Condition of Marriage by Emilie Rose

Author:Emilie Rose [Rose, Emilie]
Language: por
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Silhouette, Dynasties: Ashtons
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2005-12-14T23:00:00+00:00

Six

M ercedes pulled her car into a space at the far end of the winery parking lot and said a prayer of thanks for the other vehicles occupying the remaining spaces. Business must be up today. Or had Jillian scheduled a group event this morning and Mercedes had forgotten it?

Lack of sleep and caffeine deprivation had killed her short-term memory. She smiled wryly in the rearview mirror as she checked her hair and makeup. Maybe she could blame her forgetfulness on pregnancy hormones, too, but she had a feeling the real cause was stress.She gathered her purse and briefcase from the seat beside her. Work brought unrelenting pressure to try to find a way to divert the press from their private lives to their product. Life at the cottage wasn’t much better. She spent every waking moment and many when she should have been sleeping working on a potential marketing campaign for the Meadowview Inn just in case Jared bought it. It was a surprise. She hadn’t told him yet.

The minute she relaxed, worries over Craig’s threats forced themselves forward like a nagging toothache. Keeping her mind constantly occupied kept her from fretting over her father’s murder, her impending motherhood and everything that could go wrong with her pregnancy and her life in general. She especially worried about her relationship with Jared. He was avoiding her. They’d missed their first Wednesday-night dinner in years this week. Oh, Jared had been home and in plain view, but he’d isolated himself in the loft claiming he had work to do, and she’d eaten alone. She missed their easy friendship.

The upshot was that her life had gone to hell. She barely allowed herself time to scratch or pee—which she seemed to need to do every thirty seconds these days—right now, in fact. She shoved open the car door and hurried toward the winery entrance.

With her mind on the long list of problems needing rectifying, she barely noticed a nearby car door opening as she passed. “Mercedes, are you pregnant?”

Her muscles locked at the stranger’s question. She stood frozen on the sidewalk and stared at the young woman climbing from the vehicle.

“Whose baby is it? Bradford claims it’s his,” shouted another voice she didn’t recognize from behind her. She turned. Alarm skipped up her spine. Cornered. Why hadn’t she been paying attention? And where was the security officer? She searched what she could see of the vineyard grounds looking for the car with the flashing green light on top. No car.

“When is your baby due? Bradford says April. Can you confirm that?” A third reporter asked as he joined the others.

Craig had gone to the press. The bastard.

“No comment.”

She hustled toward the safety of the building. The group of reporters surrounded her, hindering her escape. Mercedes did the only thing she could think of. She hit the panic button on her key ring and set off her deafening car alarm. Sirens screeched. The horn blew repeatedly. With the reporters momentarily distracted, Mercedes darted through them and ran for the winery entrance.

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