The Bride's Choice. Sara Orwig

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СКАЧАТЬ Mason went over her assets, that day in his of- fice, so you heard the figures.”

      “I was in shock.”

      “I think we should give some serious discussion to El- nora’s will,” Cal said quietly. “How about dinner tomor- row night?”

      Juliana brought her gaze back to him. Shock took her breath at his suggestion. Caleb Duncan wanted to discuss Elnora’s will. That had to mean he wanted to discuss mar- riage. She stared at him in disbelief. The bequest had nagged at her constantly since Willard Mason had read the will two days ago, but never, not for one tiny second, had she given any thought to the possibility of inheriting. And never, not once, had she thought Caleb Duncan would give a second’s consideration to Elnora’s stipulation.

      Cal watched her, seeing her surprise, feeling mildly amazed by her reaction. He had expected her to contact him, yet surprisingly, she was staring at him as if he had just sprouted fangs. Finally, she nodded, and he felt a mixture of relief and apprehension. How easy it would have been if she had just refused on the spot.

      “Good,” he said. “About seven. We should make some decisions about this will. I know you have to think about your nephews.”

      “Elnora told you about the boys?”

      “No, she didn’t. I ran some checks on you.”

      “And how did I check out, Mr. Duncan?” she snapped.

      He bit back a smile. As angry as he was with her and with Elnora, he had to admit that Juliana Aldrich had spunk. He was beginning to feel he had misjudged Juliana. “You passed. No criminal record. No bad debts. You took your sister’s boys when she died, which is very commendable.”

      “So I can’t be all bad,” she retorted dryly.

      “Look, since we have to give this bequest some thought, we better declare a truce.”

      “I’m not the one with the problem.”

      He shrugged. “I suppose you’re not. I don’t like El- nora’s will, but it was her money to do with as she saw fit. When you attacked the bank robber, did you give any thought to leaving three little boys without anyone to take care of them?”

      “They would have my grandmother,” Juliana replied, feeling a flush creep up her face, because he had struck a nerve. She hadn’t stopped to think about anything except protecting her money.

      She closed the date book and handed it back to him. His fingers brushed hers and small shocks ran through her sys- tem from the slight touch. Why was everything so volatile between them?

      “With three boys to raise, you need to give some consid- eration to Elnora’s will.”

      “I have my own business and my own savings. But I sup- pose you know all that already, down to the penny.” As if slightly embarrassed, he lowered his gaze, and she realized he did. “I don’t know how Elnora could have set this up,” Juliana declared. “She knew us both well, she knew we wouldn’t want this. Why did she go on with it?”

      He raised his head, his dark eyes intent, and Juliana drew a deep breath. When he looked at her that way, her heart- beat became a drumroll drowning out other noises. And she didn’t want to have an intense physical reaction to Caleb Duncan. She didn’t understand how she could react that way to a man she actively disliked.

      “Do you faint often?”

      The question added more kindling to her fiery anger. “Maybe you should run a check on that, too. It wasn’t a performance for your benefit, I can promise you that. I don’t care what you think!”

      “You better start caring,” he remarked quietly, “be- cause there’s a fortune at stake.”

      “Elnora’s will is absurd!”

      “Calm down.” Caleb touched her collar and shifted one inch closer. She felt as if the sun had dropped closer to earth, her temperature rising. It was hot, difficult to breathe, damnable to gaze into dark brown eyes with black pupils that seemed to pull on her senses. “How come there’s no boyfriend in the picture?”

      His fingers touched her collarbone and he stood far too close and he asked personal questions. She felt her pulse race. She wasn’t accustomed to this kind of reaction around men. But then, she wasn’t accustomed to men like Caleb Duncan.

      “There isn’t anyone because I have three boys, and that scares men away. And I lead a busy life. I own Child’s World Preschool. I work with little children all day and the only men I see are mostly married fathers. The ones who aren’t married don’t want to go out with a woman who already has three boys that aren’t her own. They get a funny look when I tell them.” Why was she rattling on and on as if he had dropped a nickel in a slot in her brain?

      “That wouldn’t scare me away.”

      “I’m sure it wouldn’t. I can’t imagine anything that would scare you, Mr. Duncan. Will you step back!”

      He arched his eyebrows and looked amused. “I’m dis- turbing you? Here I was all set to dislike you, Juliana Al- drich,” he remarked, rolling her name across his tongue, again sending little warm currents dancing through her, “and now I’m curious. We’re going to get to know each other well.”

      “But not that well,” she stated, taking his hand and re- moving it from her collar, feeling another mild jolt the mo- ment she made contact with him. His skin was warm, his hand large in hers, and tingles continued in an alarming manner. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.” She turned and walked away from him, rushing to climb into her battered ten-year-old van.

      It felt three hundred degrees inside the vehicle, but part of it was her temper. If Caleb Duncan was considering marriage, he wanted money desperately. She knew he was already well-fixed. He had accused her of thinking only of money, yet he had to be incredibly greedy to give Elnora’s bequest a second’s thought.

      Caleb Duncan was no harpy. He couldn’t be—he was the wrong gender. A sexy hunk with no heart was more accu- rate. Hard-hearted bastard would fit better. And she had a dinner date with him tomorrow night. He couldn’t seri- ously be thinking about marriage. But why else would he want to discuss Elnora’s will?

       Two

      On Thursday evening at one minute before seven, Cal parked in front of the Aldrich home. He knew Juliana rented the small, three-bedroom frame house in a modest area of town and lived there with her grandmother and nephews. What a change to go from this to Green Oaks. He glanced over the neat flower beds that held no weeds. Seven boys played ball in the front yard, while another little boy stood and watched.

      Cal climbed the front steps and punched the doorbell, feeling nervous. When the door swung open, Juliana ap- peared and he caught his breath.

      She was wearing a short, simple black dress that revealed what the suit had hidden, full breasts and a tiny waist. The dark material clung to her figure and was striking with her golden hair. Looking at her, Cal felt better about the eve- ning, and the tension that gripped him eased slightly.

      “Want to come in?”

      “Sure,” СКАЧАТЬ