Face-Off by Nancy Warren

Author:Nancy Warren
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2011-02-07T23:00:00+00:00

6

BEFORE SHE COULD ASK Greg for an explanation, he was gone.

She felt like screaming with frustration. Not only from his cryptic comment about dying for her, but from the frustration of a woman who’s had an after-work quickie and wants much, much more.

Sometimes, she was really glad she had a big brother, especially now he was in town. She no longer cared that he was Greg’s best friend. She needed Jarrad’s counsel.

She called him and Jarrad told her to swing by his house. In minutes she’d showered, changed into jeans and a cherry-red sweater, slipped on boots and her leather jacket and headed out. As always, the drive to Jarrad’s soothed her. From Kitsilano, she skirted English Bay, driving down Point Grey Road, then taking the Burrard Street Bridge, edging around downtown Vancouver and over the Lions Gate Bridge and then taking the scenic, if slower, Marine Drive. The highway would be quicker but she felt the need to gather her thoughts. She needed a strong male shoulder to lean on, but she also needed to figure out how much to tell a nosy family member.

There was something about the timeless beat of the ocean that made any problem seem smaller.

When she pounded on Jarrad’s door she smelled something amazing. He opened the door and she was struck by how happy he looked, how relaxed. “Hey, sis,” he said, pulling her in for a bear hug.

“Bro.” She hugged him back.

“Sierra’s here, but we can go for a walk if you want some privacy.”

“I know she’s here. Nothing you can cook smells that good,” she said, walking into the room and giving her favorite schoolteacher a hug. “What’s for dinner?”

Sierra also seemed to have bloomed in the weeks she’d known Jarrad. The woman had an inner confidence that had been lacking. Looking at the pair, she thought they were one of those rare couples who truly fitted together.

Imagine.

“Chicken cacciatore. Enough for three.”

She grinned. “I’d love you even if you hadn’t straightened out my brother. I’ll set the table.”

“Wine?” Jarrad brandished a bottle of red.

“Sure.”

The three of them sat around the fireplace which danced with the flames of a real wood fire. Jarrad handed out the wine and she sipped gratefully.

She glanced around at the mishmash of handmade furniture and the blue-and-white upholstery. Sure, it was charming, but with this property right on the ocean, he could have a real showplace. “I hope you’re going to knock this shack down and build a real house now Sierra’s in the picture,” she said.

She caught the shared glance between her dinner hosts and knew instinctively that was never going to happen. Had he actually found a woman who preferred sea shanty to luxury? She shook her head. “You really are perfect for him, aren’t you?”

“Yep,” her brother said, putting an arm around his woman.

“Jarrad said you sounded upset,” Sierra said, giving her a concerned look. “If you want to talk, I can go in the other room.”

She waved a hand. “No. You’re a woman. Maybe you can help.

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