Robyn Carr

The Chance


Скачать книгу

laughed in spite of himself. “He’s jealous.”

      “Probably not. I’ve never quite measured up to his expectations.”

      “Well, after getting arrested, going to prison and being forever an ex-con, my parents have been pretty disappointed in me, as you can imagine. We get along better these days, but they’re older than dirt and lack the energy to stay mad at me. And then there’s Ashley. My mother and sister had no idea I could actually produce something that pure, that brilliant, that beautiful.” He shrugged. “But then, neither did I. I give all the credit to Gina. If I’d had half a brain back then, I’d have let her straighten me out....”

      “Do you still love her?” she asked.

      He ran a hand through his thick, dark hair. “I never loved her, Laine. I was attracted to her and knew she was an awesome person, but back then I lacked the capacity for real love. She was so lucky I ran. I would’ve dragged her down.”

      He stood again. “So, look—I’m sorry. I’m really sorry, I mean it. I wanted us to get to know each other a little bit. I was going to tell you tonight. I would never try to trick someone into a relationship with me. It’s all public record. I have no control over that.”

      “And you’re trying to start a business in Thunder Point,” she reminded him.

      He shrugged. “If I’m lucky, my new customers won’t know I’m an ex-con until they’ve gotten to know me for the guy I am now.”

      “I’m stewing the chicken,” she said.

      “I’m sorry for the inconvenience. I should’ve told you last night. But damn, I just couldn’t. I was having such a good time. I wanted you to like me, I did.”

      She stood up. She put her hands on her hips. “Go home and shower after work and come back. I’m making my mother’s dumplings. They melt in your mouth. I bought special coffee for you and special wine for me....”

      “Laine, maybe we’re better off just letting it go right—”

      “I’m not supposed to get involved with persons of ill repute, so you better have turned a corner. Because damn it, I’m stewing the chicken. And it’s a wet, cold night.”

      “You sure?”

      “Are you?” she countered.

      He grinned. “As long as you promise all hat pins and corkscrews are out of reach.”

      “Six,” she said. “I’ll drop the dumplings after you get here. They’re fragile. We don’t screw with dumplings. Don’t be late.”

      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/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEBLAEsAAD/4Rw5RXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgABwESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEaAAUA AAABAAAAYgEbAAUAAAABAAAAagEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAcAAAAcgEyAAIAAAAUAAAAjodp AAQAAAABAAAApAAAANAALcbAAAAnEAAtxsAAACcQQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIENTMiBXaW5kb3dz ADIwMTQ6MDI6MDYgMTE6MDI6NDkAAAAAA6ABAAMAAAABAAEAAKACAAQAAAABAAAFeKADAAQAAAAB AAAIrQAAAAAAAAAGAQMAAwAAAAEABgAAARoABQAAAAEAAAEeARsABQAAAAEAAAEmASgAAwAAAAEA AgAAAgEABAAAAAEAAAEuAgIABAAAAAEAABsDAAAAAAAAAEgAAAABAAAASAAAAAH/2P/gABBKRklG AAECAABIAEgAAP/tAAxBZG9iZV9DTQAC/+4ADkFkb2JlAGSAAAAAAf/bAIQADAgICAkIDAkJDBEL CgsRFQ8MDA8VGBMTFRMTGBEMDAwMDAwRDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAENCwsN Dg0QDg4QFA4ODhQUDg4ODhQRDAwMDAwREQwMDAwMDBEMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwM DAwM/8AAEQgAoABlAwEiAAIRAQMRAf/dAAQAB//EAT8AAAEFAQEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAMAAQIEBQYH CAkKCwEAAQUBAQEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAQACAwQFBgcICQoLEAABBAEDAgQCBQcGCAUDDDMBAAIRAwQh EjEFQVFhEyJxgTIGFJGhsUIjJBVSwWIzNHKC0UMHJZJT8OHxY3M1FqKygyZEk1RkRcKjdDYX0lXi ZfKzhMPTdePzRieUpIW0lcTU5PSltcXV5fVWZnaGlqa2xtbm9jdHV2d3h5ent8fX5/cRAAICAQIE BAMEBQYHBwYFNQEAAhEDITESBEFRYXEiEwUygZEUobFCI8FS0fAzJGLhcoKSQ1MVY3M08SUGFqKy gwcmNcLSRJNUoxdkRVU2dGXi8rOEw9N14/NGlKSFtJXE1OT0pbXF1eX1VmZ2hpamtsbW5vYnN0dX Z3eHl6e3x//aAAwDAQACEQMRAD8A6eFL0n7PUj2wTMjgEMOn0vpPUtqo5WXnMz24WFRVa59Bve62 x1YgP9LZ7GWbvdsXNYsRyExFbE6yjjjHh6ylN2JSqvNvDHuMRW47o26cyNw2/wBlMKLTwwnUgfEG Cs+7qHWMOp2RmYbDjVe612NeXvY0fSt9Gxle9rPz9j0bL6g3GFNdDXZWRlCcbHqMF7R7/Vc93sqx 2btzrXqU8tK4gDi4+KjDJinH0DilxTj6MfBH1z9z9D1rfc31GngW0abA7aWkOgmDHA0cn+zXaTW4 TET3nj8izzb9YmD1HY2NcBzRVdYLP6rLbmei96m/q7D0m/qeOXPGOx7nVPJY5r6/a+i5v0qrGJfd TYr1iUo4wcc8c6nP5Yz/AHeL9H9BXuHwHmC3G0WuDXBhIdG0+MnaE4ptInYY5nTw3f8AUqiL/rFA 24uLEAtH2mwafSb/AIFCd1u2ql1t1DqRi3CnqdZfudS14/RZVbme3Ixvf7/+DRHKSlQjUzsRDLhm bPy+mJ/Sn6I/6z9Wg5K7DtpJ0hTY47WsJOug8pB/6lL0rJjYZAkjyJiU9traan33W7Kqmmx9hcYD QNznrKt69kY2Nh5eVjmuvMc8uaHONleO0epXa9v77a3etbV/g603Fy0sv83GUrPCNYjilwSycMeL +rj/AJcaTkrch1fQt/cP92sa/u8JnVvZG9pbIkT4KYMgPa/cHQ5r2mQQfc17XfyvpKth5Tsp+W1z Q37LkOx2mSdwa1j95n6P84oxjuMiAfRXFZHU8OyeM2LI1SQkibUkyl3E/wD/0Ow2rJzLbqPrBW6n Gsy3nBcDXU5jXAet/OTc5jNv5q3dionEv/b7cr0z9nGC6o2aR6hubZ6cTv8A5v3fRWHy/DGUzIAj gmOGRoS0+X0mMnSkbrzcrq3Us/7DZU/p9uDXkD0LMy9zH11Nt/ROtezGda/87879GrHTsdlfWOoV 6k4lOJjUzyKfTNn/AILd9NXutYl2V0fOxqG7rrqHsrZIEuI9rfd7fchZeDmetT1Pp4a3MZU2q/Fu O1l1X0/QfY3d6ORRZ/M3fQ/62p4yxywmAEcJyccNDLh4r5fLjnP3JTnHj9vJh/zf/jq0k3e9Nrau f6o0Md9YmN0rfg03WgdrXCysu/r2UsY5ah6j1V42U9GyG38TfZU2hp/edfXY91jP+LrQr+jZLeh9 Sp3fa+pdQY919jRtD7SNldVIfGyiln6OnchyuP2Jg5JRHHLHACM4T+XPizSyS4JS4IQ9r9L/AL9M pXt0Xbb9YNrYwcSNoicl/h/xCH0ZrrbOos6gz9fssb9txyB6YqLPTxW0EOf6uO+nf+k+nvVlvUOp hoH7FytAB/O4/YR/plPpuHmfacrqOcxtN+UK668Zjg/06qt2wWWt9ll1j7HPfs9iRHDiygwxY+IR 4Thye5knKOSEuD+dzfq/8p+h68eNHFZG5cmnBybcodAyCH9O6eW5Dnky+2gn/J+HaP8AgbW2et/p K6K1odRG7q/SNwDt1mTuB1BBodIKs04l7et5eS5hFFuNj112aQXsdc6xv73t3tTZuJfZ1Ppd1bC6 rHsvde/SGh9JrrmT+fZ7fajLJxZQSYgezkJrQHPn5afuyP8ArcmaXB/42i9Pq0sIHpWY3pNk/Ysj c7pdh12n6dvTXu/kfzmJ+/X+jRekNm7qv/pws/8APdCv5/TqOoYj8S4lrXwWWN+nXY33VX1H/SVP VToGJ1GirMPUmBuTdlOsLmxssGyqv169p9rLXV7vchIxniyzJAyyEY5I/wCclxxl70f7/wDlv9Z+ s/yqQaIHQNzb5JI+xJU+BfxP/9HvdqzupdRvpyaum9OqbkdSvb6gbYSKqagdv2rKc33+nu9tdbP5 1a+xY/QGC7L61mO1ufnvxyfCvGayuiv/AKT3rKw441OchxcA0ifllOR4Y8X9X9NuGTAdI6w4bret 3i49qaaWVDyFL2Pc5v8AXsTUZvUMLNp6f1j07G5RLMPqFTdjLHjX7Nk0/wDafJf/AILZ+iuW5sQc vAxs2n0MqsW1bmv2kkEOYd9b2vYWvY5rv3XIjJxaZYxMD+5DHjnD+tD244/8T5EX2R32U41NmTcd tNDHWWHwawb3/kWR9W+pZ2aLqOpgNyg2vLpaAG/q+QN1TIaG/wAw9vpvVn6xtdmHD6I36XVLv1iO 2NRF+W6fzfU/RU/20uuMOB1Hp3Wo2VVv+xZsaAUZBDaXu/kY2V6f/bifiwwOLgIByZ7ljPWHtfJw /wC3n7uJXHqv9YMnIwujZGViu9O+s1hjy0OjfbXU72PBb9B6g7pX1hBI/bY0/wC6dX/klP64NLfq 5mT2NM/K+lSd9aejbjrlc/8AcTI/9Io4seT2InHjEycmTiPtQzGhDDwfPCfD+mria5yOrdLysavq V1edhZlox2ZTK/Rtquf/ADLbqmOfVZTa4bPUalmu6rd179nYeaMKpuG3JcTSy6XG19B/nNrm+3b+ egv6hT9Y+o4/TsEObj4V1eZm23D0nkVHdRTTi2bch3qXfztzmMZUiZ+fjdP+tvrZXqbH9Na0elW+ 0yb3u+hQ2xzfo/SUowkSF44+97cpHHwRPX9XL2eH24z4f0eBV9Ev7M+sQ1HW2kjgOw6o/tbX7kXp Odk5L8rCz62VZ+C5ou9In0rGWDfRk07vc1tjWu3V/mKFn1s6JWxzz9pIaJ/ot4/6T62M/wA5yX1d bbm25fXrAGM6l6bMWoOa8tooDmsda+suZ69tj3usq/wP82o5YsntTlmxiFV7cvbhgl7nFH0/q44+ P9X7irdTYkjbUlV4E8b/AP/S9J2Ln7rm/V/rV92V7OkdWc2w5H5lGWAKXi//AEdOYxrP0/8Apl0m 1RsqrtY6u1osreC17HAFpB5a5rva5UMZESRIcUZDhkP+d6f60WbiYNaHtD2Q5rgC1wIIIPcELFzO qXZvUK+kdFtBuY9ruo5jA17MeoGXVbnh9X2zJj0q6/fsRHfUv6tEujFNbHGXVV3XV1mf+ArtbV/0 VqYeDiYNDcbCpZj0t1FdbQ0T+97fz/5aeBhhqOLJL9ETjGMB/Wl6p8f91XE89T0zB+sfVuo5udV6 +HivGDhMLnNE0y/Mt/RuZv3ZFnpt/wCLR7/qN9XbKLaqsQU2WMcxlofYS1zhta/a6za7Y5bWDgYn T8VmHhsFVFU7KwS6NxL3+55e9257vzkaBMTqeB3TpZ8ol+rnOEI0IREuH