Free Love 'N' Marriage by Debbie Macomber

room for most of the four days. This wasn’t exactly a vacation, you know.”
    “How’d you get along with Mr. Lockwood?”
    “Fine.”
    “Is that the only word you know?” Disgruntled, Jan tore open a small bag of potato chips and dumped them on her tray.
    “I have an adequate vocabulary.”
    “Not today, you don’t. Come on, Steph, you were with the man day and night for four days. Something must have happened.”
    The scene by the fountain, when Jonas had held her and kissed her, played back in Stephanie’s mind in living Technicolor. If she were to close her eyes, she might be able to feel the pressure of his mouth on hers. She strenuously resisted the urge. “Nothing happened,” she lied.
    “Then why are you acting so strangely?”
    “Am I?” Stephanie focused her attention on her friend, trying to look alert and intelligent even though her thoughts were a thousand miles away in an obscure Paris park.
    “You have been acting weird ever since you got back.”
    “What did you expect would happen?”
    “I don’t know, but the others thought you might have fallen in love with him.”
    “Oh, honestly, Jan, you’re mistaking jet lag for love.”
    Disappointment clouded Jan’s eyes. “This isn’t going well.”
    “What isn’t?”
    “This romance. The girls and I had it all planned. We felt it would work out a whole lot easier than it is.”
    “How do you mean?”
    “Well, in the romances, the minute the hero and heroine are alone together for the first time, something usually happens.”
    “What do you mean, something happens?”
    “You know, a kiss in the dark, an intimate dinner for two, a shared smile. Something!”
    “We weren’t exactly alone; Adam Holmes was with us.” She avoided Jan’s eyes as she carefully peeled a hard-boiled egg. If Jan could see her eyes, she’d know all. The egg took on new importance as she shucked the shell off piece by piece.
    “At any rate,” Jan continued, “we’d hoped that things might have taken off between you two.”
    “I’m sorry to disappoint all of you, but the trip was basically a working arrangement and little else.” Stephanie sprinkled salt and pepper on the egg.
    “Well, I guess that’s it, then.”
    Stephanie returned the pepper shaker to the holder in the middle of the table. “What do you mean?”
    “If Mr. Lockwood was ever going to notice you, it would have been last week. You were constantly in each other’s company, even if Adam Holmes was playing the part of legal chaperone. But if Mr. Lockwood isn’t attracted to you by now, I doubt that he ever will be.”
    “I couldn’t agree more.” Her heart contracted with a pang that felt strangely like disappointment. “Now can I get on with my life? I don’t want to hear any more of your corny romance ideas. Understand?”
    “All right,” Jan agreed, but she didn’t look happy about it. “However, I wish you’d start reading romances. You’d understand what we’re talking about and play your role a little better.”
    “Would you stop hounding me with those books? I’m not in the mood for romance.”
    “Okay, okay, but when you are ready, just say the word.”
    Stephanie took a look at her untouched egg, sighed, and stuffed it in the sack to toss in the garbage, her appetite gone. She couldn’t decide how she felt about Jonas. Part of her wished the kiss in the park had never happened. Those few minutes had made the remainder of the trip nearly intolerable. Each had taken pains to pretend nothing had happened, going out of their way to be cordial and polite, nothing less and certainly nothing more. It was as if Adam Holmes was their unexpected link with sanity. Neither Jonas nor Stephanie could do without him as they avoided any possibility of being trapped alone together. On the long flight home, Jonas had worked out of his briefcase while Stephanie and Adam played cards. For all the notice Jonas had given her, she could have been a piece of luggage. They’d