“Been keeping myself fit so I have the energy to shoot down the ideas that everyone else thinks will make millions of dollars,” Nathan said.
He was damn good at it.Not only did he have the patience to drill down on the most mundane details, he had a sixth sense when it came to evaluating a company’s place in the market.
“Takes talent to thrash the wheat from the chaff.”
“True,” Connor conceded.
“Let me at it,” Nathan continued.“You can email me or I could come down.”
A few seconds stretched, the silence tenuous.
“That’d be good.It’s been a while,” Cade agreed.
The angry tension drained from Connor’s face, and the knot inside Cade began to dissipate.He was smart enough to realize that he didn’t deserve the family who so lovingly accepted him.
“I’ll email you on Monday and set up a time,” Nathan said.“Maybe stay a couple of days.”
“You’ve got a room waiting.”More like a wing, and if he wanted even more privacy, there were an additional three guest cottages on the property.Eighty years ago, the size of the house had made sense.Now it stood mostly as a museum.
No matter what the will or Connor said, Cade believed it belonged to his siblings every bit as much as him.
“Lara and I might come down, too,” Connor said, as if Cade hadn’t just been on the edge of fracturing their relationship.“When he was here, Julien mentioned he may want some time to ride horses.”
“Bonds gets his prissy ass on a horse?”
“Inconceivable,” Nathan added.
Connor shrugged.
“He’s welcome.I’ll keep a guest house ready.”The ranch had a short landing strip and a helicopter pad, making it easy in and out for a notorious recluse.
Any lingering emotional strain was shattered when Cade saw Lara and Erin heading toward them.Erin’s hand was firmly clamped around Sofia’s wrist.
Well, well.
The evening was looking better every moment.
Chapter Two
Nathan stepped aside to make room for the ladies.
“We’re sorry to interrupt,” Lara said, her voice holding no trace of apology.“Cade, I’d like you to meet my friend Sofia McBride.She owns Encore, the events company that put together this reception.Two hundred people, three weeks, one brilliant result.”
“We’ve met.”
“You have?”Lara frowned.
After sweeping his gaze over Sofia, he said, “She’s been taking good care of everyone.”
“Thank you, thank you,” Sofia replied, taking a little bow, likely to cover the flush of embarrassment that had crept up her face.
He wondered if anyone else noticed the way she was avoiding eye contact with him.No doubt he’d had the same effect on her as she had on him.
From the first moment he’d seen her, the petite, curvy woman had grabbed his attention.And she hadn’t let go.
She wore a jacket over a stretchy white shirt, and a matching black skirt clung to her hips and thighs, tight in a way that made him want to touch.Despite the heat, she had on stockings, and he was man enough to wonder if they were attached to a garter belt.Her pumps were several inches high, but she would still fit beneath his chin.
Vaguely, he noticed that Lara hadn’t stopped speaking, and he forced himself to focus on what she was saying.
