Broken Heart. Laura Browning

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СКАЧАТЬ you a Cape Codder. I know how you like cranberry juice.”

      She took the highball glass and drank. He eased back in beside her, leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Don’t be embarrassed, darling. You’re lovely, but you’re my wife. Justin respects our marriage. He would never do anything we didn’t want him to.”

      What an odd thing to say. Still, she nodded and took another gulp from her drink. She wanted to tell him how mortified she was that he would simply bring Justin out here without giving her a chance to put on any clothing. Screwing up her nerve, she opened her mouth to say so.

      “Stacey has been such an incredible help,” Justin leaned forward to tell Jace. “We’ve got almost everything picked out for my place, so once the drywall is in, we can begin painting. I don’t know what I would have done without her.”

      She smiled, feeling a tad sick. This must be some alternate universe because it surely wasn’t the life Stacey Barlow-Barrett had been reared to live. She could almost picture the look of horror on her parents’ faces–probably all of her siblings as well–if they could see her now. When the two men tapped their glasses against hers and toasted her, she drank once again.

      God, how could she protest when they were both being so nice? She would come off like such an uptight bitch. Instead, she listened as Justin told them where he’d gone to eat and the movie he’d seen. She continued to sip her drink, but then feeling a bit woozy, Stacey reached behind her to set the glass on the edge of the tub. When she nearly missed, Justin caught the glass and grinned at her.

      “Oops! What did you do, Jace, make her drink a bit too strong?”

      Stacey turned her head to look at her husband, who raised his brows. “I didn’t think so. You okay, Stacey?”

      “Yeah. I guess I’m tired.” Maybe this was the way to escape.

      Jace smiled at her. “I’ll help you to bed. Be a gentleman, Justin. Look the other way. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

      Her husband wrapped her in a towel and tucked one around his own hips, then settled his arm behind her back. “You sure you’re okay, darling?”

      She nodded but regretted the action as her head swam a bit. “Yes. Maybe I had a bit too much to drink between dinner and in the hot tub. I’m so sorry, Jace. Don’t mean to embarrass you.”

      “Shh. It’s all right. We had a good evening together. Just get some sleep.”

      He dried her off and tucked her in. He’d never been quite so solicitous, and she was touched. Stacey stroked his cheek. “Did you enjoy the evening?”

      He kissed her forehead. “It was wonderful. You’re wonderful.”

      She smiled as she drifted off. Maybe she was worried about nothing.

      * * * *

      Stacey awoke the following morning with a hangover almost as bad as some of the ones she’d experienced in college when she had sown a few cautious wild oats. And God! She had dreamt the most bizarre things. She shook her head. A little sex and a little alcohol and she was absolutely done in. With a board of directors meeting at Barrett Newspapers on her agenda, she couldn’t do what she truly wanted, which was to take a couple ibuprofen and bury her head beneath the blankets. After showering, she felt a bit better, but was still vowing never to mix the variety of liquors she’d drunk the night before–wine with dinner, sherry afterward, and then the vodka in the drink Jace had made.

      After wrapping her damp hair in a towel, she began slathering moisturizer on her legs, her movements slowing as she looked at the bruises on the inside of her thighs. She didn’t remember Jace being so rough while they’d made love. Fingertips brushing the marks, she shook her head. They didn’t hurt, and she supposed it had been worth it. Maybe now she could get him to focus on the sexual side of their marriage, on making babies and making her forget a dark-haired, dark-eyed man who’d made her body sing with passion.

      They were just love marks. Jace had gotten enthusiastic–for a change.

      Still feeling a bit rough, she took a cab to Barrett’s headquarters for the monthly meeting. Her father had stepped back into his role as chairman after a heart scare earlier in the year, so Seth would only be here today to attend the meeting, no doubt with Brandon’s proxy in his pocket since Bran was still on his honeymoon with Lucy. Stacey twisted her wedding and engagement rings. Maybe she could talk to her new sister-in-law about the bruises. Never one to have close girlfriends, Stacey suddenly found herself in need of some female advice, but the newlyweds wouldn’t be back for another week.

      “Good morning,” Seth greeted her as she stepped off the elevator. He arched one thick, golden brow over keen eyes so similar to her own. “You feeling all right?”

      Stacey closed hers for a moment and sighed. “I had a little too much to drink. Does it show?”

      “No. It’s just I know you pretty well. Problems?”

      “No, in fact I’d say the opposite.”

      Seth smiled. “Glad to hear it. Tessa mentioned you seemed somewhat stressed at the wedding, but we had to leave before she could talk to you, so she could nurse the baby.” Taking her hand, he tucked it through his arm and walked with her toward the boardroom. “Mother thought you might be pregnant.”

      “If you’re asking me, Seth, the answer’s no. If you want to know if we’re considering it, then the answer’s yes.”

      His gaze was searching as he patted her hand. She was surprised when he didn’t greet her comment with assurances about how great that was.

      “I ran into Jace at the club. He introduced me to your houseguest.”

      “Justin’s staying with us while his condo’s being renovated,” she felt for some reason like she needed to explain. The whole time, an image of him sitting next to her in the hot tub burned its way through her brain.

      “Mmm. Jace said the two of them were close friends. Had you ever met him before?” Seth’s questions seemed casual, putting her on instant alert. Seth never asked anything just to make conversation. He was perfectly content to be silent if he was in a good mood, or growl like the lion he resembled if he wasn’t.

      “No. Justin said he’d been handling his family’s holdings in Australia, so he wasn’t here during our engagement or for the wedding.” She absently twisted her rings with her thumb.

      Seth smiled and touched her cheek. “You know you can talk to me if you have any problems, Stace. That’s what big brothers are for. Next to knights in shining armor, we’re the number one dragon slayers.”

      She laughed, feeling lighter than she had in a couple of weeks. “I love you, Seth.”

      “Same here, kiddo.”

      Stacey sat next to him during the board meeting, trying hard to concentrate on the treasurer’s report, but it seemed to her the comptroller droned on and on. She began to feel a bit like Charlie Brown listening to his teacher. Everything became a series of blah, blah, blah.

      Along with everyone else, she voted her approval of her father’s return to actively run the company, and Seth’s resignation as acting CEO. She knew her brother was anxious to get himself and his family back to their home on the coast, back СКАЧАТЬ