Page 2 of Robert

Forcing her hands not to tremble or her face to show any reaction, she stared at the woman blandly.

“I don’t have one.”

“Precisely the reason for this meeting.” A theatrical sigh was uttered. “You have forced me into making a decision I am not comfortable with.”

The fear and trepidation increased, and Sonya felt herself teetering on the brink of despair. For the past year, her mother had been dropping hints about a likely prospect and the fact that she should be getting herself a husband.

In the past months, especially after her birthday in June, the pressure had increased, the main reason why she had avoided being in the same room with her. She was getting tired of the same argument.

“And what is that?” She tried to sound mildly interested but knew her voice was quavering.

“I have several men who would be more than happy to become your husband.”

“Like I told you, I prefer to choose my own and I am not interested.”

Picking up the snowy white napkin, Deidre blotted the sides of her lips, dark brown eyes gleaming. “Just what I expected you to say. It pains my heart to do this, but you have given me no other choice. Find a prospective husband by the end of next week or you lose the funding for your beloved charities.”

This time, she could not hide her reaction. Jerking her head up, she stared at her mother in horror. “You don’t mean that,” she whispered.

“You know me better than that darling. For the life of me, I cannot fathom why you are so interested in these causes, and I have put up with this phase of yours. I am in charge of your inheritance until you turn thirty-five when you get to do whatever you want with it.

But I am in charge, and you are forcing me to use it to get your attention. For goodness sakes darling, you are almost at the point where you will not be able to bear a child.”

“I am thirty-two!” Sonya hissed, feeling as if she was living in a nightmare.

“Precisely. Find a husband and go about your usual business. Or suffer the consequences.” Eyes hardened with purpose; she flicked it over her daughter. “I expect a marriage to be announced by the end of next week.”

“And if I refuse?”

“You know the answer to that.” Her expression softened. “I used to admire the girl you were when you were younger. Ruthless, ambitious. One who did not give a damn about someone else’s feelings.”

Sonya winced at that. “I grew up.”

“Such a pity!” Deidre dug into her salad. “You have my decision and it’s final.”

*****

Robert gazed at his sister fondly, an indulgent expression on his usually hard and cynically attractive face. At thirty-five, he was a self-made multi-billionaire, his reputation as a ruthless businessman, well known and legendary. But with his only living relative, he was just Robert, her big brother and he was proud of her.

She was a doctor, doing her internship at a local hospital and she had insisted on doing so at one that was not biased because of his contributions, even though he had been tempted to recommend his board of directors that they take a special interest in ‘Hope and Grace’, just to ease things for his sister.

But she would have found out and she would have been pissed and disappointed in him. Hers was the only opinion that mattered to him and that was the only reason he had backed down.

Now seated across from her in the exclusive restaurant, he smiled as he admired her trim green scrubs and bouncy coffee brown ponytail.

She was ten years his junior and they had different dads, but they were as close as two siblings could be. He took care of her, more now that their mother had died eight years ago while Catherine was still in college, leaving him to care for his little sister.

“You are staring,” she pointed out mildly, dipping into her soup.

“Am I not allowed?” He had chosen to have the coq ah vin. His days were rushed, and he was not a breakfast person. Two cups of coffee had been his only nourishment since he started his day at four in the morning.

He had rescheduled two particularly important appointments when Cat called and had done so without hesitation, leaving his very competent assistant scrambling to make the changes.

“I am sorry for calling and just expecting you to have the time to have lunch,” she fussed with her spoon. “I know how busy you are, and we have dinner plans on Sunday…“

“I am never too busy for you.” A frown touched his brow as he watched her rearranged the utensils on her place setting. “What’s wrong?”

“What makes you think there is anything wrong?” Lifting eloquent hazel eyes to his identical ones, she flushed slightly as he continued to wait with raised brows. “I could never hide anything from you.” It was said with a hint of resentment that had his sensuous lips twitching.

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