"Kristine Kathryn Rusch - Beautiful Damned" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rusch Kristine Kathryn)

"Ari's been waiting ta see ya," he said, and the broad flat uneducated vowels
of
the Midwest brought with them the sense of the stifling summer afternoons of
the
reunions, children's laughter echoing over the waves of the lake as if their
joy
would last forever.

He led me through a dark foyer and into a room filled with light. Nothing in
the
front of the house had prepared me for this room, with its floor-to-ceiling
windows, and their view of an English garden beyond the patio. Arielle sat on
a
loveseat beneath the large windows, the sunlight reflecting off her hair and
white dress, giving her a radiance that was almost angelic. She held out her
hand, and as I took it, she pulled me close and kissed me on the cheek.

"Nicky," she murmured. "I missed you."

The softness with which she spoke, the utter sincerity in her gaze made me
believe her and, as on those summer days of old, I blushed.

"Not much ta do in Connecticut." Tom's booming voice made me draw back. "We
been
counting the nails on the walls."
"Now, Tom," Ari said without taking her hand from mine, "we belong here."

I placed my other hand over hers, capturing the fragile fingers for a moment,
before releasing her. "I rather like the quiet," I said.

"You would," Tom said. He turned and strode across the hardwood floor, always
in
shadow despite the light pouring in from the windows.

His abruptness took me aback, and I glanced at Ari. She shrugged. "I think
we'll
eat on the terrace. The garden is cool this time of day."

"Will Tom join us?"

She frowned in a girlish way, furrowing her brow, and making her appear, for a
moment, as if she were about to cry. "He will when he gets off the phone."

I hadn't heard a phone ring, but I had no chance to ask her any more for she
placed her slippered feet on the floor and stood. I had forgotten how tiny she
was, nearly half my height, but each feature perfectly proportioned. She took
my
arm and I caught the fresh scent of lemons rising from her warm skin.