The Very Thought of You by Carolann Camillo Read Free Book Online

Quickly.
    â€œHi, Mom.” He bent and kissed her cheek. “This is Molly. We … ”
    â€œOh, what a lovely name.” His mother reached out and drew Molly into an embrace. “It’s so wonderful to meet you.” Her eyes swiveled to his and held them. She looked ecstatic. No, more than ecstatic. She looked fulfilled.
    â€œMom, we can only stay a few minutes.” He peeled his mother’s hands off Molly. “We … ” He caught himself before he started to explain they needed to check out apartments and were pressed for time. That would have brought out the champagne for sure.
    â€œYou’ll stay for something to eat.”
    He spread his fingers across Molly’s upper back and felt fragile wing bones. His palm grazed her bra strap. For an insane moment, he wondered how she looked without either the bra or the blouse. Or without both. He killed the thought. A wonder like that could cost him a million dollars. He reminded himself to keep his mind on business and guided Molly into the house in his mother’s wake.
    A large white crepe paper bell hung from the middle of the living room ceiling. Matching streamers, anchored to the moldings atop the high walls, floated out from it and tented the off-white sofa, coffee table, and familiar brace of maroon velvet wing chairs. His mother made a shooing gesture toward him, then took Molly’s hand.
    â€œGo say hello to your father and your aunts and uncles. You won’t see most of the relatives again until we have another wedding.” Her look said she expected it to be his. “Or a death, God forbid.” She touched the gold cross that dangled from a slim chain around her neck. She escorted Molly toward the archway that led into the dining room.
    His mother saw only what she wanted to see. Forget reality. She had it wrong about Molly, and he didn’t know how to set her straight. Maybe he’d call her tomorrow. That way he wouldn’t have to look her in the eyes while he crushed yet another hope that he’d finally found his ideal woman.

Chapter 5
    Molly cast a last glance at Nick as he disappeared into a circle of men. When one reached out and hugged him, he returned the gesture. He looked comfortable being hugged by another man. She liked that about him. Also that he brought her coffee and kept his promise to his family to drop in at the brunch. It showed a sign of warmth. Warmth showed promise vis-à-vis her crusade to wring more money out of him for his tenants. Also, there was the show of good citizenship when he’d disposed of the coffee containers properly. He smelled good, too. The scent of his aftershave was subtle but not so insipid that it was practically unnoticeable. It reminded her of the woods after a rain shower.
    If he’d raise the ante in his buyout offer, she could possibly see him as something other than a greedy moneymaking machine. Just as important, he had to keep his wrecking ball away from the clinic. If she pressed hard enough, maybe she’d find a way to bring up any expansion plans before the day ended.
    Nick shook hands and made the rounds of the other men. Someone said, “The baseball game is on in the family room,” and the circle moved as one toward another part of the house, taking Nick along with it.
    Molly followed Mrs. Mancini into the dining room. A large table covered with a white lace cloth and laden with chafing dishes sat against one wall. A white frosted cake, edged with a ring of icing and creamy pink roses, occupied the center of the table. A banner, adorned at each end with Cupids, spanned the wall and read “Congratulations Tom and Beth.” The bride and groom, apparently. Sunlight spilled in from two large windows and turned some of the chandelier crystals into prisms, which made an already bright and cheerful room more so. Several well-dressed people clustered near the table; most sported white hair. The out-of-town relatives Nick