Magnolia Bride. Tara Randel

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СКАЧАТЬ shook her head, trying to reconcile this man with the boy she’d fallen head over heels in love with. Her pulse fluttered as the intensity of his gaze made her heart race and her eyes sting.

      “Welcome home, Nealy,” Dane said in a low, familiar voice.

      Her initial surprise at seeing him dissipated instantly as the hurt came rushing back. Apparently twelve years hadn’t healed the wound he inflicted when he’d shattered her life that summer. He’d married her, then turned right around and filed for an annulment, dashing her hopes of them spending their lives together. The dream had turned into a nightmare, courtesy of the man standing in front of her.

      “Home is L.A. now. If you’ll excuse me, my sister’s expecting me.” She needed to escape from Dane before he noticed her curt tone hiding the traces of old hurt.

      “Yeah. About that. There’s a problem.”

      She raised a brow. “What’s happened?”

      “It’s more like who happened.”

      She shook her head. “You’ve lost me.”

      “Remember Angela? The hotel’s in-house event coordinator?”

      “Sure. We’ve been working together on both of Juliet’s parties.”

      “Not any longer.”

      She jammed a hand on her hip. “And why is that?”

      “She quit this morning.”

      Nealy tried to keep from gaping but didn’t succeed. “What did you do to her?”

      Her sharp question earned her a throaty laugh. “Me? I didn’t do anything. You, on the other hand...”

      As his sentence trailed off, she protested, “I just got here.”

      “It seems you were a bit too...zealous in planning Juliet’s party. To quote Angela, ‘I’ve only dealt with Nealy over the phone. How much more nerve-racking will it be having her here in person?’ Your imminent arrival sent her over the edge.”

      “Hey, I’m good at my job. I can’t help it if she was overwhelmed.”

      “Overwhelmed or not, I’m minus an event coordinator.”

      “Thankfully I’m here for Juliet. Her parties will be wonderful despite this upset.”

      “Easy for you to say. You’ll be leaving soon. I’m the one on the hook with scheduled events over the next couple of days and no coordinator.”

      She tugged the strap of her purse higher on her shoulder. “Figuring out these problems is all in the day of a hotel owner. I’m sure you’ll manage. Excuse me.” She took two steps when she realized she didn’t know where to find her sister. Reluctantly she turned back to Dane.

      “Down the hallway,” he said and pointed. “Second door on the right.”

      She headed off, but not without hearing a husky, “Good to see you.”

      Ignoring the blood roaring in her ears, she hurried to the room. Bad enough the party would be at this hotel, but to run into Dane while she was home? The knots in her stomach tightened. Why couldn’t she have gotten a flat tire? Preferably somewhere in L.A. so she would have missed her flight.

      Did he have to look so good? Smell so good? And why had she turned into a flustered teenager? Because the man still had a way of getting under her skin, that’s why. She pressed her hand against her roiling stomach. She’d worked with top celebrities without so much as a bat of an eye, but two minutes with Dane had her insides screaming as if she were a starstruck groupie. She would not let him get to her during her time in Cypress Pointe.

      Still, Dane Peterson, owner of the Grand Cypress Hotel. Who would have thought it? And what was she going to do to avoid him?

      Before she could come to any conclusions, she crossed the threshold into a large banquet room and assessed the chaos.

      Juliet was pacing. Lanie, her older sister, had a box that she was rustling through, pulling out rolls of bunting and crepe paper. Nealy shuddered at the sight. Her mother, Anita, was chastising a tall man with a glazed look in his eyes. Having been at the receiving end of her chastisement, Nealy empathized with him.

      “Hey, everyone,” she called out. “I’m here.”

      Juliet shrieked, running over to envelop Nealy in a big hug. “I knew you’d make it.”

      “Yes, we were wondering when that would be,” her mother’s voice came from behind her. “We could have used your help this afternoon.”

      Sure they could have, but then Nealy would have had to stick needles in her eyes.

      “Hi, Mom.” She gave her a dutiful hug, miffed she let her mother’s lack of affection get to her.

      Following the pseudo hug, her mother scrutinized Nealy. “You look pale. Don’t you ever get out in the California sun?”

      Before Nealy could respond, Lanie cut in for her hug. “Welcome home, sis. We could use some major organizing skills since a therapist isn’t available.”

      “Lucky for you I have them.”

      Juliet put a death grip on Nealy’s arm. After their most recent phone conversation, Nealy understood why. Her family had a tendency to be a bit too eagerly involved.

      “Please promise me you won’t leave my side.”

      Nealy didn’t want to make any promises. Her mother’s frown didn’t reflect a warm welcome and knowing Dane lurked somewhere in the building made her want to bolt. Then she focused on her sister’s worried face, noticing the dark circles under her eyes and that her usually tidy hair was a mess. Nealy lifted her chin. This wasn’t about her. Her sister needed her here and for that reason alone she would see this week through. “I promise.”

      Juliet let out a breath, tears glistening in her eyes. “Thanks.”

      “Are you okay?” Nealy was genuinely concerned.

      “Tired. Work has been demanding. If this party is any indication of what the wedding will be like...”

      Nealy should have come home sooner. “Maybe we should—”

      “There she is,” cried a familiar voice. Nealy turned to see her maternal grandmother, Dorinda, hurrying toward her. “Come give me a kiss.”

      Nealy sent one last questioning glance at her sister and received a reassuring nod in return. Once she and her sister were alone, Nealy would get to the bottom of what was bothering Juliet.

      “Grandmother!” Nealy wrapped Dorinda in her arms, holding on for dear life. The scent of lilacs Nealy always associated with her grandmother enveloped her. Welcomed her home. This was the person who had cleaned her cuts, wiped her tears and filled her life with joy. “How have you been?”

      “Other than missing you, just fine. Talking on the phone and only seeing you for our annual visits is not enough.”

СКАЧАТЬ