Read Online Enlisted by Love by Jenny Jacobs - Free Book Online Page A

glared at her sister, hoping to forestall comment. Tess cleared her throat, then asked, “Shall I call him and ask him to meet you over there?” Although she’d obviously changed her mind about the remark she intended to make, the twinkle did not leave her eyes as she reached for the phone.
    â€œNot
me
,” Greta said. “
Us
.” Tess had gotten her into this in the first place. She could darn well act as moral support and deflect some of Ian’s unsettling attention away from Greta. “I’m not spending any more time alone with him than I absolutely have to.” Even as she said it, she knew it wasn’t because she disliked him but because the blasted man was worming his way under her skin. She sucked a frustrated breath in. She did not like the feeling of Ian worming around under her skin. Next thing she knew, she’d be looking forward to seeing him flash that charming smile. She’d recognize that he was manipulating her and instead of cutting him to the quick over it, she’d smile indulgently at the behavior.
    No. She would never allow it to come to that. She knew better. She was going to choose better. She was going to choose wisely.
Never dating is not breaking the cycle, Greta
, Tess said in her head. Greta glared at the Tess standing in front of her. “You’re coming with me.”
    â€¢ • •
    The gracefully curving doors of the armoire opened to reveal shelves for a television and DVD player with holes punched in the back panel to make room for power cords. Greta shook her head regretfully as she closed the doors. “We could use a real armoire in the master bedroom,” she said, turning away from the rejected piece and assessing the non-rejected pieces within view, crossing her arms in what she knew was an unreceptive posture. Tess stood at her elbow, pen and sketchbook at the ready.
    â€œI don’t mind having a television in my bedroom,” Ian said. He stood a respectful three paces behind her, his hands shoved in his trouser pockets, like he was a child who had been warned not to touch anything. He was pretending to be suitably cowed into acquiescence, but Greta knew better. Nothing on God’s green earth could cow Ian into submission, not even Greta, and she knew it.
    â€œI understand that a television might make you feel less lonely,” she cooed. “However, we want the bedroom to be a restful place. A cocoon against the incursions of the outside world.”
    â€œSort of like yours?” Tess asked innocently.
    Greta shot her a quelling glance. She’d forgotten why she never brought Tess places. “How my bedroom is furnished is immaterial.” Tess would surely recognize the frostiness in her tone. Unfortunately, you couldn’t intimidate Tess any more than you could Ian.
    â€œNo, wait,” Ian said to Tess. “What does she have in her bedroom?”
    Tess grinned, as if she were in cahoots with Ian. She was supposed to be in cahoots with
Greta
. What about all those years of sisterhood? The child didn’t have a loyal bone in her body. “Oh, she has her entire home office up there. Fax machine, photocopier, file cabinets — ”
    Greta stepped on Tess’s toes. That surprised Tess into silence, a feat Greta rarely accomplished. “My personal situation is of no relevance to a client,” she said, making her voice especially icy but Tess just rolled her eyes.
    Ian had moved closer from his respectful three paces back. Now he turned to look at Greta. “An entire
office
?” he said. “And you’re begrudging me a television?” His eyes danced with amusement. Her effort to sustain her icy facade crumbled in the face of the gleam in his eyes.
    It wasn’t fair. She could keep herself from succumbing to the gray eyes and the commanding presence and the swaggering hips but she had no defense against a man with a sense of humor.
    â€œYour home theater room