Engagement Between Enemies by Kathie DeNosky

Author:Kathie DeNosky
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Silhouette
Published: 2006-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

Six

Opening the wrought-iron gate, Caleb wondered what was going through Alyssa’s pretty little head as he led her across the courtyard to the front door. The farther out of the city they’d driven, the more silent and speculative she’d become.

“If you’re worried about the sleeping arrangements, don’t,” he said when they entered the house. He set her small case down to punch the deactivation code into the security system. “There are three extra bedrooms. You can take your pick.”

“I really hadn’t given where I’d be sleeping much thought.” When he turned to face her, she gave him a sheepish grin. “I’ve been mentally calculating how much stucco homes cost and what the investment potential in real estate is on this side of the Sandia Mountains. I would think that the equity would build quickly since this area seems to be growing pretty fast.”

He chuckled as he picked up her overnight case. “Once an accountant, always an accountant, huh?”

“Something like that.” She gave him an odd look. “With your background in business, wasn’t it something you considered when you moved here?”

“Not really.” He wasn’t about to tell her that the house had been given to him when he’d accepted Emerald’s offer to take over the firm or that his background in business started two weeks ago when he’d walked through Skerritt and Crowe’s front doors. “I was more interested in the fact that it’s fairly secluded and has several acres of land.”

She seemed to accept his explanation and, breathing a little easier, he followed her into the great room. But his heart damned near hammered a hole clean through his rib cage when she stopped to stare at a portrait of a middle-aged Emerald Larson and her infamous playboy son, Owen—Caleb’s late father.

“Are they your relatives?” she asked, smiling.

The picture was at least twenty-five years old and it was apparent that Alyssa hadn’t recognized the pair. Hopefully, she wouldn’t.

“That’s my grandmother and father,” he said cautiously.

Gazing at him a moment, she nodded. “There’s a strong family resemblance.”

He placed his hand at the small of her back to usher her toward the bedrooms before she had a chance to study the picture closer and figure out who they all were. He hadn’t lied to her thus far and he wasn’t about to start now. If she’d recognized the Larsons, he’d have admitted to being one of the heirs to the Emerald, Inc. conglomerate. But she hadn’t. And although omission of the facts was something he wasn’t proud of and continued to struggle with, being outright dishonest was out of the question. It just wasn’t his style.

“Feel free to check out the other two bedrooms, then decide which one you want,” he said, opening the door to the room closest to his. The room had been done in yellow and green and looked a little more feminine than the other two bedrooms. “They all have their own private bathroom, but this one is the only one besides the master suite that has a sitting area.

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