"Wiesner, Karen - Gypsy Road 04 - Vows and the Vagabond" - читать интересную книгу автора (Wiesner Karen)

She knew neither of them understood why she hadn’t gone back home to
Milwaukee to attend. She could have told them the truth—that she couldn’t
bear to see Blackie. Because he’d be sweet and infinitely gentle, treating
her in the manner his pet name for her suggested—like a Princess. She’d
fall in love with him all over again, make a fool of herself for the ten
thousandth time and then she’d have to start all over again. Every time
she went home to visit her father, Blackie somehow seemed to know she was
there because he always came.
Blackie made a noncommittal noise in response to her question,
something that was as familiar to her as the haunting in his dark eyes,
the taste and scent of him....
"Everybody missed you, Princess," he said softly.
You? Did you miss me? God, tell me yes!
Tears filled her throat, and Lori found she couldn’t face herself in
the mirror over the sink. With a deep breath, she closed the toilet lid,
then sat down on it. "I couldn’t...I have an interview with Kira
Gunn...had." She realized her half-truth, the one she’d fed both Jon and
Tracey earlier this week, had become a lie. She’d told them the interview
was today. Kira Gunn owned one of the foremost fashion design companies in
the industry. She couldn’t blow it off. Even re-scheduling could spell
missed opportunity for her. Jon and Tracey had offered to postpone their
wedding—they wanted her there that much, but Lori had refused to hear of
it. All their plans were made. Postponing would only force her to lie
again.
Blackie knew she lied. His silence spoke that eloquently. She did
have an interview with Kira Gunn, not today but Monday.
Lori found her head in the state Blackie always left it in—confused,
crazed. Her fingers clenched in her hair.
"Are you alone?" she asked, more self-torture.
The silence that followed told her everything. Of course he wasn’t
alone. In the six years she’d believed they were a couple, he’d had enough
women to populate a continent.
For some stupid reason, she’d not only believed she was the one woman
for him but that he’d loved her. God, she’d been a moron. And she was
still one because she allowed the thought of the woman in his bed right
now to hurt her.
"Why do you do this? Damn you! Why do you call me like—" Like I’m the
only one who can rescue you? We both know I’m the one person you won’t
allow to save you from your loneliness and pain.
"What do you want me to do, Princess?" he asked wearily.
They hadn’t had this conversation nearly as many times as his tone
suggested, but each time it’d been on the basis of this question. Lori
realized now the real question should be what did he want her to do?
"I want you to stop calling me like this. I want you to stay away
when I come home."
Saying the words forced a razor-sharp reality at her—one he wanted
spelled out.
"What are you saying?"
She didn’t like his tone. She didn’t understand it, and that all the
more fueled the crazy state of her mind. She’d never understood him. She