Read Online Recipe For Seduction (A Madewood Brothers Novel) (Entangled Brazen) by Gina Gordon - Free Book Online Page B

how things turn out,” she mused. “If I’d had to choose, I would have picked Finn to get married first.”
    “Yeah. So did Vivian,” Veronica murmured wistfully.
    At the sudden eerie silence, she sucked in a quick breath and looked up. Both women stared at her as if she had two heads. Damn . She had to remember some things didn’t need to be said. She shared a past with the Madewood family that these women could never know or understand. It wasn’t her place to disclose Finn’s deep and darkest secrets. Not that Veronica knew them all.
    Still, what she was about to reveal wasn’t really a secret. It was plain as day within two minutes of meeting the man.
    “Finn wants a wife and babies,” Veronica explained. “He wants the family life he never had. Vivian knew that.” A part of Veronica always believed Vivian shared the same daydream, the one where Veronica would someday marry Finn. There was something in the way she’d looked at her, in the way she’d knowingly smiled whenever they were together.
    But Vivian had passed away much too early, and now the idea of raising babies gave Veronica the hives.
    “I forget that you’ve known them all for a long time.” Sterling stood up from the table and walked closer.
    “A very long time.” Veronica shrugged. “I mean, I get his thinking. The whole family thing. But it’s just not something I need to be happy. I already have my family. Finn and I are the complete opposite in that regard.”
    “Opposites sometimes work. Jack and I are the perfect example.”
    “Opposites can attract. But that’s personality types. Our opposite is the fundamental way we want to live the rest of our lives.” She shook her head, trying to solidify the theory in her brain. “It just wouldn’t work.”
    “Sounds like you’ve thought about this a lot,” Penn said. She exchanged a quick glance with Sterling.
    “Finn and me?” Veronica pointed at herself. “No, no, hell no.” Had she been convincing enough? “Finn and I are friends. Just friends. Besides, I have too many complications right now to get involved with anyone.”
    “Veronica,” Sterling said. She moved even closer, placing her palms on the table, and leaned forward. “Believe me when I say I know all about complications. And if it wasn’t for Jack, those complications would still be ruling my life.”
    Veronica nodded. “I appreciate your advice, but Finn isn’t The One. Not for me. He’s just not. I…” Gosh. She needed to stop talking. Right now.
    Sterling smiled and tilted her head to the side. “Maybe it’s not Finn, but someone.”
    She returned her sweet gesture. “I hope so.”
    If only that someone would make himself known, so she could get over Finn once and for all.
    Do you hear that, man of my dreams? Show the hell up, already!
    Until then, she had a promise to fulfill with Finn.

Chapter Five
    Finn had been summoned to Bistro for an emergency foundation meeting a few days later.
    The Vivian Madewood Foundation had been founded more than a year ago, initiated by his brother Jack. The foundation raised funds for various charities, the most important being the Cooking for the Future program.
    When Finn arrived, the group had already gathered at its usual booth at the back of the dining room. Neil sat at a table alone across the aisle, dressed in his usual business suit, straddling a chair. Jack and Gloria York, the foundation’s vice-chair and their late mother’s best friend, sat on one side of the booth. She patted his hand gently with a smile. Cole paced the small distance between the booth and the table. By the look on his face, Finn knew this was going to be an intense meeting.
    “Morning,” Finn said as he approached.
    “We’re all here now, can we get started?” Cole asked. He fisted his hands at his sides and the tendons in his neck rippled with his anxiety.
    As soon as Finn had squeezed into the opposite side of the booth from Jack and Gloria, Cole began. “I assume you’ve