with a slap to Donovan’s back. “I know you still have a wedding to pay for. Unless, of course, it’s on the house since the wife-to-be owns the wedding venue!”
Wife-to-be? Rose clenched her teeth together behind her smile. She had a name. It was Rose.
“My staff volunteered to work our wedding for free as a gift,” she explained, “but I couldn’t possibly allow them to do that when they have bills and mortgages to pay.”
Donovan gave her just a small shake of his head; not disapproving, exactly, because he was never that, but gently warning her away from continuing to talk about the finances surrounding their wedding.
Rose felt her insides curl up into a tight little ball knowing she’d made a faux pas by talking about money at all, even though Frank had done just that with his un-funny joke.
When Donovan was dragged away to talk business, Rose found herself standing in the corner listening to Tiffany talking about a photo shoot she’d just done.
“The photographer had every ounce of his attention focused on me. It made me feel so sexy. But then, you must know exactly what that feels like. After all, you’ve got Donovan, haven’t you?”
Rose barely stopped herself from frowning. “Oh yes,” she made herself say, “you’re right. Donovan’s wonderful.” And he was. He was nice and kind to her and they enjoyed art and opera together. What more could she want?
“You’re very fortunate, you know,” Tiffany said. “Everyone was wondering which lucky girl would get Donovan, and it’s you .”
It was the same thing Millicent had said to Rose in the gallery that morning. Only, Rose couldn’t help but think it made her sound more like a lottery winner than the woman Donovan McIntyre loved with all his heart and couldn’t wait to start a new life with.
Rose was still thinking about that while Donovan drove her home a while later, but there were plenty of other things on her mind too. The party. The baseball game before that. The hundreds of times RJ had made her laugh over the years.
And how wrong it would be to keep what had happened last Valentine’s Day from her fiancé.
“RJ and I kissed once,” Rose blurted.
Perhaps another man would have crashed the car at hearing her confession, but Donovan didn’t do that. He didn’t even pull over, either, though he did glance at her when they stopped at a red light.
Why wasn’t he reacting?
And why, oh why, did she want to push him until he did?
“It was last year on Valentine’s Day, and we did it for a contest in a bar, but we still did it, and I wanted you to know.”
Now, Rose could see the tension in Donovan’s jaw as he kept driving, but he didn’t slow down, and he didn’t shout. Instead, she watched him spend the next few seconds thinking it all through.
“Well,” he said at last in a very reasonable voice, “I guess that’s only to be expected.”
“Only to be expected?” Rose repeated. “Is that all you have to say? That it’s ‘only to be expected’?”
“You’re a very beautiful woman, Rose, and it has been obvious for a while now that your gardener likes you.”
“But…” Rose wasn’t sure what to say. She wasn’t sure exactly what reaction she’d been hoping for, only that it should be more than this, shouldn’t it?
Donovan was the man she was marrying, but he was reacting to the news that she’d kissed another man like it was nothing. Like it didn’t matter to him at all.
“Don’t you care?”
“Of course I care,” Donovan said. “I just don’t see that getting angry about it will help matters. This accidental kiss you had with your gardener is simply something we need to talk through rationally, like the two reasonable adults that we are. Or were you expecting me to drive straight over to his house and punch him in the face?”
“Well, no.” Though that might at least have shown her how passionately he felt about her. And she felt a nearly irrepressible urge to correct Donovan when
Wife-to-be? Rose clenched her teeth together behind her smile. She had a name. It was Rose.
“My staff volunteered to work our wedding for free as a gift,” she explained, “but I couldn’t possibly allow them to do that when they have bills and mortgages to pay.”
Donovan gave her just a small shake of his head; not disapproving, exactly, because he was never that, but gently warning her away from continuing to talk about the finances surrounding their wedding.
Rose felt her insides curl up into a tight little ball knowing she’d made a faux pas by talking about money at all, even though Frank had done just that with his un-funny joke.
When Donovan was dragged away to talk business, Rose found herself standing in the corner listening to Tiffany talking about a photo shoot she’d just done.
“The photographer had every ounce of his attention focused on me. It made me feel so sexy. But then, you must know exactly what that feels like. After all, you’ve got Donovan, haven’t you?”
Rose barely stopped herself from frowning. “Oh yes,” she made herself say, “you’re right. Donovan’s wonderful.” And he was. He was nice and kind to her and they enjoyed art and opera together. What more could she want?
“You’re very fortunate, you know,” Tiffany said. “Everyone was wondering which lucky girl would get Donovan, and it’s you .”
It was the same thing Millicent had said to Rose in the gallery that morning. Only, Rose couldn’t help but think it made her sound more like a lottery winner than the woman Donovan McIntyre loved with all his heart and couldn’t wait to start a new life with.
Rose was still thinking about that while Donovan drove her home a while later, but there were plenty of other things on her mind too. The party. The baseball game before that. The hundreds of times RJ had made her laugh over the years.
And how wrong it would be to keep what had happened last Valentine’s Day from her fiancé.
“RJ and I kissed once,” Rose blurted.
Perhaps another man would have crashed the car at hearing her confession, but Donovan didn’t do that. He didn’t even pull over, either, though he did glance at her when they stopped at a red light.
Why wasn’t he reacting?
And why, oh why, did she want to push him until he did?
“It was last year on Valentine’s Day, and we did it for a contest in a bar, but we still did it, and I wanted you to know.”
Now, Rose could see the tension in Donovan’s jaw as he kept driving, but he didn’t slow down, and he didn’t shout. Instead, she watched him spend the next few seconds thinking it all through.
“Well,” he said at last in a very reasonable voice, “I guess that’s only to be expected.”
“Only to be expected?” Rose repeated. “Is that all you have to say? That it’s ‘only to be expected’?”
“You’re a very beautiful woman, Rose, and it has been obvious for a while now that your gardener likes you.”
“But…” Rose wasn’t sure what to say. She wasn’t sure exactly what reaction she’d been hoping for, only that it should be more than this, shouldn’t it?
Donovan was the man she was marrying, but he was reacting to the news that she’d kissed another man like it was nothing. Like it didn’t matter to him at all.
“Don’t you care?”
“Of course I care,” Donovan said. “I just don’t see that getting angry about it will help matters. This accidental kiss you had with your gardener is simply something we need to talk through rationally, like the two reasonable adults that we are. Or were you expecting me to drive straight over to his house and punch him in the face?”
“Well, no.” Though that might at least have shown her how passionately he felt about her. And she felt a nearly irrepressible urge to correct Donovan when
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