Excerpt:
Paul felt the pressure of somebody’s gaze, somebody who had just come out of the courtroom and was standing in front of the closing door. At first, he saw a dark dress and thought it was someone who had noticed the boy crying, someone who might be pausing, wondering whether to express concern or sympathy for the crying boy with the two adults holding him.
Then he noticed it was Rachel Lake, looking hard at Susan, appraising her, obviously her first sight of her lover’s wife. Paul saw that she still had that cold, slender, gracile beauty that turned men’s heads and made them stop where they stood. With a life of its own, her glossy hair still fell thickly over her shoulders. Her pale face had hardened, as if beyond feeling or suffering, but her dark eyes still blazed with that suggestion of flame seen through ice they had always had. Her lips were a defiant red, lips you had better be ready for. Paul felt a tightening in his chest, as if he had just come face to face with a loaded gun.
There was a note of pity in her face. But there was also a note of contempt, the kind of contempt you feel in the presence of someone who just can’t manage. Susan was facing Jack and could not notice her, and Jack’s face was buried in Susan’s cheek, so he didn’t notice Rachel either.
Rachel had trained her gaze on Susan for two or three full seconds before she noticed that Bishop was with her. A glance of recognition passed between them. They looked at each other, neutrally, not betraying to anyone else that they had seen each other. But each knew the other had guessed everything that mattered.
Rachel raised a finger to her lips and shook her head. Then Bishop looked away and heard the heels of her pumps clicking down the hall.
Purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Moments-Surrender-John-Burt/dp/173536018X
No comments:
Post a Comment