“Very interesting.” Diane nodded before turning back to her fiancé, as he now stood at her side.
He and Rule had abandoned whatever they were discussing once she and Diane had begun discussing social agendas, interests and some males’ unwillingness to pay close enough attention to the friends they were developing from among their social set. Those were the clients McQuade Image Consulting wanted.
The businessman who had built himself from his toes up and did so with exacting precision and instinctive force would be wasting his money unless he was looking to suddenly change his entire business model.
“It sounds like a wife,” Lawe drawled, his blue eyes twinkling as he looked between her and Rule. “Have you actually worked with many men who needed such help?”
“Normally, the client has a wife or girlfriend with some knowledge of the business associates whose goals match his,” she told him. “It’s a rare opportunity to be able to work with men as successful in your fields as you are, who haven’t yet begun acquiring the footholds you want socially. I believe you and Diane especially will enjoy the program my parents have come up with.”
“And what about Rule?” Lawe nodded to his silent brother. “Matching him with like-minded family men won’t be easy.”
“Matching Rule with men who share his interests as well his vocation will be far easier than you think,” she assured him.
“And women?” Diane asked, her brows lifting. “I know socially, an advantageous marriage is usually important.”
Why did she suddenly ache? She shouldn’t care if he would consider a marriage that would suit his position and the life he wanted to build.
“As I’ve seen, Breeds are generally pretty adept at choosing women who suit them and their lives exactly,” she finally answered, hoping she had managed to hide the hurt that filled her. “I trust Rule can do the same.”
“Finally, someone with at least a little confidence in my ability to choose something,” Rule snorted as his arm went around her waist to draw her to his side. “Now, the band’s starting to play. I want a dance. You can tell me if my dance moves are adequate or if they need some work too.”
She doubted very seriously that anything about Rule Breaker needed any work. But she let him draw her to the dance floor and assured herself that the continued ache in her chest had nothing to do with the earlier conversation or the implications of it.
...
“Well?” Diane demanded as the couple moved far enough away from them that there wasn’t a chance Rule could hear their conversation.
Lawe liked that about her. She understood he wasn’t just hers, that he was Rule’s brother, Jonas’s friend. That he was an enforcer as well as a role model to the newly freed Breeds. There was never any jealousy in her as he’d often scented from the wives of the human males he’d met over the years.
She encouraged his friendships, pushed him to have hobbies and often chided him for not resting enough.
And he was delaying answering her and he knew it.
“I’ll be damned if it makes sense.” He shook his head, careful to keep his voice low as he spoke.
“What doesn’t make sense?” she asked, frowning back at Rule and Gypsy. “At first thought, there’s not a chance they would suit each other. A good-time party girl? Who knew she was such an excellent social image developer?”
“She’s not his mate,” Lawe stated softly, sadly even.
Diane stilled, then turned back to him in shock. “Are you certain?”
Lawe continued to watch his brother and the woman resting in his arms as they swayed to the music.
“She carries his scent,” he frowned, trying to make sense of it. “But it could be because they’re lovers, nothing more. There are no similar scents of lust. With mates, there’s a scent they share, whether its lust, love or some other emotion that develops into love. They don’t share it.”
Diane turned back and watched the couple as well. “If she’s not in love with him, then she’s falling.”
Was she? There was definitely something there, but Lawe couldn’t make sense of what it was.
He’d drawn their scents in countless times, and each time he’d done so he’d sworn he’d sensed Rule’s senses drawing further away from him. As though the animal part of him were hiding.
But why do that? What would it serve Rule or his senses to weaken themselves in such a way? What could be so important that the animal felt the need to hide it?
A sudden suspicion slipped into his mind, causing his eyes to widen.
“What?” His lovely mate turned back to him, frowning as she stared up at him. “You’ve thought of something?”
He shook his head slowly. Son of a bitch, why hadn’t he figured it out sooner? “I know my brother.”