Secret Weapon Spouse - By B. J. Daniels Page 0,36

she told herself, watching Alex savor each bite, each sip of wine, each laugh they shared, she would let herself enjoy this. Enjoy Alex. Just for this magical, wonderful tonight.

ALEX WAS SMILING at something Samantha had said when he saw from the corner of his eye someone approaching their booth.

He glanced up and saw the last person he wanted to see. “Brian?” He’d never seen him here before.

“Looks like the two of you have been enjoying yourselves.” Brian picked up one of the two empty wine bottles on the table.

Alex hadn’t realized they’d drunk that much. Nor had he realized how late it was. They’d been here for hours. He’d been having too much fun to notice.

“We were just leaving,” Alex said to his brother, amazed how quickly the tone of their dinner had changed when wet-blanket Brian appeared.

“You’ve both had too much to drink for either of you to drive,” Brian said.

Alex started to argue that he didn’t need Brian telling him what to do.

“I insist,” Brian said, a little less abrasively. “Please, let my driver take you both home. Can you let me do this one small thing for you? I am your brother.” Brian seemed to have had a little to drink himself and appeared sincere. Alex figured Brian was just trying to impress Samantha. And it seemed to be working.

“It’s a gracious offer,” Samantha, the peacekeeper, said and looked to Alex as if she thought Brian was trying to be kind.

“Be gracious for once,” Brian said quietly.

Alex didn’t want to make a scene and truthfully, he had drunk a lot of wine and so had Samantha. He’d planned to call a cab for them, but why not take Brian’s limo and driver and let Brian take a cab.

“Sure,” Alex said with a smile. “Whatever the lady wants.”

Samantha gave him a thankful smile. The woman actually thought she could make peace in the Graham family? Her optimism was one of the things Alex found so delightful about her.

Alex watched Brian pick up their bill. “I’ll get this,” Brian said and smiled at Samantha. Yep, his brother was just trying to impress her. “Good night.” Brian turned and walked back to a booth down the aisle. Alex couldn’t see who he was sitting with.

The limo driver leaped out to open their doors the moment they came out of the restaurant. Alex realized that Brian had called the driver, no doubt with instructions.

Alex tried to be gracious even though he found a limo and driver too pretentious, not to mention the inside of Brian’s limo.

“Pretty impressive,” Alex said as he sank down next to Samantha on the deep warm leather seat. He had a wayward thought. Why was Brian going out of his way to impress Samantha? Did he think Alex and Samantha were an item and wanted to steal Samantha away?

He felt a stab of jealousy. And more than a little concern. Could Samantha be taken in by Brian’s success, his lifestyle, his money?

Alex glanced over at her as the limo driver asked for Samantha’s address. She gave it and the driver put up the thick glass between him and the back.

Samantha was gazing around the inside of the most expensive limo that money could buy. She was impressed, Alex thought.

He couldn’t help himself. “You do realize that my brother has an ulterior motive.”

She cut her eyes to him and seemed disappointed that he was looking a gift horse in the mouth.

“Trust me, my brother is up to something,” Alex persisted.

“Maybe he really was just being nice,” she suggested.

Alex laughed and shook his head. “Brian doesn’t do things just to be nice. You can bet there’s something in it for him.”

But what Brian didn’t know was that Alex was willing to fight for this woman. He might not have all the things that his brother did, including a prestigious job and a cool limo, but Alex did have something to offer this woman.

He put his arm around her. She turned to regard him. He’d expected surprise. Or at least the usual wariness.

Instead it was almost as if she wanted this as much as he did. Almost as if she’d been expecting his kiss.

VICTOR COULDN’T believe his luck. There was no way he was going to lose this fancy-pants limo, not in a million years. And unless he missed his guess the driver was going to lead him right to Samantha Peters’s house.

This was finally working out. He thought about calling his client and telling him the good news.

But