Read Online Believe in Me: A Rosewood Novel by Laura Moore - Free Book Online Page B

flashing lights and alarm bells. To get involved with someone like her—a divorced, cheated-on mother of three—would be pure folly, and Owen didn’t consider himself a foolish man. It was definitely time he nipped his fascination in the bud.
    Thankfully Nonie had moved on, too, her spite once more directed toward the youngest sister, Jade. “The girl’s an absolute hellion, and Margot and Jordan do nothing to keep her in check. After the ruckus she caused at Warburg High,instead of punishing Jade as she deserved, do you know what Margot did? She organized a photo spread in
Vogue
for the three of them to appear in, like they were the princesses of the county. Typical Radcliffe ploy,” she sniffed.
    So that explained why Jordan had been in the pages of
Vogue
. He wondered whether he still had the issue filed away somewhere.
    “Well, I can’t imagine there’ll be many more photo shoots for them to parade about like royalty. Travis is bound to put a bun in her oven pretty soon. Without Margot’s contracts, no one believes they’ll be able to hang on to Rosewood. The horses would be their only means of income, and horse breeding is such a risky business. I very much doubt Jordan will have the kind of success she needs to make a go of it as a decorator. Standards are so high here. A shame, but what can you do?”
    With friends like these, who needed enemies? He decided then and there that if Nonie wanted to stick it to her dear friend Jordan, she’d do it without his help. He rose from the sofa. “I really have to hit the road. Thank you for lunch, Nonie.”
    She walked him to the front door. “So you’ll tell your decorator what I want done with the cottage?”
    “I’m afraid there’s a slight problem with this plan. Emily Carlson, the interior decorator at our firm, is booked solid for the next six months.”
    “Six months?” Her voice rose in disbelief. “I can’t possibly wait that long. I have guests coming in mid-July. Surely you can arrange to schedule me sooner, as I’m such a good client—”
    She was positively deluded if she thought that. “We value all our clients equally. And we base our reputation on keeping our promises to them. Now, seeing that Emily won’t be able to satisfy your needs, perhaps you should reconsider your reservations about hiring Jordan Radcliffe. Bye, Nonie.”

T HE CHAMPAGNE they opened at dinner was delicious, the sense of accomplishment at having gone out and presented her ideas well to none other than Nonie Harrison and under such intimidating conditions, even more so. Jordan had done a good job, and she’d done it all by herself. She smiled into her champagne glass and took another sip.
    “So the Barrons sold Hawk Hill,” Travis said. “That’s a nice piece of land. I hope this guy—what’s his name again, Jordan?”
    Her smile faltered. “Owen Gage.”
    “Right. Gage. I hope he’s open to the idea of our riding on his property.”
    “I doubt he’ll care very much,” she answered. “It’s not as if he’ll be living at Hawk Hill or even keep the property for very long. Once the construction crew has finished the renovations, he’ll put it on the market. It’ll doubtless sell quickly.”
    “I remember going to Hawk Hill for the Barrons’ Christmas caroling party,” Margot said, spearing a halved strawberry with her fork. “The house was so pretty. It’ll be a real shame if it loses its character for the sake of keeping up with the twenty-first century.”
    Jordan gave a quick shake of her head. “That’s not how he works. He’s scrupulous when it comes to preserving architectural styles. Nonie’s cottage looks wonderful.” No matter what she thought of him as a person, Owen Gage’s talent for restoring old homes was beyond reproach.
    “Well, if Jordan likes him, that’s good enough for me,” Travis said.
    “I didn’t say I
liked
him—”
    Luckily Jade spoke up, relieving Jordan from having to define how she felt about their new