The Real Thing. Brenda Jackson
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Название: The Real Thing
Автор: Brenda Jackson
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Контркультура
Серия: The Westmorelands
isbn: 9781472049162
isbn:
Adrian continued to stare deep into Trinity’s eyes, sensing her nervousness. Although she had gone along with Tara’s suggestion, he had a feeling she wasn’t 100 percent on board with the idea of pretending to be his lover.
Although Dr. Belvedere was going about his pursuit all wrong, Adrian could understand the man wanting her. Hell, what man in his right mind wouldn’t? Like her sister, Tara, Trinity was an incredibly beautiful woman. Ravishing didn’t even come close to describing her.
When he’d first met Tara, years ago, the first thing out of his mouth was to ask if she had any sisters. Tara had smiled and replied, yes, she had a sister who was a senior in high school with plans to go to college to become a doctor.
Jeez. Had it been that long ago? He recalled the reaction of every single man at Riley’s wedding when Trinity had showed up with Thorn and Tara. That’s when he’d heard she would be moving to Denver for two years to work at the hospital.
“Are you sure it’s him?” Trinity asked.
“Pretty positive,” he said, studying her features. She had creamy mahogany-colored skin, silky black hair that hung to her shoulders and the most gorgeous pair of light brown eyes he’d ever seen. “And it’s just the way I planned it,” he said.
She arched a brow. “The way you planned it?”
“Yes. After Tara called and told me about her idea, I decided to start right away. I found out from a reliable source that Belvedere frequents this place quite a bit, especially on Thursday nights.”
“So that’s why you suggested we have dinner here tonight?” she asked.
“Yes, that’s the reason. The plan is for him to see us together, right?”
“Yes. I just wasn’t prepared to run into him tonight. Hopefully all it will take is for him to see us together and—”
“Back off? Don’t bank on that. The man wants you and, for some reason, he feels he has every right to have you. Getting him to leave you alone won’t be easy. I still think I should just break his damn hands and be through with it.”
“No.”
He shrugged. “Your call. Now we should really do something to get his attention.”
“What?”
“This.” Adrian leaned in and kissed her.
Trinity was certain it was supposed to be a mere brush across the lips, but like magnets their mouths locked, fusing in passion so quickly that it consumed her senses.
To Trinity’s way of thinking, the kiss had a potency that had her insides begging for more. Every part of her urged her to make sure this kiss didn’t end anytime soon. But the clinking of dishes and silverware made her remember where they were and what they were doing. She slowly eased her mouth away from Adrian’s.
She let out a slow breath. “I have a feeling that did more than get his attention. It might have pissed him off.”
Adrian smiled. “Who cares? You’re with me now and he won’t do anything stupid. I dare him.”
He motioned for the waiter to bring their check. “I think we’ve done enough playacting tonight,” he said smoothly. “Ready to leave?”
“Yes.”
Moments after taking care of their dinner bill, Adrian took Trinity’s hand in his and led her out of the restaurant.
Two
“So how did things go with Trinity last night?”
Adrian glanced up to see his cousin Dillon. The business meeting Dillon had called that morning at Blue Ridge Land Management had ended and everyone had filed out, leaving him and Dillon alone.
He’d never thought of Dillon as a business tycoon until Adrian had returned home to work for the company his family owned. That’s when he got to see his Denver cousin in action, wheeling and dealing to maintain Blue Ridge’s ranking as a Fortune 500 company. Adrian had always just thought of him as Dillon, the man who’d kept the family together after a horrific tragedy.
Adrian’s parents, as well as his uncle and aunt, had died in a plane crash more than twenty years ago, leaving Dillon, who was the oldest cousin, and Adrian’s oldest brother, Ramsey, in charge of keeping the family of fifteen Westmorelands together. It hadn’t been easy, and Adrian would be the first to confess that he, Aidan, Bane and Bailey, the youngest four, had deliberately made things hard. Coming home from school one day to be told they’d lost the four people who had meant the most to them had been worse than difficult. They hadn’t handled their grief well. They had rebelled in ways Adrian was now ashamed of. But Dillon, Ramsey and the other family members hadn’t given up on them, even when they truly should have. For that reason and many others, Adrian deeply loved his family. Especially Dillon, who had taken on the State of Colorado when it had tried to force the youngest four into foster homes.
“Things went well, I think,” Adrian said, not wondering how Dillon knew about the dinner date with Trinity even when Adrian hadn’t mentioned anything about it. Dillon spoke to their Atlanta cousins on a regular basis, especially Thorn Westmoreland. Adrian figured Tara had mentioned the plan to Thorn and he had passed the information on to Dillon.
“Glad to hear it,” Dillon said, gathering up his papers. “Hopefully it will work. Even so, I personally have a problem with the hospital administrator not doing anything about Dr. Belvedere. I don’t give a damn how much money his family has or that they have a wing bearing their name under construction at the hospital. Sexual harassment is sexual harassment, and it’s something no one should have to tolerate. What’s happening to Trinity shouldn’t happen to anyone.”
Adrian agreed. If he had anything to do with it, Trinity wouldn’t have to tolerate it. “We’ll give Tara’s idea a shot and if it doesn’t work, then—”
“Then the Westmorelands will handle it, Adrian, the right way...with the law on our side. I don’t want you doing anything that will get you in trouble. Those days are over.”
Adrian didn’t say anything as he remembered those days. “I won’t do anything to get into trouble.” He figured it was best not to say those days were completely over, especially after the suggestion he’d made to Trinity about breaking Belvedere’s hands...something he’d been dead serious about. “Do you know anyone in the Belvedere family?” he asked Dillon.
“Dr. Belvedere’s older brother Roger and I are on the boards of directors of a couple of major businesses in town, but we aren’t exactly friends. He’s arrogant, a little on the snobbish side. I heard it runs in the family.”
“Too bad,” Adrian said, rising from his chair.
“The Belvedere family made their money in the food industry, namely dairy products. I understand Roger has political aspirations and will announce his run for governor next month.”
“I wish him the best. It’s his brother Casey that I have a problem with,” Adrian said, heading toward the door. “I’ll see you later.”
An hour later Adrian had finished an important СКАЧАТЬ