Page 44 of Winter Vows

“Well enough,” Trish said. “About the invitations—”

Sharon Lynn cut her off, her expression alight with curiosity. “What have you two been doing all day long over there?”

“Working,” Trish said, not even trying to hide her impatience. “What else?”

“Besides that?”

“Nothing,” Trish declared very firmly. “There’s a lot of work to be done.”

“Nothing?” Sharon Lynn regarded her with a mix of disbelief and disappointment. “I thought for sure by now...” Her voice trailed off.

Trish shrugged. “Sorry. Now about those invitations, how many do you think I should have printed?”

She finally managed to drag Sharon Lynn’s attention back to the task at hand. By the time she left an hour later, they had worked out most of the details for the grand-opening party. She was also pretty sure she had managed to squelch any speculation that she and Hardy were a hot item.

As she opened the front door of her store, she heard voices from the storeroom. Male voices. One, of course, was Hardy’s. The other was... She listened more intently, recognized the familiar lazy drawl and almost turned around and dashed right straight back out of the building. Before she could, Hardy came in, caught sight of her and called out.

“Hey, Trish, look who’s here.”

Her stomach knotted as her oldest brother followed Hardy into the room.

“Dylan, what are you doing here?” she demanded tightly. “How did you find me?”

A grin spread across his face, despite the lack of welcome. “I’m a private detective, Sis. Finding people is what I do.”

“Well, go find somebody else. I don’t want to be found,” she said, stubbornly refusing to walk into his embrace.

Dylan was as close to a rebel as any male in the Delacourt family had been allowed to get. Disgustingly handsome and fully aware of it, he’d left a trail of broken hearts in his wake until he’d met his wife and she’d turned around and lefthimwith one, taking their son right along with her. Dylan had balked at going into the oil business. After listening to his father rant and rave for months, he’d gone right ahead with his own plans for his life. He, of all of her brothers, should have understood why she’d needed to get out. Obviously he didn’t because he was here, probably intent on dragging her home again.

His expression softened. “I haven’t told Dad where you are,” he said quietly. “This is just between us.”

Hope spread through her. “You swear it?”

“Cross my heart.”

Then she did fly into his embrace. “I’ve missed you, Dylan. I would have called you, but I didn’t want you to get caught between Dad and me.”

“When have I ever been scared to take a bunch of garbage from Dad?” he scoffed.

“I didn’t want you to because of me.” She turned to Hardy. “Have you met?”

“We’ve met,” Hardy said.

“For a minute I thought he was going to take me on, until he realized I was your brother and not Jack the jerk.” He gestured at the work they’d accomplished. “I like it. It’s going to be even better than the store in Houston.”

She nodded. “I think so, too.”

“Look, why don’t you two go on?” Hardy suggested. “I’m sure you have a lot of catching up to do. I’ll finish and lock up here.”

“Only if you’ll join us for dinner,” Dylan said. “Is there someplace close we can go?”

“I’m sure Hardy already has plans,” Trish said hurriedly. She didn’t want her big brother getting any ideas about her and Hardy. He could be as much of a nag as an Adams. “Besides, I want you to come out to the ranch and see your niece.”

“Another time,” Hardy said. “Once you get a look at little Laura, you won’t want to leave her. I guarantee it.”

“A real beauty like her mama, huh?” Dylan said. “Pretty as a picture from the moment she was born,” Hardy said. “I ought to know. I was there.” Trish knew he had said that deliberately, that he was staking his claim on the two of them so her brother wouldn’t mistake it. Not that Dylan was likely to go more than a minute without plaguing her with questions about Hardy, anyway.

“I’ll explain on the way,” she said, drawing Dylan toward the door, even as she shot a scowl over her shoulder at Hardy. Obviously unintimidated, he winked.

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