The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks Read Free Book Online Page B

I'm not real good at meeting new people. I never have been-shy, I guess-and I don't want you to have to change your plans." He smiled before nodding toward the salon. "Listen, you made me promise not to keep you, and I'm the kind of guy who keeps his word. Besides, I've got to get back to work, too." He smiled again. "You look great, by the way."
    As he turned to leave and before she could stop herself, Julie called out, "Wait!"
    Richard stopped. "Yes?"
    They'd understand, wouldn't they? she thought.
    "Well, if you're not going to be in town next week, maybe I can change my plans. I'll talk to Emma. I'm sure she won't mind."
    "I don't want you to have to break your date."
    "It's not that big of a deal. . . . We get together all the time."
    "You sure?" he asked.
    "Yeah, I'm sure."
    He met her eyes, staring as if he were seeing her for the first time. "That's great . . . ," he said, and before she realized what was happening, he leaned in and kissed her.
    Not hard, not too long, but a kiss nonetheless.
    "Thank you," he murmured.
    Before she could think of anything to say, Richard turned and started down the sidewalk. All Julie could do was watch him go.
    "Did he just kiss her?" Mike asked, his mouth hanging open.Earlier, he'd been standing near the open bay of the garage when he'd seen Richard walking up the street. He'd watched Richard walk in alone, he'd watched Julie and Richard walk out together, and Henry had walked up just as Richard was leaning in to kiss Julie.
    "That's what it looked like to me," Henry answered.
    "They don't even know each other."
    "They do now."
    "Thanks, Henry. You're making me feel a whole lot better."
    "Do you want me to lie to you instead?"
    "Right now, I think I would," Mike mumbled.
    "All right," Henry said, thinking about it. "That fella sure is ugly."
    At Henry's comment, Mike put his head in his hands.
    Once inside, Julie went back to her client."I thought you'd forgotten about me," the woman complained as she lowered her magazine.
    Julie checked the color on a few strands of hair. "Sorry about that, but I was watching the clock. It looks like you've still got a couple of minutes. Unless you want it this dark."
    "I think it should be lighter, don't you?"
    "I think so."
    The woman went on about the exact color she desired. Though Julie knew she was speaking, she wasn't concentrating on what the woman was saying. Instead, she was thinking about Richard and what had just happened outside the door.
    He'd kissed her.
    It wasn't a big deal, of course, not in the grand scheme of things. Yet for some reason, she couldn't stop thinking about it, nor did she know exactly how she felt. The way it happened had been so . . . so . . . so what?
    Forward? Surprising?
    Julie went to the sink in search of the right shampoo, still trying to figure it out, when Mabel walked up.
    "Did I just see what I thought I saw?" she asked. "Did you just kiss him?"
    "Actually, he kissed me."
    "You don't look too happy about it."
    "I'm not sure whether 'happy' is the word to describe it."
    "Why?"
    "I don't know," Julie said. "It just seemed . . ." She trailed off, still looking for the right word.
    "Unexpected?" Mabel offered.
    Julie thought about that. Though it was forward, it wasn't as if he'd gone too far with it. And she did find him attractive, she did agree to go out with him, so she wasn't sure if "surprise" was the right word. At the same time, she also knew that if he'd done it after their date next Saturday, she probably wouldn't have been questioning it at all. Next Saturday, she might have been insulted if he hadn't tried to kiss her.
    So why did it feel as if he'd just crossed a barrier without asking her permission first?
    Julie shrugged. "I guess that's it."
    Mabel studied her for a moment. "Well, I'd say that means he had just as good of a time as you did," she said. "Though I'm not really all that surprised. He's obviously giving you the full-court press."
    Julie nodded slowly. "I guess."
    "You guess?"
    "He