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in a short amount of time, despite the lesser height of
her Spanish heritage. She met Carlotta as the other woman stepped out of the back
door of the main house from the kitchen.
 Those two hit it off like white on rice, Brody commented, watching as the women
conversed in a steady flow of dialogue complete with
generous head movements and hand gestures. They talked as if they had been friends
half their lives, seeming to know precisely what the other
expected, and easily giving in to the other s suggestions.
 Mrs. Gibson reminds you of Mom, doesn t she? Not in physical appearance, of course,
but in mannerisms and spirit.
Yes, Maria Gibson reminded Brody a lot of their mother. Cynthia Holt had been a tall,
voluptuous brunette. She d been a definite contrast to
Maria Gibson s much shorter, more average physique. Mannerisms and spirit, however,
could ve made them twins.
 If Mom were here, we would probably have a female set of the three stooges on our
hands when she got together with those two. The image
the idea created made his throat tight and called upon an emptiness he tried not to
recognize too often.
Megan nudged him, bumping her shoulder into his arm.  Have you told her yet?
Brody blinked down at her, confused.  Told her what?
 How much you love her. A sly grin unfolded on Megan s lips, her eyes twinkling with a
knowing mischief that rang Brody s warning bells.
Brody cocked a brow.  Mrs. Gibson? I just met her. Now why would I want to go and
profess my undying love to a married woman I met only a
few days ago?
 Hardy har har. Megan rolled her eyes, but she laughed all the same.  I m talking about
Sabrina, you dope.
 Sabrina? Brody s confusion deepened for all of a half a second, before he
remembered he d never been able to pull the wool over either of his
sister s eyes. They always saw right through him. Megan knew. Somehow she had
found out he and Sabrina were already married, that they hadn t
tied the knot for love, and that he was now hook, line, and freaking sinker in love with
her but hadn t told her.
He heaved a sigh, turning until he fully faced his sister.  How?
Megan shrugged.  I m friends with the preacher s daughter.
 How convenient, Brody muttered, not knowing if he should be pissed or worried.
 For me, at least. Megan s grin spread wider before she sobered.  Look, she overheard
her father talking the day you and Sabrina got married.
She then relayed the news to me. She shrugged.  Simple as pie.
 Who else knows? He scanned the backyard, his gaze landing on every person
scattered around the grounds, wondering how many of them
knew the truth. Was it possible the ruse was on him and Sabrina and not on the guests
they invited, whom they believed oblivious to the fact that
they were already married?
 Not a soul. Megan sounded so confident he believed her.  I threatened Peggy within
an inch of her life and exposure of several dirty little
secrets I know that would make our happy town frown big on a sweet preacher s
daughter. She won t talk. Your secret is safe. She angled her head
and narrowed her eyes.  But why the secret, big brother?
 It s complicated. Brody looked away, his mind reeling. Hell, he could barely remember
why they started this arrangement as a secret anymore.
 You re married. Megan clicked her tongue and gestured to the yard at large.  Yet, here
you are acting as though you re not, repeating the
whole process in a much more elaborate manner, and you haven t told her you love her
because& ?
 She won t believe me if I tell her. The truth spilled from his lips before he could bite it
back. Fuck it, he needed someone to tell. Why not a sister
he always adored?  She thinks I only got into this for the sex and, hell, I don t know, a
portion of her trust fund, I guess.
 What led her to think that?
Brody pushed out a hard breath.  Maybe some things I said in the beginning, the way I
handled the situation.
 It sounds to me like you should find a way to set her straight.
 I ve been trying. All that sappy crap you girls pounded into my head all those years, it
isn t working with Sabrina. He raked a frustrated hand
through his hair.  If you ve got any ideas, Megan, I m all ears because I m fresh out of
everything else.
 Actually&  Megan tapped a fingernail on her bottom lip, and he could all but see the
wheels tumbling in her mischievous mind.
* * * *
Sabrina took several steps forward, spun on her heel, and retraced those exact steps
for what likely amounted to the fiftieth time since she
entered the guest bedroom on the top floor of the main house at Holt em Up Ranch.
She remembered vividly the last time she paced a room this
way. The space then had been much smaller, the room totally different, but the cause
could be pinned on one man the same as it could be now.
Brody.
Then she had wrung her hands, waiting out the seconds to find out whether or not he
got her pregnant. Now she would like to wring his neck
instead. The nerve of that man!
 Alpha, controlling, ornery, caveman cowboy, she muttered, her steps taking on more
force as her temper rose. She turned at the poorly stifled
snicker behind her.
 Sorry, Brina. Savannah gave an obvious and valiant attempt at a straight face but
failed miserably.  It s just funny to hear that sort of stuff
coming from you. I m the one who always complained about cowboys.
 Right up until the day she married one, their mother agreed.
Savannah shot Maria a look.  Oh, I still complain about them. Now I just say what I have
to say to my cowboy husband s face.
 Maybe that s what you should do, Sabrina, Megan suggested. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]