Free The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks Page B

stemmed more from shyness than arrogance. And the way he felt about Julie was obvious. Whenever she spoke, Richard's eyes never left her face; he acted like a husband waking up on the first morning of his honeymoon.
    Through it all, Mike kept smiling and nodding, hating Richard's guts.
    A little later on, as Emma and Julie caught up on some of the latest news around town, Richard finished his drink. After asking if Julie wanted anything else, he excused himself to head back to the bar. When Henry asked him if he wouldn't mind grabbing another couple of beers, Mike stood as well, volunteering to go with Richard.
    "I'll help you carry them back."
    They reached the bar, and the bartender signaled that he'd get there as soon as he could. Richard reached for his wallet, and though Mike was right beside him, he stayed silent.
    "She's a great lady," Mike finally offered.
    Richard turned and seemed to study him before turning away again.
    "Yes, she is," he said simply.
    Neither of them said another word to each other.
    Once they were back at the table, Richard asked Julie if she'd like to dance, and after saying good-bye, they were gone.
    "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Emma asked.Mike shrugged, not wanting to answer.
    "And he seemed nice enough," Henry added. "Kind of quiet, but polite."
    Mike reached for his beer. "I didn't like him," he said.
    "Oh, now there's a surprise," Henry said, laughing.
    "I'm not sure I trust him."
    Henry kept smirking. "Well, since you missed your opportunity, I guess we'll have to hang around for a while."
    "What opportunity?"
    "You said tonight was the night you were going to ask her out."
    "Shut up, Henry."
    A little while later, Mike sat drumming his fingers on the table. Henry and Emma had gone to say hello to another couple they knew, and now that he was alone, Mike tried to figure out what it was exactly that he didn't like about Richard Franklin.Besides the obvious.
    No, there was more to it than just that. No matter what Henry had said or what Julie seemed to think, Richard didn't strike Mike as a particularly nice guy. What happened at the bar made that plain. Once he'd said what he had about Julie, Richard had looked at him as if already recognizing Mike's feelings for her, and his face clearly expressed what he thought about that: You lose, so stay away.
    Not exactly the hallmark of a nice guy.
    So why didn't Julie seem to see the side of Richard that he did? And why didn't Henry or Emma? Or was the whole thing just a figment of his imagination?
    Mike ran through the scenario again. No, he finally decided, I didn't imagine it. I know what I saw. And I don't like him.
    He leaned back in his chair, taking a deep breath as he scanned the room. His eyes found Richard and Julie, and he watched them for a moment before he forced himself to turn away.
    During the band's break, Julie and Richard had left the dance floor and found a smaller table on the far side of the bar, and Mike had been glancing their way ever since. He couldn't help it. Though he tried to pretend that he was still trying to figure Richard out, he knew his compulsion to watch had more in common with what people feel when they come across the scene of a grisly accident. Or even more accurately, he thought, watching them together was like watching a car plunging off a monstrous cliff, with a bird's-eye view through the windshield.
    That's how it seemed, anyway. As the night wore on, he couldn't escape the conclusion that his chance with Julie was suddenly going the way of Atlantis. While Mike was sitting by himself, Julie and Richard were staring into each other's eyes with goofy grins on their faces. They were leaning in to whisper and laugh, obviously enjoying each other's company.
    Disgusting.
    At least the last time he'd looked, just a few seconds ago.
    But what, he wondered, were they doing now?
    Slowly, ever so subtly, Mike's eyes began to travel their way again. Julie was facing the other direction, so thankfully she