Michelle Douglas

Rescued by his Christmas Angel


Скачать книгу

on her own, not having to consult with anyone else about her choices, proving the bliss of the single life.

      “Yeah, I like it,” he said slowly. “What I don’t get is how a woman can make something like this work. If I bought a sofa this color it would look like I killed that purple dinosaur. You know the one? He dances. And sings. But it looks good in here. It suits you.”

      She tried not to show how pleased she was, his words so different from what she expected. “I call my decorating style Bohemian chic.”

      “You don’t strike me as Bohemian,” he said, looking at her thoughtfully. “I would think of that as kind of gypsylike. You seem, er, enormously conventional.”

      “Perhaps I have a hidden side,” she said, a bit irked. Enormously conventional? That sounded boring!

      “Perhaps you have. Perhaps you even have a hidden sheik,” he said, “which, come to think of it, would be just as good as a hidden stud. Maybe better. What do I know?”

      “C-h-i-c,” she spelled out. “Not sheik!”

      And then he laughed with such enjoyment at his own humor that she couldn’t help but join in. It was a treat to hear him laugh. She suspected he had not for a long time.

      She handed him her hammer.

      He frowned, the laughter gone. “The couch is good. This? Are you kidding me? What is this? A toy?”

      It occurred to her that a woman that linked her life with his would have to like a traditional setup. She would choose the furniture, he would choose the tools. She would cook the meals, he would mow the lawn.

      Considering she had left her fiancé because he had taken what she considered to be a sexist view of her career aspirations, considering her devotion to the principles of Bliss: The Extraordinary Joy of Being a Single Woman, Morgan was amazed by how easily something in her capitulated to this new vision. How lovely would it be having someone to share responsibilities with?

      Shared, maybe certain things would not feel like such onerous, unachievable chores. Could there be unexpected pleasures in little things like hanging a few coat hangers? Is that what a good marriage was about?

      She didn’t know. Her own parents had separated when she was young, her father had remarried and she had always felt outside the circle of his new family.

      Her mother’s assessment of the situation—that she was looking for her father—seemed way too harsh. But Morgan knew her childhood experiences had made her long for love.

      Not just love, but for a traditional relationship, like the one her best friend’s parents had enjoyed. How she had envied the stability of that home, the harmony there, the feeling of absolute security.

      But after her relationship with Karl, its bitter ending, Morgan had decided the love she longed for was unrealistic, belonged in the fairy tales she so enjoyed reading to the children.

      Now, with Nate Hathoway in her front entry, tapping her wall with her toy hammer, the choice Morgan had made to go it alone didn’t feel the least bit blissful. It felt achingly empty. Achingly.

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4R31RXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgADAEAAAMAAAABAdkAAAEBAAMAAAABAu4AAAECAAMAAAADAAAA ngEGAAMAAAABAAIAAAESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEVAAMAAAABAAMAAAEaAAUAAAABAAAApAEbAAUAAAAB AAAArAEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAgAAAAtAEyAAIAAAAUAAAA1IdpAAQAAAABAAAA6AAAASAA CAAIAAgACvyAAAAnEAAK/IAAACcQQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIENTNiAoTWFjaW50b3NoKQAyMDE1 OjA4OjEyIDE2OjUyOjQwAAAEkAAABwAAAAQwMjIxoAEAAwAAAAH//wAAoAIABAAAAAEAAAXcoAMA BAAAAAEAAAlKAAAAAAAAAAYBAwADAAAAAQAGAAABGgAFAAAAAQAAAW4BGwAFAAAAAQAAAXYBKAAD AAAAAQACAAACAQAEAAAAAQAAAX4CAgAEAAAAAQAAHG8AAAAAAAAASAAAAAEAAABIAAAAAf/Y/+0A DEFkb2JlX0NNAAL/7gAOQWRvYmUAZIAAAAAB/9sAhAAMCAgICQgMCQkMEQsKCxEVDwwMDxUYExMV ExMYEQwMDAwMDBEMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMAQ0LCw0ODRAODhAUDg4OFBQO Dg4OFBEMDAwMDBERDAwMDAwMEQwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAz/wAARCACgAGUD ASIAAhEBAxEB/90ABAAH/8QBPwAAAQUBAQEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAwABAgQFBgcICQoLAQABBQEBAQEB AQAAAAAAAAABAAIDBAUGBwgJCgsQAAEEAQMCBAIFBwYIBQMMMwEAAhEDBCESMQVBUWETInGBMgYU kaGxQiMkFVLBYjM0coLRQwclklPw4fFjczUWorKDJkSTVGRFwqN0NhfSVeJl8rOEw9N14/NGJ5Sk hbSVxNTk9KW1xdXl9VZmdoaWprbG1ub2N0dXZ3eHl6e3x9fn9xEAAgIBAgQEAwQFBgcHBgU1AQAC EQMhMRIEQVFhcSITBTKBkRShsUIjwVLR8DMkYuFygpJDUxVjczTxJQYWorKDByY1wtJEk1SjF2RF VTZ0ZeLys4TD03Xj80aUpIW0lcTU5PSltcXV5fVWZnaGlqa2xtbm9ic3R1dnd4eXp7fH/9oADAMB AAIRAxEAPwDnOl9Cyeoh+Ox1ddlRbflZFgPp1MeAahb6Qe663Ic/9Di1++z+QodU6f1Lo+a3GvDL ftLG/Zsmok12taBW5rPUDHV3NftbfRb9D/tuxdl/i/xj0/peVXlUC13rmw1gAue0UzU1rbC1rLd1 ez3v9iwvrlhXMwsKmoPfXj222XWk7nB1gr3bnnbu9rK2fy/T9VRiVmvNtSxcMbNg+k/4zf6Z1mz7 DZZe7249TnNmdXx6Thx+a/YtzoFNz+n0NBdNOPXSXgSHOa99tlrGj+uxiy/ql0arPrqote3bs3Xe nBJaDvAe5ob+e/8AP/8AVfoWPiUU0iipobW0QAPBNMbOi3jrfdxukWkOycZ8/onh1fgGuEOZP8l7 VqAOLdxhjRy4mAqt7MfBtyH7dtTR6lh50DZWF/z36DdkMoOayt79AHhzWQfZt9S1jMf3/wAp+xTR PDEA7sMhxyJGz1TX1saPdunQdlGvOY4ncyANm48bdx2/pd+3/o+osl9tokWHc1tUC2po3E/uS521 3ua39A//AEv6OxG+03V0kueSCG2VioRFTXMO+Hlvsc13o21erZ6SJW1TsMtqdYWEN9VglzCPcAfz gY9zXIrBXvJAhw0PzWTda6i7a3c6txZs9Jsur9SzcW27S132a39/0v0X6T9KtOh+9ziQAZLXDmC0 +P8AK+kgpBkdU+z5Ipsx7RUbGUjI9oYX2/zYY3f6tjdztj3sZ/6M2W7bPTrdZtc/aCdrBLjH5rW/ vLLz6clvUqszIfW7EqeBjVHfLXFp9e9zGBzbb/T9X0nv/R0VIeJluOQL7MtrmOcGOaystDnPca8d kuZvd7/VZ/wbK6v+H9R1M5xAxjKP7o4q4jxS/d/vJXdZp+y1dU9Kz0/TsHo+3fPq00bfp+l9P/hE lTdgn9iVY/qaelZb6mx/0fWpyf5n+d+gklQ/Fk4MHj/P8P6X+5/5f4b/AP/Q2uitoyMzJ6ffuLc2 pwBbp7odU73D6H6OxaWXgYdeBh4t9Tcn7OxtLhYJ31N9rfVbrudtDVj9PsNWZVdW6LA72/NdM9rb S0nXt8oUIjwn7fxbmbJxVXYX/ej6UvSsPpuJS77FQ3HFmr2tH+v0fzVLqOXk41YGI1tmS9jn1VET v2RuaPcz99jf/UaVRDLBGjTyqPUrzX9Y8Cp7j6T8e0MbwA8H1H2f9t1JwF6MB0130LyH16+tOXX