fact, she had never had another. But Bram didn’t know that. He didn’t know that she had turned away, disappointed and disillusioned, from every other man who had tried to make love to her.
Beth put down her drink. She folded her hands in her lap and considered her situation.
She was in love with Bram, and had been since she’d seen him standing on her lawn, talking to her sister on that summer night so long ago. It seemed such a ridiculous notion to her trained mind, that she could have fallen in love in the space of a few hours and then carried that torch, still burning brightly, through the succeeding years. Ever since she’d returned to Suffield she’d been trying to talk herself out of it, but tonight she conceded defeat. She had known better when she was in high school; there had been no doubt that fourth of July that she was in love with Bram, or she never would have let things get as far as they had. She’d been full of romantic ideas in those days, waiting for a dashing stranger to appear and sweep her off her feet. But that was exactly what had happened, and she’d accepted it at the time. It was a rude awakening to realize that her instincts had been better when she was a teenager than they were now. Now she was full of fears and anxieties that held her back from reaching for the only thing in life she had ever truly wanted.
Beth stood and walked to the window, looking out across the lawn, half wishing that she could turn back into the girl she had once been. Then, in her innocence, she had responded instantly to Bram’s presence, ignited by the flame of his ardor, certain that it must be the same for him as it was for her. How wonderful to be so sure in the matter of a single evening that you had found the man who would determine the rest of your life.
Beth let the curtain fall and turned back into the room.
But what if the man didn’t feel the same?
CHAPTER 4
Beth looked up as Mindy staggered through the door, her face hidden behind a gigantic box of manila file folders. She lurched into the room and dropped the box, collapsing in the nearest folding chair.
“I got you supplies to outfit three offices,” she announced to Beth, wiping her brow with the back of her hand. “You have enough files to last a year.”
“I have more files than clients,” Beth answered. “I wish I had something to put in the folders.”
“You will, you will,” Mindy reassured her. “I’m doing my best to get the word around.”
Beth eyed her narrowly. “What does that mean?”
Mindy shifted her weight nervously. “Don’t be so suspicious. I just gave a few people your card, that’s all.”
“And where did you get my card?”
“There was a box of them sitting on the desk after you got them from the printer,” Mindy replied. “I took some of them.”
Beth put her hands on her hips. “Mindy,” she said in a stem tone, “if you’ve been handing them out on street comers...”
Mindy feigned outrage. “Don’t be ridiculous. My husband is a lawyer; I know better than that. But I have slipped them to a few friends.”
Beth was about to pursue this subject further when the phone rang. Beth stepped over the pile of books on the floor and picked up the receiver.
“This is Bram,” a masculine voice said without preliminary. “You never said whether you would take over the legal work for Curtis Broadleaf.”
Startled, Beth didn’t answer.
“You still there?” he asked crisply. “I can’t wait all day.”
“I…well, I guess so,” Beth answered, flustered. The stacks of empty files did not bolster her original conviction to turn him down. “Can I let you know tomorrow? I’d like to think about it.”
“Think fast,” Bram barked. “I have some contracts that need attention, pronto.” The line went dead.
Beth slammed the receiver into its cradle. “I am going to kill that man,” she said grimly.
“Who?” Mindy asked innocently. When Beth looked at her, Mindy’s eyes
Beth put down her drink. She folded her hands in her lap and considered her situation.
She was in love with Bram, and had been since she’d seen him standing on her lawn, talking to her sister on that summer night so long ago. It seemed such a ridiculous notion to her trained mind, that she could have fallen in love in the space of a few hours and then carried that torch, still burning brightly, through the succeeding years. Ever since she’d returned to Suffield she’d been trying to talk herself out of it, but tonight she conceded defeat. She had known better when she was in high school; there had been no doubt that fourth of July that she was in love with Bram, or she never would have let things get as far as they had. She’d been full of romantic ideas in those days, waiting for a dashing stranger to appear and sweep her off her feet. But that was exactly what had happened, and she’d accepted it at the time. It was a rude awakening to realize that her instincts had been better when she was a teenager than they were now. Now she was full of fears and anxieties that held her back from reaching for the only thing in life she had ever truly wanted.
Beth stood and walked to the window, looking out across the lawn, half wishing that she could turn back into the girl she had once been. Then, in her innocence, she had responded instantly to Bram’s presence, ignited by the flame of his ardor, certain that it must be the same for him as it was for her. How wonderful to be so sure in the matter of a single evening that you had found the man who would determine the rest of your life.
Beth let the curtain fall and turned back into the room.
But what if the man didn’t feel the same?
CHAPTER 4
Beth looked up as Mindy staggered through the door, her face hidden behind a gigantic box of manila file folders. She lurched into the room and dropped the box, collapsing in the nearest folding chair.
“I got you supplies to outfit three offices,” she announced to Beth, wiping her brow with the back of her hand. “You have enough files to last a year.”
“I have more files than clients,” Beth answered. “I wish I had something to put in the folders.”
“You will, you will,” Mindy reassured her. “I’m doing my best to get the word around.”
Beth eyed her narrowly. “What does that mean?”
Mindy shifted her weight nervously. “Don’t be so suspicious. I just gave a few people your card, that’s all.”
“And where did you get my card?”
“There was a box of them sitting on the desk after you got them from the printer,” Mindy replied. “I took some of them.”
Beth put her hands on her hips. “Mindy,” she said in a stem tone, “if you’ve been handing them out on street comers...”
Mindy feigned outrage. “Don’t be ridiculous. My husband is a lawyer; I know better than that. But I have slipped them to a few friends.”
Beth was about to pursue this subject further when the phone rang. Beth stepped over the pile of books on the floor and picked up the receiver.
“This is Bram,” a masculine voice said without preliminary. “You never said whether you would take over the legal work for Curtis Broadleaf.”
Startled, Beth didn’t answer.
“You still there?” he asked crisply. “I can’t wait all day.”
“I…well, I guess so,” Beth answered, flustered. The stacks of empty files did not bolster her original conviction to turn him down. “Can I let you know tomorrow? I’d like to think about it.”
“Think fast,” Bram barked. “I have some contracts that need attention, pronto.” The line went dead.
Beth slammed the receiver into its cradle. “I am going to kill that man,” she said grimly.
“Who?” Mindy asked innocently. When Beth looked at her, Mindy’s eyes
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