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Sallinger, Elene: Reflection (The Chrysalis Series)

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Sallinger, Elene Reflection (The Chrysalis Series)

Reflection (The Chrysalis Series): краткое содержание, описание и аннотация

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Bridget Ross is a woman with a shameful secret. Despite a life full of success and close friends she denies herself her true desires in penance for the crimes she can't take back. Connor Reynolds is a man without a purpose. His own tragic past prevents him from putting down roots and pursuing his dreams. Their paths collide forcing them to face the ultimate question … is their love worth fighting for?

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The vibe was one of bustling energy. Conversation was lively, but muted enough that you didn’t have to raise your voice to be heard. The clink and tap of dishes as coffees and espressos were made to the accompaniment of the hiss and spit of the machine frothing milk was a comfort on a day like today.

Despite herself, she’d been unable to get the unfortunate encounter with the strange jogger out of her head. She’d been barely civil to him and that wasn’t like her. She was polite to everyone. It had been bred into her from the time she was old enough to walk. No Southern woman worth her salt lost her manners regardless of the situation. However, she had definitely done that this morning.

She’d wanted to put it down to the fact that he’d startled her. That she’d had the dream again when she’d gone so long without it she’d thought she might actually have gotten past it. But the reality was that her own reaction had startled her more than anything else.

Yes, he’d absolutely frightened her, but she’d learned years ago to clamp down on the terror and panic that hit her like a Mack truck every time a man caught her by surprise. But no, this time she’d actually pushed him. She’d physically assaulted a man who was guilty of simply startling her. Making it even worse, once she’d recovered her composure she’d found that she’d wanted to reach out and touch him for very different reasons than fright. And that was not like her at all.

Bridget Ross of the Charleston Rosses did not run around touching strange men just because she found them attractive. The weirdest thing about it all was that he wasn’t a stunning individual. If he’d been gorgeous she could rationalise her reaction. His features, however, were relatively nondescript. His hair was a deep, chocolate brown cropped extremely short in one of those styles that said a man just couldn’t be bothered with it. His chin had been strong, with the morning’s stubble still present as if he’d gone jogging before shaving. His nose had clearly been broken at some point in his life as it sported a distinct bend.

His eyes, well, they had been extraordinary. She would give him that. He had the greyest eyes she’d ever seen. A pale shade of charcoal, they were almost the colour of the ash left in the grill after a good barbecue. He’d towered over her, but only because she was five feet tall on a good day and he was probably just under six feet. She’d had to look up at him and the lack of equilibrium she’d felt had a lot more to do with the way her heart had begun to race and her body had responded to him.

He’d looked at her with those ash-coloured eyes and she’d felt as if she was on fire. As if she was being consumed from the inside out and she wanted nothing more than to continue to burn.

That was unacceptable.

She had panicked. Unable to comprehend her reaction, she’d resorted to rudeness to gain control. Her loss of discipline rankled her. That wasn’t like her and now she didn’t even know where to find him to apologise.

The bells on the door tinkled, drawing her out of her thoughts. Claire entered with Wade Stalls, a native of River Rock and the owner of Stalls General Contracting. He was doing some renovations on the townhouse Claire and Evan shared a few blocks away. Bridget tensed as Wade approached the counter, where Mona was preparing the order of an elderly gentleman. Unfortunately, this was as predictable as the fact that mixing Mentos with Coke would be explosive.

She watched with a mixture of sympathy and pain as Mona caught sight of Wade approaching with Claire and promptly dropped the coffee she’d been about to hand to the old man. Porcelain shattered and hot coffee spilled all over the counter, thankfully missing both Mona and the customer. Mona’s skin, normally a lovely shade of cinnamon, turned crimson and her caramel-coloured eyes went wide with mortification. She looked down and shook her raven hair across her face as if she could hide the physical evidence of her shame. Mona’s hands shook and her friend, normally so together, witty and sharp, literally began to trip over herself. She lost all composure whenever Wade was in the room.

For his part, Wade seemed embarrassed by her distress. He was solicitous to the old man and helped clean up the mess, grabbing a handful of napkins and wiping up the counter after making sure the man was OK. He was abrupt and clipped with Mona, treating her like a criminal. Obviously unable to take it any longer, Mona fled after asking one of her baristas to take over. Bridget went after her with a quick stop to let Claire, who was ordering for herself, know where their table was.

She ignored the “Employees Only” sign on the swinging door next to the restrooms and knocked gently before letting herself into the office. Mona was slumped in her chair, a tissue crumpled in her hand and her arms wrapped around her body as if only sheer will was holding her together.

‘Oh sugar, don’t be so hard on yourself!’ Bridget exclaimed as she hurried over to Mona and wrapped her friend in a hug.

‘Bridg –’ her voice was watery ‘– why can’t I get myself together whenever he’s around?’ The question was more of a wail.

‘Because you refuse to realise that he’s just a man, darlin’. He’s not this god you’ve put on a pedestal. Hell, he’s friggin’ stupid as far as I can tell. He can’t even see such a phenomenal catch right in front of his face. Now, do you really want a stupid man?’

Mona snorted at Bridget, considering they both knew Wade was anything but stupid, but it had the desired effect as Mona took several deep breaths and swiped at her eyes.

‘Bridget, I have loved that man since I was in high school and, frankly, I’m sick to death of feeling this way. I’m wasting my best years pining for a man who doesn’t want me.’

‘I know, Mona.’ Bridget hugged her friend again, unwilling to lie to her. She stroked her hair and said, ‘But I completely disagree that you’ve wasted your life. You have a wonderful business, gorgeous friends who love you –’ She flicked her hair and got the laugh she’d hoped for at her obviously self-aggrandising words. Capitalising on the moment, she said, ‘Come on, sugar. Come take a break and have a coffee with me and Claire.’

Mona shot a panicked glance in the direction of the café. ‘I don’t want to go back out there, Bridg.’

‘Mona, don’t make me go there.’

Mona gasped and pulled back from Bridget. ‘You wouldn’t!’

‘I absolutely would.’ Bridget pulled her best stern look. ‘Now, what are you going to do?’

‘Well –’ she drew herself up to her full five feet six inches and pushed her chair back under her desk ‘– I guess you leave me little choice.’

‘Indeed.’ Bridget barely contained her grin as Mona pushed past her, grumbling about how she’d be damned before she’d let Bridget ruin another espresso machine making her own coffee.

‘Caramel, vanilla, and a hint of cinnamon.’ Bridget licked her lips unconsciously as she swallowed the silky brew Mona had set before her.

‘Yup.’ Mona grinned, clapping as Bridget guessed the flavours in her latest find. Turning to Claire, she said, ‘Your turn.’

Claire sipped carefully and closed her eyes, a look of pure bliss passing over her features as she swallowed. She took another sip and repeated the process before saying, ‘Almonds and chocolate.’ She set the cup down with a satisfied grin.

‘You guys are so good!’ Mona was jubilant and, now that Wade was gone, the successful, smart, and gregarious woman was back in charge rather than the insecure mess she always reverted to in his presence.

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