All for Love: What a Westmoreland Wants. Brenda Jackson

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СКАЧАТЬ deep Australian accent. He always sounded so ultrasexy. But then he was definitely a sexy man. That was something she tried not to notice too much, mainly because he was a close friend of Ramsey’s. Also, according to Jackie Barnes, a nurse who worked at the hospital with Megan and who’d had a bad case of the hots for Callum when he first arrived in Denver, Callum had a girl waiting for him back in Australia and it was a very serious relationship.

      But what if he no longer had that girl waiting for him back in Australia? What if he was as available as he was hot? What if she could forget that he was her oldest brother’s close friend? What if...

      Dismissing all such thoughts with a wave of her hand, she sat back down at her computer to figure out a way to rob Peter to pay Paul.

      * * *

      Callum Austell leaned back in his chair as he glanced around the restaurant. The first time he’d eaten here had been with Ramsey when he first came to Denver. He liked it then and now this would be the place where he would put into motion a plan some would think was way past due being executed. He would have to admit they were probably right.

      He wasn’t sure exactly when he decided that Gemma Westmoreland was destined to be his woman. Probably the day he had helped Ramsey build that barn and Gemma had arrived from college right after graduation. The moment she got out of her car and raced over to her older brother’s arms for a huge hug. Callum had felt like he’d gotten hit over the head with a two-by-four, not once but twice. And when Ramsey had introduced them and she’d turned that wondergirl smile on him, he hadn’t been the same since. His father and his two older brothers had warned him that it would be that way when he found the woman destined to be his, but he hadn’t believed them.

      That had been almost three years ago and she’d been just twenty-two years old. So he’d waited patiently for her to get older and had watched over her from afar. And each passing day she’d staked a deeper claim to his heart. Knowing how protective Ramsey was of his siblings, especially his three sisters, Callum had finally gotten up the nerve to confront Ramsey and tell him how he felt about Gemma.

      At first Ramsey hadn’t liked the idea of his best friend lusting after one of his sisters. But then Callum had convinced Ramsey it was more than lust and that he knew in his heart that Gemma was “the one” for him.

      For six months, Ramsey had lived with Callum’s family back in Australia on the Austell sheep ranch to learn everything he could so he could start his own operations in Denver. He had hung around Callum’s parents and brothers enough to know how dedicated the Austell men were once they fell in love.

      His father had given up on falling in love and was on his way back to Australia from a business meeting in the United States to marry an Australian woman when he’d met Callum’s mother. She was one of the flight attendants on the plane.

      Somehow the already engaged Todd Austell had convinced the Detroit-born Le’Claire Richards that breaking off with his fiancée and marrying her instead was the right thing to do. Evidently it was. Thirty-seven years later the two were still married, remained very much in love and had three sons and a daughter to show for it. Callum was the youngest of the four and the only one who was still single.

      His thoughts shifted back to Gemma. Ramsey claimed that of his three sisters, Gemma was the one with the fiery temper. The one a man would least be able to handle. He’d suggested that Callum pray long and hard about making the right decision.

      In the end, Callum had convinced Ramsey that he had made the right decision and that a hard-to-handle woman with a fiery temper was the kind he liked. He was more than certain that Gemma was the woman for him.

      Now he had to convince Gemma... He’d have to be stealthy about his pursuit. He knew Gemma had no intention of engaging in a serious relationship after she had witnessed how two of her brothers, and several of her womanizing cousins, had operated with women over the years, breaking hearts in their wake. According to Ramsey, Gemma Westmoreland was determined never to let a man break her heart.

      Callum straightened up in his seat when he saw Gemma enter the restaurant. Immediately, the same feeling suffused his heart that always settled there whenever he saw her. He loved the woman. He no longer tried to rationalize why. It really didn’t matter at this point.

      As she walked toward him, he stood. She was probably 5­8", but just the right height for his 6­3" frame. And he’d always thought she had a rather nice figure. Her dark brown, shoulder-length hair was pulled back in a ponytail. He thought she had dazzling tawny-brown eyes, which were almost covered by her bangs.

      Callum had worked hard not to give his feelings away. Because he’d always been on his best behavior around her, he knew she didn’t have a clue. It hadn’t been easy keeping her in the dark. She saw him as nothing more than her brother’s best friend from Australia. The Aussie who didn’t have a lot to say and was basically a loner.

      He studied her expression as she got closer. She seemed anxious, as if she had a lot on her mind.

      “Callum,” she said and smiled.

      “Gemma. Thanks for agreeing to see me,” he said as he took her oustretched hand.

      “No problem,” she said, sitting down once he released her hand. “You said something about meeting to discuss a business proposition.”

      “Yes, but first how about us grabbing something to eat. I’m starving.”

      “Sure.”

      As if on cue, a waitress strolled over with menus and placed glasses of water in front of them. “I hope this place is acceptable,” Callum said, moments later after taking a sip of his water.

      “Trust me, it is,” Gemma said smiling. “It’s one of my favorites. The salads here are fabulous.”

      He chuckled. “Are they?”

      “Yes.”

      “That might very well be, but I’m not a salad man. I prefer something a lot heavier. Like a steak and the French fries I hear this place is famous for.”

      “No wonder you and Ramsey get along. Now that he’s married to Chloe, I’ll bet he’s in hog heaven with all those different meals she likes to prepare.”

      “I’m sure he is. It’s hard to believe he’s married,” Callum said.

      “Yes, four months tomorrow and I don’t recall my brother ever being happier.”

      “And his men are happy, too, now that Nellie’s been replaced as cook,” he said. “She never could get her act together and it worked out well for everyone when she decided to move closer to her sister when her marriage fell apart.”

      Gemma nodded. “I hear the new cook is working out wonderfully, although most of the guys still prefer Chloe’s cooking. But she is happy just being Ramsey’s wife and a mother-in-waiting. She doesn’t have long now and I’m excited about becoming an aunt.

      “Are you an uncle yet?”

      It was his turn to smile. “Yes. My two older brothers and one sister are married with a child each. I’m used to being around kids. And I also have a goddaughter who will be celebrating her first birthday soon.”

      At that moment the waitress returned. Callum resented the interruption.

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