A Brother's Honor (Grangers) - By Brenda Jackson Page 0,50
of will. Then Jace added, “You will sacrifice anything to look good.”
Her mouth spread into a thin-lipped smile. “I am good.”
One corner of his mouth twisted upward. “Yes, you definitely are.”
When there was a moment of silence that had extended way too long, Caden cleared his throat. He had a feeling the conversation had somehow shifted from Granger Aeronautics to something he’d rather not know about. It was obvious they’d forgotten he was sitting there, and it wouldn’t be long before one of them said something they’d rather not expose.
When they looked over at him, Caden smiled and said, “Speaking of good, I noticed the dessert for today is lemon cake with ice cream. The slices are huge. Would anyone want to share one with me?”
* * *
Shana entered her condo, turned off the alarm and then set her briefcase and purse on the first table she came to. Why was she so upset with what Jace had said? She wouldn’t expect any CEO to go along with everything she recommended, but she expected him to have an open mind.
Who said he won’t? her inner mind countered. Why are you making it so freakin’ personal? Was she? Okay, maybe she was. And when he’d made that “good” statement, she had read between the lines and knew exactly what he’d been referring to. They’d ended up sharing ice cream and lemon cake with Caden while keeping up the pretense that all was well between them when she knew it wasn’t. And she blamed it on that damn kiss.
Knowing she needed to chill a minute before taking a shower and getting in bed, she moved toward the French doors that led to her patio. She loved it here and knew the moment she’d been given a tour of the condo that it was hers. The screened-in patio that overlooked rolling hills and a huge, man-made lake had been a plus.
Her community consisted of a lot of both married and single individuals. Some were parents, and most were pet owners. Gloria, a flight attendant and one of her best friends, lived on one side of her, and Lonnie, a veterinarian, lived on the other. A married couple, Connie and Bill, lived across the street and were excited about expecting their first child in five months. The other neighbors kept to themselves, and she didn’t know them by name, but she would throw up her hand in a wave whenever she saw them or vice versa.
Both she and Jules lived within ten miles of their father, although Jules traveled around from state to state most of the time. Still, it was convenient, and usually either of them would drop in and spend time with him. The three of them had always been close, and it seemed so strange that after all this time, he was hinting that he was interested in a woman. She, of all people, knew he deserved to be happy, but she and Jules couldn’t help but be concerned, even if they were a little bit possessive.
With the darkness settling over the street, there was enough light from the moon as well as various illuminations from the two wooden decks to see a number of couples who owned boats enjoying a night on the water. According to her father, there were fish aplenty in the lake, and he liked coming over with his rod and reel whenever he got bored. She especially liked it when he did, because that meant he would end up cooking what he caught. No one fried fish and cooked hush puppies like her father.
Thinking she had chilled long enough, she went back inside and was headed for her bedroom when her cell phone rang, and she quickly sifted through her purse hoping it was Charles. She let out a disappointed sigh when it wasn’t Charles but Jules. “And what do you want?”
There was a pause on the other end before Jules said, “Evidently, you’re in a bad mood for some reason tonight.”
Shana tapped her foot on the floor. “Yes, I am. I was hoping you were Charles.”
“Charles Kincaid?”
“Yes.”
She heard Jules snort. “Why him? I told you that you can do better.”
Yes, she could, but at the moment it didn’t matter. “The reason I was hoping it was Charles is because, although he might have his faults, he is a lot of fun, and I need fun this weekend.”
“Rough week?”
“Yes. This was my third week working with Granger Aeronautics.”