Free A Mother's Wish by Debbie Macomber Page A

After meeting me, do you honestly think your sister’s going to encourage our relationship?”
    “No,” he growled.
    “I can guarantee you that Lindsey doesn’t want me to see you, either. I thought that’s what this whole scheme of yours was about.”
    “It sounded like a good idea at the time.” He tightened his hands on the steering wheel. “It seemed like a surefire way to convince your daughter that I was the wrong man for you.”
    “And your sister that I was equally wrong for you.”
    Silence settled over them like nightfall. Neither of them seemed inclined to talk again.
    Steve edged his car into the alley behind Meg’s store and parked his car behind hers.
    “I’m not so sure anymore,” he said without looking at her.
    “About what?”
    “The two of us. Somewhere in the middle of all this, Idecided I kind of like you.” It hadn’t been easy to admit, and he hoped she appreciated what it had cost his pride. “It probably wouldn’t have been as obvious if you hadn’t made yourself out to be so cheap. That isn’t you any more than the rebel without a cause is me.”
    He wished she’d say something. When she did speak, her voice was timid and small. “Then there was the kiss.”
    “Kisses,” he corrected. “They were pretty great and we both know it,” he said with confidence. He knew what his own reaction had been, and she hadn’t fooled him with hers.
    “Yes,” she said softly.
    “Especially the one on the motorcycle,” he said, prompting her to continue.
    “Especially the one on the motorcycle,” she mimicked. “Honestly, Steve, you must’ve known.”
    His smile was full blown. “I did.”
    “I … I didn’t do a very good job of disguising what I was feeling.”
    She hadn’t, but he was in a gracious mood.
    “How about dinner?” he suggested. He was eager to have the real Meg Remington back. Eager to experiment with a few more kisses—see if they were anything close to what his memory kept insisting they’d been.
    She hesitated. “I want to, but I can’t,” she eventually said.
    He bristled and turned in the driver’s seat to face her. “Why not?”
    “I promised Lindsey I’d be home by seven and it’s nearly that now.”
    “Call her and tell her you’re going out to dinner with me.”
    She dragged in a deep breath and seemed to hold it. “I can’t do that, either.”
    “Why not?”
    “After meeting you, I promised her we’d talk. She wanted to last evening, and we didn’t …. That was my fault. You kissed me,” she said, “and I didn’t feel like a heart-to-heart with my daughter after that.”
    “And it’s all my fault?”
    “Yes,” she insisted.
    “Do you know what Lindsey wants to discuss?”
    “Of course, I know. You. She doesn’t want me seeing you again, which is exactly the point of the entire charade. Remember?”
    “Yeah,” Steve said, scowling.
    “Are … are you telling me you’ve changed your mind?” she asked.
    “Yes.” He hated to be the one to say it first, but one of them had to. “What about you?”
    “I think so.”
    Steve flattened his hand against the steering wheel. “Iswear you’re about the worst thing that’s ever happened to my ego.”
    She laughed and rested her hand on his shoulder. The wig she had on tilted sideways and she righted it. “That does sound terrible, doesn’t it?”
    He smiled. “Yeah. The least you could do is show some enthusiasm.”
    “I haven’t dated much in the last ten years. But if I was going to choose any man, it would be you.”
    “That’s better,” he said. He wanted to kiss her. He’d been thinking about it from the moment he’d picked her up.
    “Only …” Meg said sadly.
    “Only what?” he repeated, lowering his mouth to hers.
    Their lips met and it was heaven, just the way he’d known it would be. By the time the kiss ended, Steve was leaning his head against the window of the car door, his eyes closed. It was even more wonderful than he’d remembered, and that