Royce clamped his jaw, while a burning anger roiled up in his stomach.
“Told him no,” Jared said mildly. “Told him you were taking over the construction division, and if he didn’t like it, he should have his letter of resignation on your desk Monday morning.”
Royce gaped at his brother. Konrad might be a jerk, but he was an incredibly valuable employee.
“Family is family,” said Jared. “It’s your company, too, and you did one hell of a job while I was away. Well, except for ticking off David Hutton.”
“I’m working on that,” said Royce, glancing to Amber, struck as always by how much he adored her.
“That’s what counts, bro. Everybody’s working hard at head office, looking to streamline, reallocating cash flow. We’ve survived trouble before.”
Royce’s attention shifted to his sister, and he lowered his voice. “After that, there’s Stephanie.”
“Yeah,” Jared agreed. “We need to talk about that one.”
“Does Melissa know?” asked Royce.
“That Frank Stanton is Stephanie’s father?” Jared shook his head. “I’m keeping the club as small as possible for now.”
Royce nodded. He was glad Amber already knew; he wouldn’t want to have to make the choice to keep a secret from her.
“It was hard enough on me,” said Jared. “Finding out what I did the way I did.”
Royce nodded his agreement with that, too.
“Stephanie can never find out,” Jared vowed.
“She won’t.” Royce had had most of his life to come to terms with his parents’ secret, and it had still colored him in ways he hadn’t even realized. It had almost cost him the love of his life.
He caught Amber’s gaze.
She sobered at the sight of his expression, eyes narrowing. Then she unobtrusively stood from her seat to move toward him.
He smiled and snagged her wrist, pulling her into his lap to wrap his arms around her.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing.”
She raised her brows to Jared.
Jared shook his head. “It’s all good.” His smile was back, and it was easy. “Except you can’t seem to decide on a wedding.”
Royce knew Amber wasn’t buying their jovial mood, but she played along. “This is not a decision to take lightly. I’m only getting married once.”
“In Vegas,” said Royce.
Amber socked him in the arm.
“Tahiti, maybe.” Melissa joined in. “On a beach, just family?”
“I vote for Tuscany,” Stephanie called out. “Or Paris in the spring.”
“She’ll be pregnant by spring,” said Royce, and Amber gave him a wide-eyed look of surprise.
“And we’d better damned well be married by then,” he growled low.
“Babies?” she mused.
“I want babies,” he confirmed.
“Good,” she whispered and hugged him tightly, pressing her face into the crook of his neck, sighing in contentment, while the rest of his family joked about wedding plans.
Barbara Dunlop
writes romantic stories while curled up in a log cabin in Canada’s far north, where bears outnumber people and it snows six months of the year. Fortunately she has a brawny husband and two teenage children to haul firewood and clear the driveway while she sips cocoa and muses about her upcoming chapters. Barbara loves to hear from readers. You can contact her through her website at www.barbaradunlop.com.
