The Seduction Game by Anastasia Maltezos Read Free Book Online

paused, struggling to find the right words. “I…I just wished he was here to see my life and to know he made an impact on me.”
    “I’m sure he would have been very proud of you. It must have been hard on your family losing him.”
    “It was hard at first, but we all eventually had to pull ourselves together to survive. I used to think my mother and sisters were the ones who took my father’s death the hardest, but now I’m not so sure.”
    “What do you mean?”
    She shrugged self-consciously. “I know this will sound silly, but when I was ten years old, he painted the most beautiful picture for me. It was a painting of the sky with a snow capped mountain top in the background and a blue sea in the front. On the back he wrote, Katie, your hopes should be as high as the mountains, your dreams as big as the sea. Love, your father.”
    Adam glanced around the apartment. “I would love to see it. Where is it?”
    “It’s gone,” she said. “Mom got rid of all his things. She took his death very hard. One day I came home from school and saw it missing from my wall in my bedroom. I’ve spent years trying to find it.” She gave him a look tinged with embarrassment. “My sisters and my mom think I should just give up. It’s probably destroyed or lost or forgotten in some waste site by now. Who knows?”
    “Your mother must feel very guilty about getting rid of it.”
    “She does, but I forgave her a long time ago. I had to. She’s the only parent I have left and even though we don’t see eye to eye, I love her very much.”
    “You and your family seem very close. I envy that.”
    She smiled at him. “We have our ups and downs like every family.”
    Adam remained silent as he gazed at the picture. “You mentioned you look more like your father, but I think you look a lot like your mother. You have her eyes.”
    Kate nodded slowly, glancing at the beautiful Nora Moore. “Yes, but that’s where our similarities end, I’m afraid.” She pointed to the infant on Gail’s lap. “That’s our little angel, Bryan. Gail gave birth to him four months ago. And that’s Mark, her husband. That’s Ben next to Barb. They just returned from a trip to Greece. They’re getting married next summer.”
    “And this young girl?”
    “Lindsay. Gail’s first.” Kate smiled at the little girl in the picture.
    “She’s cute.”
    “She’s a darling when she wants to be and other times she can be quite the handful. We went shopping earlier today and she was trying to climb up on a display of toy boxes.”
    Had it really been this afternoon? Had she only met Adam a few hours ago? The evening had started off so chaotic, and she was enjoying this quiet, friendly time with him. She realized for the first time that Adam was a nice guy.
    “Do you spend a lot of time with her?”
    “Not as much as I’d like to.” Regret shot through her. Fame had its drawbacks and the busier she got, the less time she had to spend with her niece.
    “You love her very much,” Adam said quietly.
    She met his gaze. “As though she was my own. I adore children.”
    He nodded. “I suppose that’s why you do what you do.”
    For a moment she was confused until she realized he was referring to her being a schoolteacher. Her guilty conscience flared.
    “Yes. I…I suppose that’s why I chose to become a…a teacher.” She couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye and went about clearing the coffee table for the pizza that was about to arrive.
    She tried to keep her voice steady. “What about you? What did you study in school? Marketing? You’re obviously very good at selling cars,” she added, thinking about his fancy sports car.
    “Computer science.”
    Was it her imagination or did he look uncomfortable? Kate frowned. Was it because he turned to sales instead? “Have you been selling cars very long?”
    “Long enough.” He cleared his throat and rose. “The pizza should be arriving soon. Where can I wash my hands?”
    She