Page 26 of Bride By Committee

Just like that he went from seducer to business exec. “Talk to me.”

It was the same phrase she used when dealing with her family and she acknowledged the connection with a fleeting smile. “We have a problem.” A far worse one than she’d first suspected considering her uncontrollable reaction to him, but she’d have to deal with that some other time. “I’m sure you don’t want your father involved in an unfortunate relationship any more than I want my grandmother involved in one.”

“Wrong.”

She stared in disbelief. “You don’t care if they rush into an unhappy marriage?”

“No, Imean it’s not my problem. It’s not yours, either. If they rush into marriage, they’ll have to deal with the consequences. Irepeat. It’s none of our business.”

“So you aren’t willing to help?”

He eyed her warily. “What do you mean, help? You’re not going to interfere in their affair, Madison. Iwon’t let you.”

She folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. “He may be your father, Harry. But he’s a love expert.” Didn’t he understand the significance of that? “Sunny doesn’t stand a chance against him. And now that I’ve had personal experience with the sort of techniques he’s likely to employ—thanks to you, Imight add—I’m even more concerned about my grandmother.”

“I don’t employ techniques. And my father isn’t a love expert. He’s simply touting a book about love. If you’d just read the damn thing—”

“What if he’s using Sunny as a model in order to write a sequel?” Madison smiled triumphantly at Harry’s stunned expression. “You hadn’t thought about that, had you? Sunny could be some sort of experiment.”

“He’s not going to marry an experiment.”

“He might if it meant another blockbuster book.”

“You’re being ridiculous.” Harry shoved back his chair. For some reason, the extra space didn’t allow her to breathe any easier, perhaps because of the anger that turned his eyes from an autumnal hazel to a sandstorm brown. “This is my father you’re talking about and I’m starting to get ticked off at the assumptions you’re making about him. Totally unsubstantiated assumptions, Imight add.”

“I understand. You’re feeling protective. Well, Iam, too. So here’s what I suggest.”

He forked his hand through his hair. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”

“Probably not.” Not that his opinion would stop her. “I want to monitor their engagement.”

Sure enough, he didn’t appreciate her suggestion one little bit. He also took an inordinate amount of time before responding. Finally, he said, “In that case you’ve left me no alternative.”

Uh-oh. “I’m not going to like this, am I?” she asked, echoing his words.

He didn’t pull his punches. “Not even a little. I’m going to monitor you monitoring them.” He touched a berry-stained fingertip to her mouth, stopping her before she could voice a single word of complaint. “That’s not open for negotiation, Madison. Either you agree or I’ll tell them what you’re up to.”

“That’s blackmail!” she argued around his finger.

His hand lingered for an instant longer before falling away. “And monitoring is just a polite word for spying.” He waited for that to sink in. “I suggest you tell me what’s first on the agenda before I come to my senses and put an end to this nonsense.”

She fought against the insidious pull of his touch. The temptation to wrap herself around him and kiss his strawberry-flavored mouth was almost more than she could stand. “The picnic, remember? Ihave Rosy tracking down the happy couple as we speak. As soon as she finds out where they’re headed, we’ll follow.”

He sighed. “You gave me the impression we’d been invited to join them on this picnic. We haven’t been, have we?”

“Not exactly.”

“You mean, not at all.”

Why did he look at her as though she were one of his more disappointing economic models? It made her feel like a set of confused equations in need of serious alteration. She didn’t care for the sensation at all. Their situation wasn’t just about business. Family resided at itscore.

“You don’t understand, Harry. I’m responsible for my grandmother.”

“She’s old enough to be responsible for herself.”

“She’s only known your father for two days.”

“They’ve known each other for a year.”

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