A Model Engagement by Charlotte O'Shay

Author:Charlotte O'Shay [O'Shay, Charlotte]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, suspense, mock engagement
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: 2017-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Parent Trap

Moments later she startled at the solid thunk of a car door closing. When she swiveled toward the back steps, Connor’s fingers shot out to encircle her wrist. “Let’s just say hello to Mom and Rita.”

Her body was still flushed and her reflexes at a hair trigger. “Please,” she whispered, “don’t touch me.” He let go, stepped away, and shoved his hands into his pockets. She took the hairband from her wrist and did her best to gather the briny mess of her hair into a ponytail as Annie and Rita came through the back door.

“Oh, there you two are!” Annie clasped her hands together in that way she had. “You’ll never guess who we went to meet in town.”

A strange feeling of foreboding slid down her spine, and Lacey put a hand to her throat.

“Your parents, Lacey! Your father called me this morning. Can you believe it? They were in the area just across the sound in New London. At a conference. Of course I immediately invited them to come on over. They took the ferry and we met them at the marina. Isn’t this an amazing surprise? When you told me your father was in the service I thought it would be so much more difficult to coordinate. But look how easy it was. They’re just getting their things from their car.”

Annie nodded over to where Rita was emptying groceries onto the marble island. “And we picked up some extra butternut squash and potatoes so there’ll be plenty for dinner.”

Lacey deliberately gave Annie the impression that her folks were too scheduled up to visit easily. Which was essentially the case as it had been true for so much of her life.

And oh man, what if they’d walked in on them a minute ago? Lacey swallowed as her stomach dropped in a nauseous roll. No doubt about it, her parents showed up because they somehow heard about her and Connor. They would have been floored because Lacey hadn’t said a word to them about a boyfriend, much less a fiancé.

Wasn’t it just killer karma? Why weren’t they at some distant city this weekend when most of the time they were either on the other side of the country or the other side of the world? Yep, for once they’d only been across the water in Connecticut and the media buzz surrounding Connor’s annual fundraiser must have reached them at the conference.

Her house of cards was starting to wobble. She dared a glance at Connor. His expression was as blank as a gambler who’d just been dealt a wildcard.

Then her gaze darted over Annie’s head just in time to see the outline of her father, the admiral, in his service dress blues, as he ushered her mom through the back door ahead of him.

Lacey pulled herself up to her full, barefoot five foot eight, locked her clenched hands behind her tight back. Okay, let the inquisition begin.

Rear Admiral Lucius Reed stood for a moment to get his bearings, his steely-eyed gaze touching on everyone in the room.

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