Read And Then He Kissed Me for Free Online Page A

wine.
    The waiter cleared his throat, looking embarrassed. “Miss, may I see some identification, please?”
    Stunned, Abby reached for her small clutch purse, grateful that she’d thought to bring her driver’s license. She handed it over for his examination. Nodding he said, “I’ll bring your drinks right away.”
    Abby glanced at Nick who had a cat-who-ate-the-canary expression on his face. “Okay,” she said. “I get it. That’s what you whispered to the maître d’ when we walked in.”

    â€œI haven’t a clue what you’re talking about.”
    â€œCome clean, Nick. You put him up to asking me for ID.”
    â€œIf this was really your twenty-first birthday, they would have done it on their own. You don’t look much older than Sarah.”
    She wasn’t sure she liked that. “Thanks, I think,” she said ruefully. But his attention to the small detail warmed her heart.
    The waiter returned and placed their drinks in front of them, then slipped away while they leisurely looked at the menu. Nick sipped his Scotch, then rested his forearms on the small circular table. “Why don’t you date, Ab?”
    Where had that question come from and did she really want to answer it? she wondered.
    â€œHow do you know I don’t?” she asked evasively.
    â€œSarah gives me a regular update on the trials and tribulations of the Ridgeway sisters. She says you might as well be a nun.”
    â€œShe’s so boy-crazy.” Abby laughed, shaking her head. “In her opinion, anything less than total preoccupation with the opposite sex means you must be convent bait. But I suppose I was the same way at her age.”
    â€œSarah says you’re making her wait to go out alone with a guy until she’s sixteen,” he said. “When did you start dating?”
    â€œSixteen. And then I couldn’t go out alone. It had to be group activities.” She toyed with the stem of her wineglass, turning it so that the pale liquid caught the candlelight. “At the time, I thought my parents were from the Dark Ages. Now I see their wisdom. But times have changed. Kids grow up much faster today. I worry
so about Sarah, and I don’t know if she’ll listen to me. I wish my mom and dad were here.”
    â€œTwo parents and a united front are definitely the way to go, especially when you’re raising a teenager.”
    â€œEven when the two parents aren’t exactly united,” she said. If the accident hadn’t taken their lives, her parents might have stayed together. If they’d gotten the chance, it was possible they could have worked out their problems. Now Abby would never know. Mostly she’d learned to deal with the guilt of her part in the accident. But every once in a while it snuck up on her.
    â€œWhat does that mean?” he asked, a puzzled frown creasing his forehead.
    She shrugged. “Nothing. I love my sister. I want her to have all the advantages I didn’t. I’ll do my best to take care of her all by myself.”
    â€œLike I said before—you’ve got me, pal. Dial M for Marchetti and I’m there.” He grinned. “I’ll help you keep Sarah in line. But you changed the subject. Why don’t you date?”
    â€œNo time.” She fiddled with the small cocktail napkin beneath her glass. “I had too much to do after Mom and Dad died.”
    â€œYou never went out?” The shock on his face was almost comical. “But you were only eighteen.”
    â€œI tried a couple of times. But it didn’t work. Too complicated.” She looked out the window, searching for a way to change the subject. “I’d like to discuss this plan I have for the restaurant—”
    â€œHold it.” He held up one finger for silence. “Didn’t I explain tonight’s rules?” When she shook her head, he continued. “Then let me do it