Read Online In His Brother's Place by Elizabeth Lane - Free Book Online

my late brother’s fiancée.” Jordan introduced her to a middle-aged stranger, one of his employees. “She and their son are staying here at the ranch.”
    So there it was, the unvarnished truth in two neat sentences. The bespectacled man murmured a polite greeting, appearing disinterested. Maybe Jordan had chosen him for practice.
    Variations on the same theme were repeated with another half-dozen guests. Responses ranged from cold politeness to curiosity. Angie pulled Jordan aside. “I’m sure the word’s gotten around by now,” she whispered. “There’s no need for you to hover, Jordan. Go tend to your party.”
    “You’ll be all right?”
    “Just go.”
    Angie stood alone next to the Georgia O’Keefe painting of white Datura blossoms. She took nervous sips of champagne, fighting the temptation to leave. That would be the coward’s way out. She needed to prove that she could stand up to this snobbish crowd on her own.
    Her gaze scanned the room. She recognized a few people from her time with Justin; but most of the guests were strangers. A leggy blonde, elegantly clad in green silk jersey, had attached herself to Jordan’s arm. She was laughing, leaning against him as she balanced her drink in her free hand. Jordan appeared to be enjoying her company. Angie remembered the late-night call she’d made to him from her old apartment. When he’d answered his cell, she’d sensed he wasn’t alone. As she made the obvious connection, something hardened the pit of her stomach.
    Was it jealousy?
    Ridiculous! Sheshook her head. Jordan wasn’t her property. He’d had a life before tracking her down, and that hadn’t changed. Why should it?
    “Angie? My God, it’s really you!” The speaker was a lanky, sandy-haired fellow who’d been a friend of Justin’s. She groped for his name. Travis? No, Trevor. That was it. Trevor Wilkins.
    “It’s been a long time,” she said guardedly.
    He moved close, looming over her. “You disappeared on us after Justin’s crash. I always wondered what happened to you.”
    “What happened to me was my son. But if you’ve had your ears open tonight, you probably know that.”
    “I did hear something to that effect. In any case, motherhood becomes you. You’re more beautiful than ever.”
    Good grief, was the man hitting on her? Angie edged backward against the corner of the fireplace. Trevor closed the space between them. She could smell the whiskey on his breath. Her gaze darted past his shoulder to where Jordan was standing with a cluster of his guests. He appeared to be lost in conversation, the striking blonde still draped against his side.
    “You know, Angie, I always did have a thing for you,” Trevor was saying. “With Justin gone and Whitney, over there, staking her claim to Jordan, I was hoping you and I...”
    “What I’d really like to do is catch up with the old crowd,” Angie said, grasping at any excuse. “Jordan said some of them would be here. Maybe you could walk me around the room to find them.”
    “Sure. They’ll all be glad to see you again.” He offered his arm. “Maybe later, you and I could—”
    “Later I have a three-year-old to take care of. For the present, the only man in my life is my son.”
    * * *
    As he watched Angie walk off on Trevor’s arm, Jordan felt a tightening in his gut. At first she’d looked as if she needed rescuing, but Trevor had evidently won her over. She was chatting away, looking perfectly happy.
    And so damned sexy he wanted to fling her over his shoulder and carry her off to his bed.
    Whitney was walking her manicured fingernails up the sleeve of his jacket in a silent demand for attention. The glamorous blonde had her charms, but her insistence on always being center stage was wearing on him. Ignoring her ploy, he tore his gaze away from Angie and forced himself to focus on what Len Hargrove, his firm’s longtime attorney, was trying to tell him.
    “You didn’t ask me, Jordan, but my advice would be to