Sleeping Beauty's Billionaire by Caroline Cross

Author:Caroline Cross [Cross, Caroline]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

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Six

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"So there you are."

Seated at the end of the richly patterned brocade sofa that graced her father's cozy study, Colleen looked up from the magazine she'd been reading as her younger sister Gina swept into the room.

In a ritual instituted by their mother, Moira, when Colleen, Nick, Ryan and Joe, the four older kids, had been teenagers, barring death or imprisonment the entire family was expected to sit down to dinner together at their parents' Beacon Hill home the second Sunday of each month—or face their mother's wrath.

Not surprisingly, attendance was excellent. And usually Colleen genuinely enjoyed the chance to visit with her brothers and sisters and get brought up to date on their lives.

But not tonight. Tonight she couldn't stop thinking about how Gavin was at her place helping Brett with a homework assignment. And how she could hardly wait for the clock to strike seven-thirty, the earliest acceptable time for post-dinner departure. Or that as usual, God seemed to be having some fun at her expense, since the time, which usually flew by at these little get-togethers, currently seemed to be hobbling along with all the speed of a three-legged tortoise climbing Mount Everest.

"I wondered where you were hiding." With her usual efficiency, Gina made a quick survey of the room, then headed to the fireplace, where she stooped down in order to open the screen. Taking a stick of applewood from the bin on the hearth, she tossed it onto the dwindling flames before straightening and turning to address Colleen. "What happened? All the arguing and shouting finally get to be too much for you?"

Colleen shook her head and a little regretfully slid the magazine—a copy of American Bride that she assumed had originally belonged to Nick's new wife, Gail—onto the end table. "Of course not. Besides, you know what Mother always says, 'Barones do not shout. They discuss.'" She tipped up her chin in a lofty way that was a dead-on imitation of their maternal parent. "'Albeit with passionate persistence.'"

Clearly caught off guard, Gina let out a surprised sputter of laughter, and some of the tension seemed to drain out of her. Plopping down on the sofa next to Colleen, she kicked off her shoes and stretched out her long, slender legs. "Thanks. I needed that. I'm pretty sure it's the first time I've laughed in the past forty-eight hours." Unable to contain a slight shudder, she leaned her head back against the cushion, squeezed her eyes shut and let out a heartfelt sigh. "Lord, what a nightmare."

There was no need for her to explain that she was referring to the Valentine's Day disaster; Friday night's debacle had been the dominant topic most of the night. And since Gina was Baronessa's VP in charge of marketing and public relations, it had fallen on her slim shoulders to deal with the press the past forty-eight hours and do what she could to minimize the damage done to the company's reputation. She'd been in the thick of every discussion.

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