Matchless Millionaires: An Improper Affair. Elizabeth Bevarly

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СКАЧАТЬ looking away, she stole out of the room and crept down the stairs.

      This was the second time she was trying to sneak away, and while she was prepared for Ryan to intercept her, she preferred not to have a scene.

      When she’d made it down to the lower level, she sighed with relief.

      She quietly opened the front door … and her heart leapt to her throat.

      “Brenda?” Her question came out as a gasp.

      Her mother, who had been surveying the drive, turned to face her.

      Brenda’s bright red lips curved into a smile. “Hello, tootsie. I was just about to ring the doorbell.”

      Kelly felt her heart race. No, no, no, she wanted to scream. Not here, not now.

      “What are you doing here?” she squeaked.

      Brenda’s smile dimmed. “I went by your house, but you weren’t there. When I tried your cell and couldn’t reach you, I called Erica. She was out with the kids, but Greg told me you might be here.”

      “I—”

      “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

      “Kelly.”

      Ryan’s voice sounded behind her and, as if in a nightmare, Kelly watched Brenda look past her, just as she herself turned to see Ryan coming into the foyer.

      All three of them froze.

      Ryan stared at the woman in the doorway, and his lips thinned. Even if he hadn’t seen her before, it wouldn’t have been hard to figure out who she was. She looked like an older version of Kelly.

      He’d come to iron things out with Kelly—because last night had been fantastic, and because now that he’d found her, he wasn’t letting her go. Instead, he was confronted by one of the last people he wanted to see.

      “Brenda,” Kelly said, “this isn’t a good time—”

      Ignoring her, Brenda sashayed in, looking from her daughter to Ryan and back. “I see I’m interrupting something.”

      She looked Ryan up and down in frank appraisal, making his skin feel tight with angry tension.

      “What makes you think so?” Kelly asked, addressing her mother.

      Ryan could have told her that her high-pitched, slightly hysterical voice was a dead giveaway.

      Brenda lifted her hand, with its fire-engine red nails, and rubbed a lock of Kelly’s hair between her fingers.

      “Bed hair,” she said succinctly.

      Kelly flushed, then looked helplessly at Ryan.

      He approached slowly, aiming for a casual stance. “Kelly’s sister, I presume?”

      Brenda gave a tinkling laugh, as if she found his question highly amusing. “I see you inherited your father’s charm.”

      She turned to her daughter. “I admit being surprised, however, that you picked Webb’s son as your … playmate.”

      Kelly drew in an audible breath. “You know who he is?”

      Brenda flashed a hard smile. “I make it my business to keep up with all of Clayburn’s current and past illustrious citizens.” Then she looked at Ryan again. “However, the photos I’ve seen of you in the local papers don’t do you justice.”

      If the comment had come from anyone else, Ryan figured he’d have been flattered. But this was Brenda Hartley. Clayburn’s erstwhile sexpot. His father’s former mistress. Kelly’s mother.

      The last thought brought him up short.

      Kelly looked as if she were in agony.

      Brenda apparently noticed, too, because she flashed a saucy smile at her daughter. “There’s no need to look panicked, Kelly. I’m just glad you’re having some—” she paused and gave Ryan a sweeping look “—fun. I was starting to worry about you, toots.”

      “Why are you here?” Kelly asked, looking as if she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her.

      Brenda focused her attention back on her daughter. “Why, to see you, of course!” She leaned in and kissed the air next to Kelly’s cheek. “And you know, I may need the teeny, tiniest—” she indicated how much by a small space between her index finger and thumb “—little loan.”

      Brenda glanced at Ryan, her expression shrewd. “On the other hand, maybe these days you can afford more than a little loan….”

      Ryan decided he’d heard enough. It was time he took over the situation.

      “Come on in, Brenda,” he said.

      “We’re just leaving, actually,” Kelly said quickly.

      “No, you’re not.”

      Brenda clapped her hands. “Oh, I love a man who takes charge.”

      His eyes clashed with Kelly’s, before he looked back at Brenda. “Coffee?”

      “I’d love some,” Brenda responded.

      “Okay, then I’m leaving,” Kelly said.

      He shrugged and turned toward the back of the house. He had some negotiating to do with Brenda Hartley, and if Kelly wasn’t around, so much the better.

      Brenda started to follow him toward the back of the house.

      “Fine,” Kelly said in exasperation behind them. “In that case, I’m going back upstairs to take a shower. Let me know when your coffee break is over.”

      Back in the kitchen, he gestured Brenda toward a seat at the counter and removed the coffee carafe from its holder.

      “How do you take it?” he asked.

      “Black, no sugar.”

      “I figured.”

      He checked himself, waiting for the hate to kick in.

      For years, he’d loathed Brenda Hartley for having an affair with Webb.

      Somewhat surprisingly, however, all he felt at the moment was a cool detachment. He was prepared to deal with her in the same way he’d dealt with everything that had stood in his path to date—with unemotional, clear-eyed calculation.

      He set a coffee cup down in front of Brenda and asked without preamble, “So why’d you take up with Webb?”

      She sipped her coffee and took her time responding. “He was rich—” she gave a throaty laugh “—and good in bed.”

      “He’s slime. His wife was dying.”

      Brenda shrugged СКАЧАТЬ