Page 23 of Waiting for Devon
Horror swept through Devon. “Blair, surely you know how much Reed loathes Lara Hampton! How can you force him to keep a promise you made?”
“I’m aware of my brother’s feelings for Lara, but he’ll do it, for he’s too much of a gentleman to refuse.”
“How do you think he’ll react when you tell him?”
“He won’t be happy,” Blair answered, and shuddered.
Nothing could have prepared Blair for her brother’s explosive outburst of anger at dinner that evening when she informed Reed of his date with Lara Hampton the next night. Indeed, she’d never seen him look and sound so furious and hateful.
“Have you lost your damn mind, Blair?” he demanded as his hand came down hard on the smooth table. “What devil possessed you to arrange a date for me with that woman? Or were you just too drunk to know what you were doing?”
Reed’s spiteful remark evoked immediate protests from Jasper and Shane while Devon glared at him from across the table.
A painful shadow crossed Blair’s face, and her eyes shone with unshed tears. “I haven’t been drunk for two weeks, Reed,” she told him in a low, quivering voice. “As far as Lara is concerned, I promised her a date with you for Devon’s sake. Lara was making life miserable for her, and this was the only way to stop her.”
Contrite for hurting her, Reed replied with remorse, “Forgive me, Blair. I’m truly sorry for what I said. Of course, I’ll go on a date with Lara.”
“You’re forgiven.” Blair rose from the table and excused herself.
Across the pastureand well into the entrance of a group of trees stood a log cabin where Reed liked to spend most of his evenings. As he stepped onto the porch of the main house to make his trek to the cabin, the sharp sound of Devon’s voice came out of the darkness and he halted.
“You’re coldhearted, Reed Barrington.”
“And you,MissBrooks, don’t know me well enough to make that kind of judgment.”
“I’ve been here long enough to see quite clearly the nature of things,” Devon replied in a stern tone of voice. “Shane is much too busy with Barrington Industries to show an interest in his sister, but you…you’re nothing more than a younger version of your father. Jasper has withheld his affection from his daughter for so long that he has forgotten how to show his love. He ignores Blair.
“He says nothing to her and refuses to touch her. She’s earned a degree in business administration from Harvard, no less, yet she hasn’t even been invited to join the company. Shane thinks she’s not interested, but that’s not the truth. I suppose your father has his reasons for his coldness, but what’s your excuse? The only one I can determine is you must have inherited all of your father’s worst traits. You’re deliberately cruel, incapable of love and passion…”
“Enough! So, you think I’m incapable of loving my own sister? And as far as passion is concerned, I believe I’ve proven how passionate I can be to you already.”
“You’re vile. You feigned passion with me in order to prove me a fraud. I don’t think you’ve ever experienced real passion with anyone.”
“Careful, Brooks,” Reed warned. “You’re treading in dangerous waters.”
With those words he left her alone. The excitement and tension that had been building between them slowly ebbed. Devon took a deep, steady breath while tremors shook her entire body.
Chapter Seven
The following eveningDevon and Shane had a dinner engagement at the home of one of his business associates. As they made their way down the spiral staircase, Devon saw Lara Hampton waiting in the foyer for her date with Reed. She appeared fresh and pretty in her pink sundress. Devon felt sorry for her. Lara had no idea how to deal with a complicated man like Reed.
As she and Shane reached the bottom of the stairs, Reed joined them. He shot Devon a triumphant, sardonic glance, and much to their astonishment, especially Lara’s, Reed pulled the unresisting girl toward him and kissed her with unbridled passion. Without a word, he took Lara’s hand and led the embarrassed young woman outside.
“Well, that was calculated,” Devon complained to Shane as they walked to his Porsche.
“I agree. Maybe he was sending a message to Lara. She’s totally out of his league.”
“He was sending the message to me.”
“Oh? Why?”
“We had words last night about Blair.”
“You really do rub him the wrong way, don’t you?”
“It’s mutual. He rankles me. I can’t explain it.”
Later, she forgot about Reed. Comments flowing around the room about Devon’s past set her teeth on edge and offended Shane when he heard them. Gripping her hand in his, he moved from group to group and forced them to face her. Her grace, intelligence, and charm, not to mention her capacity for kindness, eventually won the arrogant fools’ respect.
