The Driven Snowe Read online

  Maybe I could hit a movie…

  “Josh?”

  He barely made out the female voice. Definitely can’t stay here, he thought, finishing his beer in one long swallow.

  “Hello?”

  He turned to see who was talking.

  She was wearing her long mahogany hair, loose and tumbling around her shoulders. Compared to the short skirts, flirty dresses or skintight jeans the other female patrons were sporting, she was wearing a pair of loose-fitting cotton khakis and a T-shirt. Both were fairly rumpled. Her familiar pair of glasses were slightly askew, and she pushed them up unconsciously, moving a lock of hair away from her face at the same time. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

  He didn’t speak. He barely breathed.

  “Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you?”

  He shook his head slowly.

  “I went straight to your house from the airport,” she said, taking off her glasses and tucking them carefully in her back pocket. “I waited for about an hour. Then I cruised by your office. Then I cruised by every restaurant in town. I decided to try here next. It was lucky that I saw your car.”

  “Angela,” he finally said, leaning close so she could hear him. “What are you doing here?”

  She smiled, and it was the sweetest smile he’d ever seen. “Well, I’ve got this…situation. I was hoping you could help me with it.”

  “You don’t say.” He felt his heart start to beat again, and a tentative sense of relief crept over him. “Well, I like to think of myself as a helpful guy.”

  Her hands touched his shirtfront, ran up his chest until they linked behind his neck. He got the vague sense that people were watching, and quickly brushed it aside. “See, I went on this trip to Italy. I had a terrific time.” She paused.

  “And?” he prompted, trying for patience.

  “I saw everything I’d only ever read about—the Duomo, St. Peter’s, the Uffizi,” she said, with a small smile. “Everything was one fantastic adventure. There was just one problem—I missed you.”

  He swallowed, hard, not wanting to interrupt.

  “It wasn’t as fantastic as you are,” she said, her eyes never leaving his. “I realized that I wasn’t afraid anymore. Of anything. So I told Bethany that she’d be hearing from me soon, and left.”

  “What’d she say to that?” Josh asked, wondering if he could take her into his arms now. He waited, wanting her to make the first move.

  Angela leaned forward, and he rested his forehead against hers as his heart felt like it would explode. “She said that she hoped I realized she was doing my wedding photography. Then recanted when I told her she was going to be my maid of honor.”

  He felt his heart beat faster. “So what do you need my help with?”

  “I’m planning a wedding,” she said, slowly. “But I need somebody who loves me, and who still wants to marry me.” Her doe eyes stared at his, full of hope…and nervousness. “Do you think you can help me?”

  He studied her, this woman who had changed his life. Then, slowly and with purpose, he leaned down and kissed her with all the love and passion he felt in his heart. She responded eagerly, urgently.

  Finally, he pulled away, seeing his own emotion mirrored in her eyes.

  “You’re in luck,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. He held her close. “When it comes to that, I’m a sure thing.”

  ISBN: 978-1-4592-0023-4

  THE DRIVEN SNOWE

  Copyright © 2001 by Cathy E. Yardley.

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  ® and TM are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

  Visit us at www.eHarlequin.com