Read Online Full Bloom by Jayne Ann Krentz - Free Book Online

over the threshold.
    "You look very lovely tonight, Emily." He smiled crookedly. "I wanted to bring flowers, but I didn't know what kind would impress a lady whose business was flowers."
    Emily eyed him uncertainly and then realized that his eyes appeared normal again. Perhaps she had just imagined that flare of raw masculine hunger. She smiled in spite of herself. "So what did you bring instead of flowers?"
    He blinked, clearly nonplussed, and looked involuntarily down at his empty hands. "Uh, nothing. Just myself. Sorry. I… Are you ready?"
    She nodded, taking pity at his obvious discomfort. "I'm ready." Poor Jacob. She wondered how a man who was such a whiz at knocking heads together both literally and figuratively could be so awkward socially. Then again, maybe it made perfect sense. Head bashing and proper social manners probably did not go well together.
    It was as they stepped into the elevator that Jacob asked the question that nearly put a halt to the whole evening.
    "Have you told Morrell you won't be seeing him again?"
    Emily's mood darkened instantly. "If you want us both to enjoy this evening, I suggest you do not discuss Damon Morrell."
    Jacob's eyes narrowed as he punched the lobby button. He looked prepared to argue the point, but something—common sense, perhaps—
    stopped him. "You're not a fool, Emily. I know that. I'll assume you've done what needed to be done. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine with me."
    She smiled triumphantly back at him, pleased by the small victory.
    "Thank you. I assure you, I do not want to talk about Damon. Now, where are we going for dinner?"
    "I got a recommendation from the front desk at my hotel." Jacob named the popular restaurant located in the Pike Place Market complex.
    "Is that all right?"
    "Oh, yes. It sounds perfect. What are we going to talk about all evening now that we've agreed not to discuss Damon?"
    Jacob shrugged and smiled. "Us?"

    "I'm not sure I want to discuss us, either. I'd rather talk about you."
    He folded his arms and leaned back against the elevator wall. He seemed very massive in the small, confined space. "What do you want to know about me?" he asked with a frown.
    "I think," Emily said slowly, "that I would like to know what's been happening to you for the past couple of years."
    "That makes us even," he remarked as the elevator doors slid open. "I'm very curious about what you've been doing for the past two years, also."
    "Mostly I've been busy causing my family no end of concern about my future," Emily said lightly as they walked out through the lobby to a Mercedes parked at the curb. "They were totally traumatized when Grandmother left me her shares in RI. But they recovered slightly when it became clear I didn't really intend to interfere in the running of the firm.
    They don't like the situation but they've learned to live with it."
    "Your grandmother was one hell of a lady," Jacob said reminiscently. "I liked her."
    "She drove the others nuts every time she took an active interest in RI.
    She always wanted to be certain the company was operating ethically. She claimed Ravenscrofts were predators by nature and had to be kept under control. At any rate, after the family stopped trying to get me to surrender my interest in RI they went back to fretting about my career choice.
    They're all hoping the flower business will prove to be a temporary aberration on my part."
    "Like the notion of going off to join an artists' colony when you were eighteen?"
    Emily grimaced. "Mother told you about that, did she? Well, I'm sorry to disappoint her, but I'm afraid that this time I'm sticking with my decision. I suppose I should have known better than to think I was actually being invited down to Portland to discuss my plans for opening a new shop. I ought to have realized my family is not about to loan me any money for expanding my business. I really walked right into that trap Friday night, didn't I? Talk about being set up."
    Jacob gave her an