One Fake Fiance - Jennifer Youngblood Page 0,33
up with a response. She couldn’t very well mention that Lucas went looking for a ranch for sale without drawing suspicion. “Lucas and I decided to do some sightseeing along the way.” She winced at her lame excuse.
“In a snowstorm?” His voice was edged with suspicion.
“It wasn’t snowing that hard at the time.”
There was another long pause. “Magnolia, what’s really going on?”
Her heart began to pound. “What do you mean?”
“You were so set on Roman, and now you’re bringing this new guy. What’s his name again?”
The frosty, annoyed tone of her grandfather’s voice took Magnolia right back to her childhood. She used to hate visiting her grandparents. Her father would get wound up as tight as a drum, spewing out all the expectations of how Magnolia was to behave. She felt like she had to be a robot to fit into the impossibly small box of her grandparents’ expectations. “Lucas Romeo.” She glanced at Lucas as she spoke. She could tell from the way his jaw hardened that Lucas knew she was getting grilled. She moistened her lips. “You’ll love him. He’s amazing.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” Grandfather said crisply.
Her spine stiffened. “Yep, you and Eric Stanford.” She didn’t try to hide the resentment in her voice.
“What time will you arrive tomorrow?”
“According to what Lillian told us, the snow is supposed to stop tonight. We should be okay to leave mid-morning, assuming that they will plow and salt the roads.”
“I don’t have to remind you that time is counting down. I will need time to make my assessment, as will Eric. I will not be pressed into making a hasty decision simply because you can’t get here on time.”
Magnolia rolled her eyes. “Yes, I know.” The man was relentless. He’d never shown her a shred of warmth or sympathy. No wonder her father was uptight. He’d been raised by Benjamin and Carol Bentley—two of the coldest, most brittle people on the planet.
“I’ll expect you to arrive no later than noon tomorrow.” There was a frigid finality to his tone.
Her insides tightened. “Like I said, so long as they plow and salt the roads, we should be fine to get there by then.”
“Make sure that you do. I’m running out of patience.” He ended the call.
“I love you too,” she growled as she pressed her lips together, shaking her head.
“What was that all about?”
“My grandfather’s ticked that we didn’t arrive today, as scheduled.” The words left a sour taste in her mouth as tears of frustration rose in her eyes. She tossed her phone back into her purse. “He’s so infuriating.” She put her hands on her hips, glancing up at the ceiling as she tried to get a handle on her emotions.
Lucas patted the spot beside him. “Come here.” The tenderness in his voice called to her soul, breaking the dam. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks. Hastily, she swiped at them with the palms of her hand, embarrassed that Lucas had seen her crying.
“Magnolia. Please. Come over here.”
His voice was achingly tender. She went over and sat down.
He gathered her hands in his. She loved the rough feel of his working-man hands. They were such a nice contrast to Roman’s soft hands that it made her all the more aware of Lucas’s masculinity. He looked into her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
She frowned, searching his handsome face. How could he be so rugged? So virile? A young Clint Eastwood and John Wayne rolled into one. “For what?”
His eyes deepened with regret. “If I hadn’t taken us on that wild goose chase to see the ranch, then we’d already be in Asheville. Your grandfather would be fine, and everything would be hunky-dory.”
Surprised laughter sloshed in her throat. “I don’t think anything will ever be hunky-dory, as far as my grandfather is concerned.”
“Well, at least he wouldn’t be on the warpath.”
“That’s true.” When Magnolia woke up from her nap earlier and realized that they were out in the middle of nowhere, in a snowstorm, she’d had a panicked moment that quickly morphed to anger. Then, when Lucas told her it would only take an hour out of her schedule, her ruffled feathers had been smoothed. She’d tamped down her irritation because she wanted to make peace with Lucas. She didn’t like the two of them arguing all the time. It was too taxing emotionally. Of course, things took a crazy, unexpected turn, and now they were here.
“I promise you that I’ll do everything I can to make a good impression on your