Read Online Substitute Bride (Beaufort Brides Book 2) by Noelle Adams - Free Book Online Page A

“What’s your family like?”
    Rose wondered what was leading to these unusual questions.
“I don’t know.”
    “Of course, you know.”
    She gave a little smile. “Well, it’s kind of hard to explain
them. You got a taste of them the other day.”
    James chuckled, the amusement softening his hard features.
“Your grandmother seems quite…formidable.”
    “She is. No one can defy her. And, even if they do, they’ll
eventually end up doing what she wanted all along. She’s just like that. She’s
obsessed with history and all things connected with our family, of course. You
should have seen the lengths she went to in order to restore our old house.”
    “I heard something about that. She engineered your sister’s
marriage?”
    “Yeah. Kind of. But I wonder sometimes if it was just for
the money. Afterwards, when Deanna and Mitchell fell in love, it was like she’d
known that would happen all along.”
    “What kind of plans does she have for you?”
    Rose shivered at the thought. “I have no idea. She’s always
left me alone to be a nanny. I don’t know why, though. She made Deanna go to
every garden party and cotillion on the calendar in the hopes of finding her a
rich husband. I don’t know why she wasn’t on the same sort of quest with me.”
    She had a random glum thought that might answer that. She
added, “Maybe she just thought I wasn’t pretty enough to be of interest to a
rich man.”
    “Don’t be stupid,” James said gruffly, giving her a
decidedly cool look.
    She raised her eyebrows, surprised by the words. He’d never
been rude to her before. “It’s not stupid. It’s just a thought. I’ve never been
as pretty as Deanna.”
    “That’s not even true.” He seemed to be bristling with some
sort of resentment, which was nice if he resented what she’d said about
herself.
    “It is true,” she said. She wasn’t insecure like she used to
be, but she was realistic about who she was and what she looked like. “I’m not
saying I’m ugly or anything, but Deanna was always prettier. You’ve never even
met Deanna.”
    “I’ve seen her pictures, and she’s not prettier than you.”
    Rose felt herself blushing again, no matter how firmly she
told herself to stop. “Well, I don’t think so, but thanks for the thought,
anyway.”
    “What about your younger sister?” James asked.
    “Oh, she’s very pretty too, but she refuses to dress up or
make herself more attractive. You saw her last night.”
    “I didn’t mean if she was pretty. I meant, does your
grandmother have big plans for her?”
    Rose shook her head. “Not that I know of. As far as I can
tell, she really relies on Kelly. Kelly takes care of the house, now. Maybe
Grandmama doesn’t want to marry her off because that would mean there would be
no one left in the house with her.”
    “I’m sure you all would take care of her.”
    “Of course we would. She’s eccentric and pushy and sometimes
incredibly embarrassing, but we love her.”
    “What does she do that’s embarrassing?”
    Rose shot him a quick look. “Like last night, bullying you
into wearing the jacket and top hat, even though you clearly didn’t want to.
She’s always done things like that with our friends and people we want to
impress. I can’t tell you how many times I was embarrassed growing up.”
    James was almost smiling now, his eyes resting on her face.
“Which am I?”
    “Which are you, what?”
    “Which am I? A friend or someone you want to impress?”
    “Oh.” Rose dropped her eyes. “I don’t know. I didn’t mean
you.”
    James chuckled softly and reached up to brush back the fall
of her hair, which she’d been hiding her face behind. “You’d be terrible at
poker.” Despite the words, his tone was soft, almost affectionate.
    She sucked in a breath and met his eyes. “What do you mean?”
    “I mean you can never hide what you’re feeling.”
    She hoped—desperately hoped—that wasn’t true. “I certainly
can,” she