LUCAS'S CONVENIENT BRIDE by Susan Mallery

Author:Susan Mallery [Mallery, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781459291102
Publisher: HQN Books
Published: 2001-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Lucas looked up when a woman entered his office. She was at once both familiar and a stranger. Tall, slender yet with a delightful expanse of bosom displayed. The blue of her gown matched her eyes and she—

“Emily?” he asked in disbelief. He rose to his feet and came around the desk. “Emily?”

“Hello, Lucas. I just stopped by to say good-afternoon. I haven’t seen you yet today.” She looked past him and raised her eyebrows. “I didn’t realize you had company.”

“Huh?” He followed her gaze to the young woman sitting in front of his desk. “Oh. Emily, this is Molly Malone. Miss Malone, my wife.”

Emily smiled. “Welcome to Defiance. Did you just arrive?”

“Yes. On the stage. Your husband was kind enough to meet me.”

They continued talking, but Lucas wasn’t listening. How could he with Emily standing there looking so different? He told himself it was just that the dress was much prettier than the usual gray garments she wore and that her suddenly fuller appearing bosom was more because of padding and stitching than due to any increase in her feminine gifts, but none of it seemed to matter. His brain wasn’t listening, and neither was the sudden throbbing in his groin.

He wanted her.

That wasn’t anything new. He’d wanted her from their first kiss and his attempts to stay clear of her had only increased his longing. Now she’d gone and gotten herself all fussied up. He studied her softer hairstyle and the long curls tickling her cheeks. His fingers itched to unfasten the row of curls and release her hair until it tumbled down her back. He wanted to bury his face in the golden length, inhaling the scent of her as he—

“Lucas?”

He shook his head and turned attention to his wife. “Yes?”

“I thought I’d show Molly to her room.”

“Yes. I’ll send her things upstairs.” He thought of Molly’s traveling companion and knew that Emily would enjoy the surprise. “The ceremony is at ten in the morning.”

Molly glanced at him. “Are you sure Jackson is too ill to attend the ceremony?”

“He was when I saw him a couple of days ago. A fever, I think.”

She didn’t look convinced but didn’t ask again. Emily glared at him. She thought she knew the truth about his brother. Lucas knew different. However if Emily understood all about Jackson’s past, she would never let Molly Malone head up that mountain. He eased his own guilty conscience by reminding himself that as soon as he was able, Jackson would head down the mountain to beat the hell out of his brother. Lucas figured a beating would be worth it. As soon as Jackson and Molly were married—by whatever means necessary—the terms of the will would be met.

* * *

Emily led the way up the stairs toward the hotel. Jackson’s bride wasn’t anything like she’d imagined. Emily supposed she’d expected a young timid woman afraid of her own shadow. Instead Molly Malone was at least twenty-five. Obviously she wasn’t afraid of very much, because she’d just traveled across the country by herself to marry a man she’d never met.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.