The Family She Didn't Expect by Helen Lacey

Author:Helen Lacey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-06-11T17:47:57+00:00

* * *

At seven o’clock Saturday night, Marnie got a text message from Joss.

Feel like breakfast tomorrow morning?

She stared at the message. Was this their date? Breakfast? She replied after a few moments.

Sure.

Pick you up at nine-thirty. J.

So, Marnie had a breakfast date. Or maybe it was more like brunch? Anyhow, she’d agreed to Joss’s invitation and then spent a ridiculous amount of time on her appearance the following morning. Black pants that fit snugly and that she’d always thought made her butt look good, and a red silky shirt she wore tucked in, with a belt, to highlight her waist. She wore her highest heels—a pair of black ankle boots she’d paid a fortune for and rarely worn. And dabbed on a little makeup—not too much because she didn’t want to look like she was trying too hard. She straightened her hair and wore her favorite earrings, and lastly added a long black wool coat that buttoned up the front, that she’d purchased at a clothing store in town the day she’d spent with Ellie. She added knitted gloves and matching scarf and paced up and down the hallway until he arrived.

When he greeted her at the door at nine thirty Sunday morning, her insides fluttered at the appreciative way his gaze slid over her. He looked good, too—in dark jeans, a long-sleeved, white twill shirt that did nothing to disguise his broad shoulders, a sheepskin lined coat and cowboy boots.

“You look great,” he said and his gaze lingered at her feet. “But you might need to rethink the shoes since more snow has been predicted for this afternoon.”

“I’ve got that covered,” she said and pointed to a bag by the door. She picked up the bag and showed him the contents. “I ordered a sturdy pair of snow shoes from a store in Rapid City, just in case. I have a thing for shoes,” she admitted and grinned.

“How many pairs do you have?” he asked.

“Here?” she said and laughed. “As many as I could fit in my luggage. About fourteen pairs,” she admitted and returned his grin. “But back home—too many.”

He laughed warmly. “So, are you ready?”

She nodded and grabbed her tote, quickly locking up. “Where are we going?”

“A real life honky-tonk,” he replied when they were in his vehicle.

She eyed him curiously. “What’s that?”

“A Western-style restaurant. There’s one not too far out of town and they serve breakfast until midday. If you like it, I’ll take you back there for dinner sometime.”

True to his word, the restaurant was indeed a Western-themed establishment, right down to the gingham cloths on the tables, the wagon wheel light fittings and the peanut shells on the floor.

She ordered an absurdly large triple cheese omelet with buttered sourdough toast, and he had some kind of mixed grill meal that was almost overflowing on the plate.

“I don’t think portion control is important here,” she remarked once the waitress had delivered their food.

He laughed softly and then asked more seriously, “How are you feeling about tomorrow? Nervous?”

“A little,” she replied.

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.