Seduced By A Steele (Forged of Steele #12) - Brenda Jackson Page 0,11
He chuckled again. “Dad loves Mom, and whatever makes her happy makes him happy.”
“Your parents love each other?” she asked, surprise flitting across her features.
“Of course. Don’t yours?”
“No,” she replied without hesitation. “I never thought they did and they confirmed it when I told them about Harold’s mistress. They felt a loveless marriage wouldn’t be so bad since they’d had one for years.”
“They actually told you that?”
“Yes. My parents think wealth, not love, is what makes a good marriage.”
He stared at her and then asked, “What do you think makes a good marriage?”
She released a deep sigh. “I’m not sure there is such a thing as a good marriage. All I know is that I refuse to be forced into one.”
The traffic light went to green and Mercury’s attention returned to the road. Just as well, she thought. With parents like his, he wouldn’t fully understand parents like hers.
“How did you and this Harold guy meet?”
She glanced over at Mercury, whose eyes were still on the road. “Our families have always known each other. Harold and I began officially dating a year ago.” She paused. “He says he loves the other woman, and if he could marry her, he would. However, he’s too much of a weakling to stand up to his parents.”
What she’d just said was true. She was convinced Harold was so conditioned to do whatever he was told, he couldn’t fathom doing anything else. But then, she had been the same way until she’d begun to see that was no longer the way she wanted to live.
“Here we are.”
She looked out the windshield as Mercury pulled into the circular driveway of a house that was just as big as the one her parents owned. “Your parents’ home is beautiful.”
“Thanks.”
She felt nervous tension line her stomach.
As if he sensed her anxiety, when Mercury brought the car to a stop, he smiled over at her and said, “Things will be fine. Trust me.”
Five
Mercury walked into his parents’ home, placed Sloan’s luggage down and then glanced around, wondering where his parents were. Both their cars were in the driveway. Suddenly, he heard a sound upstairs in their bedroom and immediately got the picture. He turned to Sloan to find her glancing around. Evidently she hadn’t a clue.
Quickly moving to the intercom system on the wall, he pressed the one for his parents’ bedroom. “Mom. Dad. I’m here and I have a guest.”
Turning to Sloan, he thought the last thing he wanted was for her to figure out what his parents were doing. But then he realized that maybe she should know there were some couples who loved the sanctity of marriage and all the benefits that came with it.
“Come, let me show you my mother’s courtyard.” He opened the French doors to the garden that held every type flower imaginable.
“It’s so nice out here. Is this the house you grew up in?”
“Yes. My parents knew they wanted a large family and decided to buy a house to accommodate their dream. Galen told you about our brothers, so if you can see the first eight years of my parents’ marriage, Mom was pregnant most of the time.”
“And loved every moment,” his mother said, joining them outside. If she was surprised to find his guest was a woman, she didn’t show it.
Not waiting for him to make introductions, Eden Tyson Steele moved toward them, giving Sloan what Mercury thought was a very gracious smile. He’d made the right decision in bringing Sloan here. Extending her hand to Sloan, she said, “Hello, I’m Eden Tyson Steele.”
For a minute, Mercury thought Sloan was about to curtsy. He understood. In addition to being an awe-inspiring beauty, his mother’s elegant and refined manner had an effect on people. Even now Eden looked as if she’d just stepped off the cover of Vogue magazine.
“Mom, I’d like you to meet Sloan Donahue. Sloan, this is my mother,” Mercury said.
Eden’s smile widened. “Nice to meet you, Sloan. You’re a friend