Guarding the Heiress

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Her father smiled and her heavy heart lifted just a little. “Well, now, I don’t think I could have put it any better myself. It’s a bit of a thorny patch, that’s a fact.” He rested his gaze on hers. “But we love you. We’ve always loved you. If we made a mistake, it was in the name of love.”

She hugged her father then. Hugged him with all her might. “You didn’t make a mistake.” She drew back and blinked away the confounded mist that clouded her vision. She didn’t want him to see her cry. “Don’t ever think it, not for a second. Okay?”

He nodded hesitantly. “But your grandmother Solange could have offered you much more than we have.”

Eddi laughed to keep from crying. “Now, what would I do with a jewelry empire? If it won’t stop a leak in old Mrs. Fairbanks’s toilet, what good is it?”

Her father managed a strained laugh at that. “I guess you have a point there, girlie.”

His expression turned somber once more and the silence lengthened. Eddi felt certain that he didn’t know where to take the conversation from here any more than she did. What did one say at a time like this?

“You know this isn’t going to go away just because you want it to,” he said eventually, his tone as grim as she felt at the moment.

She nodded. “I know.” She hugged her knees to her chest once more. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Well.” Her father scratched his head and considered the question for a time. “It seems to me that you owe it to yourself as well as your grandmother to get to know her.”

“I already have the best two grandmothers anyone could want,” Eddi protested. “What do I need with another?”

“Look here, girlie.” Her father looped an arm around her slumped shoulders. “You deserve better than to be a plumber the rest of your life.” He shushed her with a firm look when she would have rebutted. “Slaving away at that hardware isn’t the answer either. I want better for you same as my daddy wanted better for me. We’re scarcely hanging on to that old place anyway. It’s past time I sold out and retired.” He lifted one shoulder and let it fall. “Truth is, I’ve only hung on so I wouldn’t let you down. What do I need with that old place to fool with day in and day out? Your mother and I could take up gardening or some such.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Whatever happens, I know you’ll do the right thing.”

Knots of anxiety tangled in her stomach once more. She knew what he was doing. He wanted to give her an out. Her father loved that old hardware store and she knew it. He’d be lost without it to go to every day. Her mother hated gardening other than a pot or two of flowers. She had preferred knitting or needlepoint over gardening even before her accident.

Out of the blue, inspiration struck. A slow smile slid across Eddi’s face. Why hadn’t she thought of that already?

Eddi threw her arms around her father and hugged him again. “Dad, you’re a genius!” She shot to her feet and beamed a smile down at him. “Tell Mom I won’t be by for dinner tonight. I have something to do.”

Her father waved a goodbye as she loped out to Mr. Cooper’s SUV. “Are we still on for dinner?” she asked the handsome man watching her so steadily.

“Absolutely.” He allowed her one of those smiles that literally oozed with magnetism.

Before she melted right there on the sidewalk, she said, “Follow me to my place. I need to change.”

Three traffic lights and five turns later, she pulled into the driveway of her small cottage. The little house had once belonged to her grandmother and grandfather Harper, but since they’d relocated to the retirement home, she’d moved in. She loved the place. Even as a child she’d known that one day she wanted to live here.

The small stone cottage sat amid a cluster of shady trees with only a small patch of grass to mow out front and nothing but flagstone pavers and flower beds out back. Two tiny bedrooms and only one bath, along with a nice-size living-dining room combination and kitchen made up the interior. She even had her own little fireplace.

Exhaling a satisfied sigh at being home at last, Eddi hopped out of her truck and practically skipped up the path that led to her front door. The answer was so simple. Relief was like a soothing balm, she felt immensely better already. Before going inside, she reached in the box hanging by the door and retrieved the day’s mail. “Bills, bills, bills,” she muttered. Nothing she wanted to see tonight.

“Nice place,” Mr. Cooper commented as he moved up behind her.

Despite all that had happened and knowing that he had brought this unsettling news upon her, Eddi shivered at the sound of his voice. As smooth as satin and every bit as rich. She shook off the thought and jammed her key into the lock.

“Thank you. It belongs to my grandparents. They let me use it since they live at the retirement home now.”

See, she wanted to add, my family already takes good care of itself. We don’t need anything from the D’Martines.

She tucked her key back into her pocket and pushed open the door. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. Still, she had to approach this logically. She couldn’t let emotions play into it at all. And that would be difficult. She’d always been ruled by her heart ensuring that she’d been faced with difficult before. She could handle this.

She flipped on the light and held the door for Mr. Cooper to come on inside. She found herself holding her breath as he passed then stood in the middle of the room and took in the cozy living area. Never once had she imagined how this place would look to a stranger. She’d never had a stranger over before. She tried to see the room from his eyes, with its high ceilings and thick crown moldings. Her grandfather had loved working with his hands and had detailed every square inch of woodwork in this house himself. The floors were hardwood, but thick rugs covered most of it. The furniture was worn comfortable and a vintage she couldn’t name…early fifties maybe. An interior designer or decorator she wasn’t. But line up faucets in front of her and she could name the year and the manufacturer.

“I’ll just be a moment, Mr. Cooper,” she said, breaking into his careful study of her natural habitat. “Make yourself at home.”

He turned to her then. “Doug. Please, call me Doug.”

She nodded and forced a smile. “Be back in two shakes, Doug.”

In her bedroom she closed the door and suddenly wondered what on earth she would wear. Okay, she told herself, it wasn’t as if it was a date. She could wear any old thing.

But where would they go?

She mentally ticked off all four of the local restaurants and finally decided on Randy’s. The place was the nicest in town and served a wide variety of entrées. Though she didn’t expect Mr. Cooper—Doug, she amended—to be impressed, at least he wouldn’t go hungry.

Clothes…what to wear? She chewed her lower lip and tried to decide if she even still owned a dress other than the ones she wore to church, which were sorely out of date and totally unflattering. She had gone to her five-year high-school reunion a couple of years ago. Hadn’t she bought something then?

Sixty seconds later she’d gone through her entire closet to finally find the dress in question on the last hanger on the opposite side from where she’d started. Just her luck.

The dress was black…that was good. She’d seen ladies wear little black dresses into Randy’s. The problem was, it had long sleeves and it was unseasonably warm out tonight and the hem was just a smidgen on the long side with a floppy ruffle. But that had been the style two years ago. Or maybe it was simply the one dress on the clearance rack she’d liked.

Oh, well. It wasn’t as though she had a lot of choices.

She couldn’t keep her guest waiting forever. With that in mind she rushed through a sponge bath and twisted her hair up into a bun of sorts. No kind of makeup ever looked good with her complexion so she didn’t even bother. A spritz of fruit-scented spray and she was ready.

But the dress…well, it looked kind of pitiful. She glanced at the clock on her bedside table and realized twenty minutes had passed. She didn’t have time for this…but this was her first sort of date in two years. Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t been out since her five-year reunion. How pathetic was that? And she remembered well the looks her dress had gotten that night. The best description she could call to mind was pained. Her friends had lied and said she looked great but she hadn’t missed the uncomfortable expressions on their faces when they said it. Okay, so the dress sucked in its current state.

She couldn’t take those kind of looks tonight…especially not from Doug Cooper, bodyguard…spy…or whatever. She’d had too much dumped on her today already. Any more sympathy from the guy and she might just throw up.

Holding her breath, she did the only thing she could. She ripped off the left sleeve. Just tugged it clean loose from the shoulder of the dress and off her arm. She looked at her bare arm and then the covered one. Minus the sleeve was definitely better. With a firm hand she did the same to the right sleeve.

“Not bad,” she murmured as she leaned closer to the mirror and picked away the remnants of thread clinging here and there where the sleeves had previously attached. She stood back and looked herself up and down once more. The neckline was a little high, which couldn’t be changed, and the dress was still too long. The ruffle had to go.

Eddi reached for the edge of the ruffle and a soft rap echoed at her door. Her breath caught and she almost toppled over.

“Is everything all right?”

She glanced at the clock once more and noted the time. Thirty minutes. No wonder he’d gotten worried. “I’ll be right out.”

Scarcely breathing, she listened for the telltale footfalls as he moved back to the living room before she snagged the edge of the ruffle. The ruffle didn’t want to come off quite so easily. By the time she’d pulled it off all the way around, she’d almost broken a sweat. After picking away the thread remnants, she eyed her reflection one last time. Now the hem of the dress hit just below midthigh. She smiled, pleased with what she had achieved. The dress actually looked like the typical black sheath one would purchase for a cocktail party or any other number of social affairs.

And it hadn’t cost her a dime.

Pleased with her ingenuity, she smoothed her hands over the fabric, enjoying the way it clung to her body. Okay. Now she was ready. Shedding a little of her “good girl” image would boost her self-confidence in this stranger’s presence. At least she hoped it would.

DOUG HAD SURVEYED every photograph and piece of needlepoint displayed in the quaint living room. He had even scanned the evening paper. By the time Eddi had finally come out of her room, he’d been contemplating turning on the television to catch the evening news.

But, he had to admit, she was indubitably worth the wait.

Never in a million years had he expected the plumber to clean up so well, but she definitely did.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” she offered as she breezed into the room.

The creamy, smooth look of her skin combined with the fiery highlights of her hair and the curve-hugging little black dress was nothing short of inspiring. Unfortunately the thoughts it inspired were way out of line.

“What’s wrong?” she teased. “Didn’t you expect me to own a dress?”

Not quite that dress, he said to himself before saying to her, “I never underestimate a lady. I’m only surprised that you would bother on my account.”

She moved toward the door a little slower than what was normal for her. The shoes, he decided. The heels weren’t stilettos, but they were high-heeled when compared to the sneakers she seemed to prefer. Once at the door she turned back to him and smiled, a calculated twist of her lips that fell just shy of seductive. Another surprise. Or maybe she simply didn’t realize just how appealing she looked when she tried.

“No bother.” She lifted a speculative eyebrow. “Besides, this has certainly been the day for surprises.”

Indeed, he mused.

After settling Eddi into the passenger seat of his SUV, Doug moved around to the other side and climbed in. “Where to?”

“A place called Randy’s.” She quickly spouted off the directions, which weren’t complicated since Meadowbrook was a small town.

Within minutes of their arrival at the restaurant they were seated and their orders taken. Doug conceded that the place was better than he’d hoped for. On a Wednesday night the crowd was light, but the atmosphere was pleasant and private.

He waited for her to start firing questions at him but it didn’t happen. She seemed content just to sit and enjoy their relaxing surroundings. Maybe she expected him to make the first move.

“Do you have any questions regarding what I’ve told you so far?”

She studied him for a long moment as if contemplating how to proceed. He couldn’t quite read the emotion in her eyes but there was something there. Trepidation perhaps.

“I only have one question,” she said, her tone carefully devoid of inflection.

Doug’s instincts went on point. “What would that be?”

“What precisely is it that Mrs. D’Mar—my grandmother,” she amended, “wants from me?”

He inclined his head and quoted the agenda he’d been given. “She wants to be a part of your life. She wants to know you and for you to know the family business.”

That blue gaze narrowed slightly. “I don’t believe that’s all there is to it.”

Their server arrived and Doug waited until he’d placed the salads in front of them and hurried away before continuing, “What makes you say that?”

Eddi stared at her salad a moment then shifted that penetrating focus back to him. “That’s just too simple. She must want more. Surely she doesn’t expect me to actually handle business affairs. The only thing I know about jewelry is that I can’t afford any of the good stuff.”

Doug leaned back more fully in his chair and considered the lovely woman across the table for a moment before he replied, “A board of directors and a very savvy CEO run the day-to-day business. With that aside, what do you want or expect? It seems to me that you’ve come to some sort of decision.” And he did have that feeling. After she’d spoken to her father she appeared to have reached some conclusion. He felt a certain ease about her that hadn’t been there before. That’s why she’d agreed to dinner, he surmised.

“I’ve decided that if, in fact, I am heiress to such a great fortune that the least I can do is help my family.” She looked directly at him then. “My real family.”

Clarification hadn’t been necessary. He knew who she meant. “I can’t imagine that Mrs. D’Martine would expect otherwise.”

“Good, because that’s the only way I will get involved is if it helps my family.”

Doug figured that was as close to an agreement as they were going to get for the time being.