Two Sisters: A Novel by Mary Hogan Read Free Book Online Page B

settled in. Joint , as in one bathroom and one bed in one hotel room. Three meals a day together. Chitchat from soup to nuts. He had to break it off soon. Wasn’t it a known fact that whomever you kissed at midnight on New Year’s Eve would be the person to whom you were bound all year?
    Owen groaned. If he didn’t act fast, that woman would find some way to latch her lips onto his as the clock struck twelve. He knew it as certainly as he knew he would die if Lidia Czerwinski was not wrapped in his arms as they entered a new year.
    “Madalyn?” He made the call from work. “You free Saturday night?”
    “Of course I’m free. You think I’d make plans on our only night together?”
    “Yes, right. Well, about that . . . um, I’ve made a dinner reservation at Le Chez.”
    “That fancy place in Providence?”
    “It’s quiet there. We can talk.”
    “Ooh. Talk about what?”
    The hopeful tone of her voice made his heart sink. “Nothing important,” he said, quickly. “Just, you know, stuff.”
    “Like what kind of stuff?”
    “You know. Stuff.”
    Madalyn squealed. “I do know. And it is important, silly. I knew something was up. Why, after last weekend, I can barely walk!” She giggled girlishly as she whispered, “I’ll wear that backless dress you like.”
    Owen pressed his fingers to his temple. “Please wear something warmer, Madalyn. It’s winter.”
    “Whatever you say, sweetheart.”
    Sweetheart? Owen wanted to retract the entire phone conversation. He’d badly miscalculated. Apparently, breaking up with a woman in the town’s best restaurant wasn’t the gentlemanly thing to do. He should have scheduled a meeting instead of a date. In stark daylight. One quick jab to the heart, not a three-course prix fixe with charcuterie! She would expect wine, too, maybe even champagne, she was so deluded.
    “I’ll pick you up at seven,” he said, a knot of anxiety already forming in his gut. Madalyn replied with a sigh. “I’ll be counting the minutes.”
    Dear God.
    When the dreadful night arrived, Owen’s stomach muscles were so tight he could barely swallow his own spit. Mother Nature mocked him by releasing the season’s first snow. On the drive up to the Summit section of Providence, Madalyn strained in her seat belt to drape her hand over his on the steering wheel. Dreamily she said, “We’ll remember this magical night forever.” He couldn’t help but notice she’d had a fresh manicure. The gold pinky ring she normally wore on her left hand was gone. A blank canvas awaiting the ultimate decoration. He considered pulling over then and there and blurting out, “It’s over.” Wasn’t that the kind thing to do? Why ruin the woman’s dinner? But there was a bit of traffic. If he pulled over on the main drag he’d get a ticket for sure.
    While Owen searched for the ideal place to stop, kill the engine, then douse Madalyn’s dreams of their future together, Le Chez came into view. People were laughing inside, bathed in the flattering light of disposable income. Across the street from the restaurant were several open parking spots. He pulled his car into the nearest one, stepped out, and galloped around the back of the car to help Madalyn out through the passenger-side door.
    “My, my,” she said all singsongy, holding her hand up the way a princess would. “Such a gentleman.”
    Owen considered taking her hand and not lifting her up. In a dignified tone he’d calmly announce that he had no engagement ring for her professionally manicured finger and never would. But not to worry. They could still have dinner as friends. He would pay the entire bill, wine included. But Madalyn’s face looked so damned expectant! Telling her right then felt unduly mean. The least he could do was soften the blow with alcohol. Besides, she would tell everyone in Pawtucket that he dumped her in a snowy parking lot. Word might get back to Lidia and alter their steamy encounters behind Cogswell