The Reluctant Beauty (Once Upon A Romance Series) by Laurie LeClair

Author:Laurie LeClair [LeClair, Laurie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Laurie LeClair
Published: 2014-02-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

He’d tucked away his phone, silencing the ring, last night after speaking with his sister, Evelyn. He’d never checked on the text messages coming in, never missing the constant blaring and demands from the industry.

Now, he refused to contact anyone. He needed time. Time to figure out what his next move would be. Time to make a plan.

Marcus and his wife, Francie, hand delivered the boxes of food.

“Here, Bruno, I brought your favorite,” Marcus said, handing over a meal.

The guard smacked his lips. “Now which favorite could it be? You’re the best, Marcus. You go on up and get Peg and her family set up. Stop by and chat some before you head out.”

“Will do,” Francie said.

“No baby with you tonight?”

“Can you believe Mother and the Colonel are babysitting Madeline tonight so we can finally have a date night?”

“Her?!” He shook his head. “As I live and breathe, I would never have guessed that.” He walked away, muttering to himself, still clearly stunned at the news.

The couple chuckled. “We would have never believed it either, Bruno,” the woman called after him.

“Nice to meet you. Friend of Peg’s?” Marcus’s question sounded innocent enough, but there was an underlying tone.

“New friend. Actually, I’m Evelyn’s half-brother.” He shook Marcus’s hand and then nodded to the man’s wife.

“No way! Evelyn never told me about you. And I worked with her in the wedding boutique,” Francie said as they walked across the marble floor.

“You’re the Francine King?” Austin asked, recalling his sister’s words of praise. “Ev adores you.”

“It’s mutual, I assure you,” Francie said. “But why?”

He grimaced. “Different fathers. Different last names. She doesn’t want to ride my coattails. But I’d do anything for her.” Even stay away so she could carve out her own life.

“Makes sense,” Marcus said. “People want to make it on their own. Evelyn’s a go-getter. By the way, I used to be her boss, when I temporarily was in charge of the store.”

Austin recalled his sister’s stories. Hers was the only call he welcomed each week while on the road. Her funny stories, store gossip, and her delight in her job made him laugh right along with her and miss her even more. Maybe it was because he wanted to be a part of something that brought him that kind of joy was one of the reasons he lingered here now.

He could have walked out that door just as Bruno suggested. But his feet were planted firmly and he didn’t have any desire to run.

That brought him up short.

“Which way?” Francie asked.

“Housewares, is it?” He scratched his head, literally and figuratively.

He’d barely seen his sister at breakfast this morning. He had no connection with the store himself. The Newbury family was funny, but invasive, and pushing Peg to fit in with their ideal of what her life should be.

He didn’t have to stay. But he did.

It was all because of a funny, sexy, long-legged, fantastic kisser named Peg.

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