chuckled. "I can see how you might have a problem." She slid back the chain lock and threw open the door. "Wait just a moment and I'll get you something. " She started to turn back to the table where her evening bag lay.
    "Fantastic." The man entered the foyer, leaving the door discreetly cracked open. "I don't get many tips on this shift, and every little bit helps. My next semester's tuition is due in a week."
    "You're a college student?" she asked over her shoulder as she