Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 86808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
She inclines her head, a smile on her face, but there’s a message in her eyes that I am picking up loud and clear. Treat my sister well or else.
I don’t know what or else might be. She’s wealthy by rights in her divorce, but not the type of money that could ever derail the Blackburns. Still, that hard glint tells me she might not be above shanking me if the situation called for it, but I have no intention of getting on her bad side.
“Darling,” I hear from behind me just as a hand lands on my shoulder. I tense up, knowing Diane’s southern drawl all too well.
I take a step away, tugging Marcie with me and turning to face the one person I did not want to interact with tonight. In fact, I think I’d actually prefer to be stuck at a Mardraggon table all night than to have to converse with Diane.
We spoke only yesterday and it was a call that had to be made. Because after I asked Marcie out on a date, that meant Diane was no longer a part of my life, even if she had only been a casual good time. The conversation did not go well and she cursed, bitched and whined before hanging up on me.
As I face her now though, she is staring at me as if we’re long-lost loves reuniting. I prepare for the worst. “You look so handsome tonight, Ethan.” Her cool eyes slide over to Marcie and I tense as her fingers dig down into my arm, and I know she knows exactly who Diane is. I fucking hate that and I don’t know how much damage control I’ll need to do later.
Diane waits and I’m wondering if she’s expecting a return compliment, which I will not be offering. I don’t want to encourage conversation.
I immediately regret that decision as Diane’s eyes shimmer wickedly. She flicks a quick, dismissive glance to Marcie before saying, “This is why you broke up with me?”
Teeth gritted in anger over the mischaracterization, I set the record straight. “I didn’t break up with you because we were not a couple nor were we committed. I told you yesterday that I no longer wanted to see you anymore.”
Diane lifts her hand, studies her fingernails before saying, “Like I said. You broke up with me.”
I want to tell her she was nothing more than a convenience. An outlet. But my mother would beat the tar out of me if I ever said that to a lady, even if it was true. So I merely incline my head at her. “I hope you have a good evening, Diane.”
I’m relieved when, as I walk away, Marcie easily walks by my side. She glances over her shoulder, and waves to her sister, calling out, “We’ll talk later.”
“I’m so sorry,” I say, glancing down at Marcie as we wind around the tables. “That was ugly and you shouldn’t have had to witness it.”
Marcie stops, forcing me to do the same and then angles her body toward me. Tipping her head back, her blue eyes lock with mine. “Ethan, your past is your past. I can’t fault you for that, not if it doesn’t affect me.”
“That just affected you,” I mutter.
“That was a spiteful woman lashing out. You broke things off, I presume because you asked me out. That was the right thing to do.”
“Actually, I’ve been wanting to break things off for a while, but I never got around to it. Asking you out made it a priority.”
“Then don’t apologize,” she says softly.
“It wasn’t serious, Marcie.” I let out a breath of frustration, twisting to look over at my family who have caught sight of us before turning back to the beautiful redhead before me. “Diane was… there. It wasn’t often and we weren’t serious. It was just easy, and now it’s not.”
“Duly informed. Can we move on?”
The weight on my chest releases and I smile at her. I jerk my head toward my family’s table. “Let’s get this part over with. I’m sure my family are crazed with the need for information.”
Brand me the luckiest guy in the world, but it helps that my parents and siblings are the best anyone could hope for. We might squabble and rail at one another at times, but we always have each other’s backs. On top of that, we all only want what’s best for each other, and there’s been no higher wish on my parents’ agenda, or my siblings, for that matter, than for the eldest son to settle down.
Not that Marcie represents a permanent future, but the fact I’m actually showing interest in a woman and that I think enough of her to bring her to a function to sit with my family speaks volumes.
A five-course meal is served before the auction and I do nothing but sit back, enjoy the food and watch as Marcie charms every single person at the table. While she and I talked about a lot of different things that night I bought her dinner and again at the show barn, our time was limited. It’s a joy to sit back and have my family pepper her with questions, eager to know more about this woman who not only grabbed my intense interest but helped Sylvie to push past her distrust to give us all a shot.