The Second Bride by Catherine George

Author:Catherine George [George, Catherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises Limited
Published: 2010-11-08T05:00:00+00:00

In the house in Beaufort Crescent later, with a striped butcher's apron over her green dress, Jo cooked the promised chicken cacciatora for Rufus, who came down to offer his help once he'd changed his wedding formality for a cotton sweater and jeans.

'Just talk to me while I cook,' she said, pounding garlic and rosemary together while chicken breasts browned in a skillet.

'I should have taken you out for a meal, not let you slave over a hot stove after all the nervous strain today,' said Rufus as he laid the table.

'I much prefer an evening in.' Jo added some wine vinegar to the pan, then dodged away as it hissed. 'I'm glad I went to the wedding. It was a very relaxed, happy occasion—once the church service was over, anyway.'

'I saw you flinch at the "death us do part" bit,' he said quietly. 'At least you won't be required to say that.'

'Good.' Jo sprinkled herbs and garlic over the chicken, seasoned it, and asked Rufus for a glass of the wine he was opening.

'Thirsty?'

'No. It's to go in the chicken. Then I put a lid on it and leave it for half an hour while I make a green salad.'

Rufus breathed in the aroma with pleasure. 'I thought you were a no-nonsense cook, Jo.'

'I am. My repertoire is very limited, I promise you.' She stood back as the wine sizzled in the pan, waited for a while to let the alcohol burn off, then turned the heat down low and put the lid on. 'Perhaps you'd better buy me a cookery book for a wedding present.'

'I've already bought you a wedding present,' he informed her.

Jo turned sharply, her eyes wide with consternation. 'I was joking! I don't need a present, Rufus.'

'I know that. You're a very undemanding bride. But I think you'll like this one. We can go upstairs and inspect it after dinner.'

Wondering what she could present Rufus with in return, Jo put a salad together, made a dressing for it, then cut bread and took butter from the fridge. Rufus put them on the table, then lit the candles he'd set out earlier.

'Nice touch,' said Jo, and smiled at him. 'Adds a festive note to my no-nonsense menu.'

Rufus ate the meal with such flattering relish that Jo relaxed and enjoyed it herself as they discussed the events of the day.

'Right,' said Rufus, when his brand-new dishwasher was switched on. 'Come upstairs and tell me if I made the right choice of present.'

'Couldn't you bring it down?' she asked as they went up the curving staircase together.

'Not without risk to my person,' he assured her with a grin, and showed her into the smaller of the two main bedrooms with a flourish.

The room was bare except for a small, beautiful desk under the window, complete with laptop computer. Jo gave an exclamation, and looked up at Rufus in delight. 'Both of them for me? Rufus, what a wonderful present!'

'Eighteenth-century elegance allied to twentieth-century technology,' he said, with a flourish.

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