Fortune's Proposal by Allison Leigh

Author:Allison Leigh
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Silhouette
Published: 2011-04-18T16:00:00+00:00

They ate their late supper of salad and spicy enchiladas and chased it down with the most delicious caramel cake that Deanna had ever tasted in her life. But she strongly suspected that the only reason Jeremy and Drew did any justice to the meal was because they didn’t want to disappoint Isabella.

Then, while they were eating the decadent dessert that Evie had left for them, J.R. returned. Lily had finally gone to bed, he reported, primarily because William’s brother Patrick and his wife, Lacey, had come to the Double Crown and Lacey had been able to convince her cousin-in-law that she simply had to get some rest.

“Would she take a sedative?” Jeremy asked.

“I doubt it,” Isabella cautioned.

“Given the state she was in, let’s hope that doesn’t become necessary,” J.R. told him.

“Is anyone staying with her?” Deanna asked.

“Lacey,” J.R. said. “For tonight at least. She and Patrick have a brief trip they’re leaving on tomorrow that they can’t postpone.” J.R. leaned back in his seat at the head of the table. Isabella sat adjacent to him and their hands were linked on top of the table. “I don’t think any of us want her to be alone right now. Fortunately, there are enough family members around town that we can keep that duty covered without too much effort.”

“I could go tomorrow,” Isabella offered immediately.

J.R. eyed her. “You look more tired than I feel,” he said. “Frannie’s already said she’ll go over tomorrow. You can all work out details then.”

Deanna quickly focused on the bright yellow-and-orange linen napkin on her lap, folding it in fourths. If Isabella was right, she had a good reason to look tired right now.

“Lily doesn’t look like the type to appreciate being babysat.”

They all turned to look at Drew. He hadn’t said a word at the table to anyone other than Deanna sitting beside him, when he’d told her they’d craft a media release before morning.

“She’s not,” Isabella agreed after a moment. “She’d hate feeling coddled. But right now, I know she’s more focused on William than she is on herself.” She stood and began reaching for plates.

Deanna rose to help. She was more than a little surprised when the others did, too. Even Drew.

Since the man didn’t even order his own lunch at the office if he could avoid it, she wasn’t exactly used to seeing him carrying dirty dishes anywhere, much less to the kitchen sink, where he began rinsing them, as well as the others that were quickly stacked beside him before J.R. disappeared to take care of some ranch matters and Jeremy went off to return yet another call from his service.

“I’ll finish up in here,” Deanna offered to Isabella, who looked ready to shoo Drew out of the way, and was relieved when the other woman accepted, even subsiding to her husband’s none-too-subtle efforts before he’d left that she retire for the night.

“Tomorrow is going to be a better day,” she said before she left the kitchen.

Which left Deanna alone in the room with Drew.

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