Fran Lee Dictated by Fate (pdf)

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opportunity to look the place over. He noted the way her face fell a little at his reply, and he
wondered why she seemed suddenly unhappy to show him this apartment that was available.
As she hesitated, he said softly, Perhaps I should wait for Mrs. Allen."
She drew a shaky breath. She shrugged and shoved the Kirby out of the way, fishing in her
pocket for the key. It's on the third floor. I'll show it to you. She seemed upset for some reason.
Come on. She headed for the elevator.
Tonio followed her along the faded carpet that had obviously once been very expensive,
but was now worn badly, and in need of replacement. His eyes slid over the oak paneling that had
long been left un-oiled, and the dingy wallpaper of a bygone era clinging forlornly to the walls and
ceiling. This Mrs. Allen was certainly not a very good manager.
He was sure his father would never have allowed this place to run down so. His eyes
shifted once again to the woman walking ahead of him, and he was mildly surprised to notice that
under those loose, unattractive jeans and that horrible shirt there was an uncommonly well made
female body. He let his gaze move over the swaying bottom appreciatively, recalling those
succulent breasts, and then he drew himself up.
No time for those kinds of thoughts. There was far too much to be done. She couldn't be
much over twenty-five, yet her eyes told him she was older. Bad experiences perhaps. He
watched as she pushed the button for the elevator, and as she turned to him with a polite smile,
he noted that the smile did not quite reach her green eyes.
She cleared her throat, and said quietly, her voice low, The elevator is pretty slow
when it works."
He wondered why she seemed irritated with him so suddenly. It was as if he had run over
her toe! It was unusual to see antagonism in a woman's eyes. He was used to quite a different
reaction. Her reaction to him at first had been what he expected. What had made it change so
rapidly? Why the hell did he care? She was nothing to him, personally.
He gave himself a mental shake. She was no one an unimportant female working in one of
his apartment buildings. Obviously paid to clean the place, and doing a very poor job of it at that.
Yet the feeling that she did not seem to find him at all attractive made him instinctively want to
test the depths of these waters. Perhaps it was simply a matter of male pride. Then he smiled to
himself. She had no idea who he was, or how rich he was. That could be the problem.
She glanced up at the elevator light, which indicated that the elevator was still on the fifth
floor, and she said off-handedly, Sometimes it won't budge until you get inside and pound on the
control panel. Maybe we'd better take the stairs. She turned and headed for the stairwell at the
end of the hall. She hurried up the stairs, almost taking them two at a time in her rush to get to
the third floor.
When she reached the third landing and pushed open the fire door, he reached out past
her and held it for her, and she seemed to lean just a bit away as if the brush of his chest against
her shoulder were unpleasant. He followed her along the hallway to apartment number 310, and
paused as she fumbled with the key. She opened the door and swung it inward, standing back to
let him precede her.
Tonio lifted his brows as she stepped back, seeming to be angry for some reason. He
paced forward, and stopped in the center of a small living room where boxes stood packed and
ready to be moved. His eyes moved over the neat living space, surprised to note the difference
between this warm, lived in little apartment and the rest of the building. Obviously, the person
who was moving out had taken great care of the premises. This showed what the place could be
like if cared for properly.
Tonio frowned as he walked about the tiny apartment. It was beautiful, unlike the rest of
the place, and it was immaculate. Someone had obviously taken great pains to repaper the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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