скачать книгу бесплатно
Melanie winced. “I thought you knew.”
He shook his head. “This just gets better and better. I thought she’d met you on some committee or other. I figured she’d seen you doing PR and recommended you because of that. Instead, she met you in a traffic accident.” He rubbed his now-throbbing temples. “It all makes perfect sense.”
Melanie blinked. “It does?”
“Sure. She really has gone ’round the bend. Instead of going in there and trying to convince her we’re involved, I ought to be trying to convince her to see a shrink.”
Melanie glowered at him. “Do you know how insulting that is? To both of us, in fact.”
He heard the anger in her voice and knew this whole evening was within a nanosecond of blowing up in his face. He forced a smile. “Sorry. My head hurts.”
“It should. Given the size of your ego, I’m shocked it hasn’t exploded.”
He grinned. “Nice one. Are we even yet?”
“Not by a long shot,” she said, sweeping past him. “Let’s get this over with.”
“By all means,” he said as he shut the garage door behind them, then led her toward the front entrance. The door was open and light was spilling out onto the street. “Mack must have beat us here.”
Sure enough, his brother was in the foyer and his aunt was chiding him for not wearing an overcoat.
“Destiny, I parked less than ten yards away from the front door,” Mack said, defending himself as if he were twelve, rather than a grown man. “It’s not that cold out. Besides, I have all this muscle.”
“Between your ears, mainly,” Destiny said, cuffing him gently. “I really thought I raised you with more sense.”
“You did,” Mack said, kissing her. “You made me the man I am today, no question about it.” He grinned at Richard over her head. “Look who’s here. Big brother and his new girl.”
Destiny whirled around, a smile spreading across her face. She rushed forward and embraced Melanie with genuine affection. “Darling, I’m delighted you’re here. Don’t mind Mack. Too many sacks on the football field knocked out most of his manners.”
“I had fewer sacks than any quarterback in the National Football League,” he countered. “I’m very quick on my feet.”
“You were,” Richard agreed. “Unfortunately it only took one sack to wipe out your knee and destroy your career.” He pulled Melanie forward. “Melanie Hart, this is Mighty Mack Carlton, ex-football hero who is still reliving his glory days on the field every chance he gets, especially if it’ll help him score with some female.”
“A fine way to talk about your brother,” Destiny scolded, linking her arm through Melanie’s. “Pay no attention to either one of them. They’re barbarians. I’d disown them, if it weren’t too late.”
Mack grinned at her. “Destiny, there’s still time to change your will. You can leave all your money to your cats. Sad, lonely spinsters do that all the time.”
Destiny scowled. “I’m neither sad nor lonely, and I don’t own any cats.”
“Then get some,” Mack advised. “You’re going to need the company when you run all of us off.”
Destiny turned to Melanie. “See what I have to put up with? Consider this fair warning. If you continue going out with my nephew, you’ll find that we’re a tough crowd to love.”
Richard wondered if that was an out he could use. While he was pondering the possibilities, Mack jumped in.
“Listen to her,” Mack advised Melanie. “Get out while you can.”
Melanie glanced toward Richard, her expression hopeful. She clearly wanted him to give her some signal whether this was indeed the moment she should cut and run for the nearest exit.
Richard winked at her. “Have a drink instead. It’ll make the rest of the evening more bearable.”
Between Mack’s teasing and Destiny’s quick retorts, Richard and Melanie remained safely off the hot seat at least through the appetizers. But when Destiny led the way into the dining room and seated Melanie right next to her and him at the opposite end of the long table, Richard knew the gloves were about to come off. There was nothing he could do to protect Melanie now. He hoped she really was quick on her feet with diplomatic evasions.
“Darling,” Destiny said to Melanie over the soup, “have I told you how delighted I am that Richard invited you to join us this evening?”
Melanie managed a weak smile. “Thank you.”
“The two of you have so much in common,” Destiny continued in the same slick tone she might use if she were about to sell her a used car.
“We do?” Melanie said skeptically.
“Of course you do. Or perhaps I should say that your talents and interests are complementary. You have exactly what Richard needs to fulfill his destiny.”
Richard choked on a sip of water. He hadn’t expected his aunt to go quite this far. It was beginning to look as if she wanted to seal this deal tonight. He wouldn’t be surprised to see her whip out an engagement ring.
“I’m sure Melanie appreciates the intended compliment, but I think you’re embarrassing her,” Richard said, giving Melanie a bolstering smile. “Mack, why don’t you tell us about the team’s chances in the play-offs?”
Destiny cut Mack off before he could utter the first word. “There will be no talk of football over dinner,” she said firmly.
Mack rolled his eyes. “You say that as if it involves talk of blood and gore.”
Richard sat back happily, his mission accomplished. He knew from past experience that Mack and Destiny could spend hours debating whether football was a real sport or simply some macho excuse for a bunch of men to pummel each other senseless. Only the mention of boxing set her off more.
To his shock, Destiny waved off the comment. “I will not be drawn into this discussion tonight.” She frowned at Richard. “Don’t think I don’t see what you’re up to.”
“Me?” Richard asked innocently. “What did I do?”
“You’re trying to keep me from asking Melanie too many personal questions. You seem to have forgotten that I knew her before you did.”
“Believe me, I have not forgotten that,” Richard said grimly. “Not for an instant.”
“Did she tell you about her sisters?”
“Yes.”
“You know that she graduated from college magna cum laude?”
“I did not,” Richard admitted. “Are you planning to trot out her résumé over the fish course?”
Destiny gave him a look that might have terrified him a few years back. Now he knew there was no real anger behind it. It was simply an intimidating tactic she’d found handy. He grinned at her. “Just thought I’d ask.”
“Well, excuse me for trying to get it through your thick skull that she’s very talented,” Destiny said. “Talk to him, Mack. Tell him he’s cutting off his nose to spite his face by trying to defy me.”
Mack bit back a grin. “I think he heard you, Destiny.”
Richard gave his aunt a bland look. “So if I were to hire Melanie right here, right now, you’d be happy?”
“That’s all I ever wanted,” Destiny said, her face the picture of innocence.
Richard shrugged, then turned to Melanie, who was listening to the exchange with an increasingly bemused expression. “You’re hired.”
She stared at him. “Really?”
“Really,” he confirmed, then glanced at his aunt. “Satisfied?”
“I think you’ve made a very wise decision,” she said happily. “That means the two of you will be working very closely together. Melanie, dear, would you like to move in here?”
Melanie choked on a sip of water. “Excuse me?”
“I thought it might be more convenient,” Destiny said blithely.
“I have my own place.”
“Not even two miles from here,” Richard said, amused by his aunt’s blatant attempt to maintain complete control over her protégé. “The only thing more convenient would be for her to move in with me.”
Destiny’s expression immediately brightened. “Perhaps until the election—”
“Absolutely not,” Melanie said before Richard could gather his wits after the audacious suggestion. “I really don’t need that much access to my clients, believe me. Sometimes a little distance is best for all concerned.”
“Oh, I can’t imagine that’s true,” Destiny said. “The more you know, the better prepared you’ll be to represent Richard.”
Melanie forced an insincere smile. “Something tells me I’m going to have plenty of inside information.”
Destiny made no attempt to hide her disappointment. “Well, if you think that’s best, dear. After all you are the expert. I’ll certainly help all I can. Mack?”
Mack nodded, fighting a grin. “Believe me, I’ll be Johnny-on-the-spot, whenever Melanie needs anything.”
Richard didn’t like the gleam in his brother’s eye when he spoke. He gave him a warning scowl. “I think maybe it’ll be best if Melanie and I work out my marketing strategy on our own with no outside interference. Too many cooks have a way of muddying the waters.”
“I think they spoil the broth,” Mack corrected, laughing. “But it’s your call, big brother. If you want to keep Melanie all to yourself, I’m sure Destiny and I will respect your wishes, won’t we, Destiny?”
Destiny could not be put off so easily. “If I have suggestions from time to time, I’m sure Richard and Melanie will welcome them.”
“As if we could stop them,” Richard muttered.
“Of course we’ll welcome them,” Melanie said, sounding more cheerful than she had at any time since their arrival. “I think this is going to turn out to be a match made in heaven.”
Richard winced as his aunt beamed.
“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Destiny said.
Mack choked back a laugh, then focused on his salmon. Richard looked around the table at the people who were apparently determined to drive him insane and sighed. This evening had not gone according to his roughly conceived plan. Not even close.
“I thought it went really well,” Melanie said as they were driving home.
Richard’s grim demeanor suggested he didn’t agree.
“Okay, you may as well say it,” she said. “You hate this, don’t you?”
“Hate it?” he echoed. “I went in there with the upper hand. I came out like a man on the ropes.”
“At least we’re not engaged,” Melanie said, determined to see the positives. “We’re not even faking an engagement.”
“Not yet,” Richard said. “If you think that issue’s off the table, you really are naive.”
“Not off the table,” she said defensively. “But we bought ourselves some time. Once Destiny gets all caught up in your campaign—”
“I do not want my aunt in the middle of my campaign,” he said fiercely.
“Why on earth not? She’s savvy. She knows people.”
“She’s sneaky, and I don’t like the people she knows.”
Melanie stared at him. “Don’t you know the same people?”
“Yes, which is why I want no part of them,” he said flatly. “Weren’t you the one who kept stressing that I need to broaden my constituency?”
“Yes, but you also need money to run an effective campaign.”
“I have money.”
She stared at him incredulously. “You’re going to spend your own money?”
“I have it,” he repeated. “And that way I won’t be beholden to a single special interest. That ought to make you happy.”
“It makes me delirious,” she said. “But are you sure it’s wise? This is the time to start putting together the kind of powerful backing you’ll need down the road.”
“For?”
“A run for governor, for the Senate, whatever. I imagine this is just the start of your political aspirations. You can’t finance all those campaigns out of your own pocket.”
“Who knows, maybe after this I’ll hate being a politician so much, I’ll never run for anything again. We’ll just have to wait and see,” he said. “In the meantime, I don’t want money from a bunch of people who’ll think it’s going to buy them access or favors.”
Melanie was stunned, but it gave her an incredible angle to pursue once Richard had officially announced his intention to run. The public would eat it up.
“Let’s get back to Destiny,” he said. “Watch her, Melanie.”
“Please, she’s just trying to be helpful.”
“There’s helpful and then there’s Destiny’s version of help. I’ve seen her decline to chair a dozen different fund-raisers, but guess who makes all the critical decisions?”
“Your aunt,” Melanie surmised, easily able to conceive of Destiny not staying behind the scenes.
“It won’t be any different with my campaign.”
“Let her make all the suggestions she wants to. We don’t have to use a single one. We just have to listen,” Melanie reminded him.
“No one will break our kneecaps if we don’t,” he agreed. “But there are other forms of coercion.” He glanced over at her. “Want me to tell you what her first suggestion is going to be?”
