Ready for Marriage. Debbie Macomber

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СКАЧАТЬ YOU HELP US ?” Norman Summerhill asked Evan anxiously.

      Mary Jo had brought both her parents. Evan was reading over the agreement her father had signed with Adison Investments. With a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, she noticed he was frowning. The frown deepened the longer he read.

      “What’s wrong?” Mary Jo asked.

      Her mother hands were clenched so tightly that her fingers were white. Financial affairs confused and upset Marianna Summerhill. From the time Marianna had married Norman, she’d been a housewife and mother, leaving the financial details of their lives to her husband.

      Mary Jo was fiercely proud of her family. Her father might not be a United States senator, but he was an honest and honorable man. He’d dedicated his life to his wife and family, and worked hard through the years to provide for them. Mary Jo had been raised firmly rooted in her parents’ love for each other and for their children.

      Although close to sixty, her mother remained a beautiful woman, inside and out. Mary Jo had inherited her dark hair and brown eyes and her petite five-foot-four-inch frame. But the prominent high cheek-bones and square jaw were undeniably from her father’s side of the family. Her brothers towered above her and, like her parents, were delighted their youngest sibling was a girl.

      That affection was returned. Mary Jo adored her older brothers, but she knew them and their quirks and foibles well. Living with five boys—all very different personalities—had given her plenty of practice in deciphering the male psyche. Evan might have come from a rich, upper-crust family, but he was a man, and she’d been able to read him like a book from the first. She believed that her ability to see through his playboy facade was what had originally attracted her to him. That attraction had grown and blossomed until…

      “Come by for Sunday dinner. We eat about three, and we’d enjoy getting to know you better,” her mother was saying. “It’d be an honor to have you at our table.”

      The words cut into Mary Jo’s thoughts like a scythe through wheat. “I’m sure Evan’s too busy for that, Mother,” she blurted out.

      “I appreciate the invitation,” Evan said, ignoring Mary Jo.

      “You’re welcome to stop off at the house any time you like, young man,” her father added, sending his daughter a glare of disapproval.

      “Thank you. I’ll keep it in mind,” Evan said absently as he returned his attention to the investment papers. “If you don’t object, I’d like an attorney friend of mine to read this over. I should have an answer for you in the next week or so.”

      Her father nodded. “You do whatever you think is necessary. And don’t you worry about your fee.”

      “Dad, I already told you! I’ve talked to Evan about that. This is my gift to you.”

      “Nonsense,” her father argued, scowling. “I was the one who was fool enough to trust this shyster. If anyone pays Evan’s fee, it’ll be me.”

      “We don’t need to worry about that right now,” Evan interjected smoothly. “We’ll work out the details of my bill later.”

      “That sounds fair to me.” Norman Summerhill was quick to agree, obviously eager to put the subject behind him. Her father had carried his own weight all his life and wouldn’t take kindly to Mary Jo’s accepting responsibility for this debt. She hoped she could find a means of doing so without damaging his formidable pride.

      “Thank you for your time,” she said to Evan, desperate to be on her way.

      “It was good to see you again, young man,” Norman said expansively, shaking hands with Evan. “No need to make yourself scarce. You’re welcome for dinner any Sunday of the year.”

      “Daddy, please,” Mary Jo groaned under her breath. The last thing she wanted was to have Evan show up for Sunday dinner with her five brothers and their assorted families. He wasn’t accustomed to all the noise and chatter that invariably went on during meals. Her one dinner with his family had sufficiently pointed out the glaring differences between their upbringings.

      “Before you leave,” Evan said to Mary Jo, “my brother asked me to give you this. I believe it’s from Jessica.” He handed her a sealed envelope.

      “Thank you,” Mary Jo mumbled. For the better part of their meeting, he’d avoiding speaking to her. He hadn’t been rude or tactless, just businesslike and distant. At least toward her. With her parents, he’d been warm and gracious. She doubted they’d even recognized the subtle difference between how he treated them and how he treated her.

      

      MARY JO DIDN’T OPEN the envelope until after she’d arrived back at her cozy duplex apartment. She stared at it several moments, wondering what Jessica Dryden could possibly have to say to her.

      No need to guess, she decided, and tore open the envelope.

      Dear Mary Jo,

      I just wanted you to know how much I enjoyed meeting you. When I asked Evan why you were in to see him, he clammed right up. I should have known better—prying information out of Evan is even more difficult than it is with Damian.

      From your reaction the other day, I could tell you assumed I was married to Evan. Damian and I got quite a chuckle out of that. You see, just about everyone tried to match me up with Evan, but I only had eyes for Damian. If you’re free some afternoon, give me a call. Perhaps we could have lunch.

      Warmest regards,

       Jessica

      Jessica had written her telephone number beneath her signature.

      Mary Jo couldn’t understand why Damian’s wife would seek her out. They were virtual strangers. Perhaps Jessica knew something Mary Jo didn’t—something about Evan. The only way to find out was to call.

      Although Mary Jo wasn’t entirely sure she was doing the right thing, she reached for the phone.

      Jessica Dryden answered almost immediately.

      “Mary Jo! Oh, I’m so glad to hear from you,” she said immediately. “I wondered what you’d think about my note. I don’t usually do that sort of thing, but I was just so delighted you’d been to see Evan.”

      “You said he’s mentioned me?”

      “A number of times. Look, why don’t you come over one afternoon soon and we can talk? You’re not teaching right now, are you?”

      “School let out a week ago,” Mary Jo concurred.

      “That’s what I thought. Could you stop by next week? I’d really enjoy talking to you.”

      Mary Jo hesitated. Her first introduction to Evan’s family had been a catastrophe, and she’d come away knowing their love didn’t stand a chance. A second sortie might prove equally disastrous.

      “I’d like that very much,” Mary Jo found herself saying. If Evan had been talking about her, she wanted to know what he’d said.

      “Great. How about next Tuesday afternoon? Come for lunch and we can sit on the patio and have a nice long chat.”

      “That СКАЧАТЬ