Brenda Jackson - The Real Thing

But that was years ago. Now Bane was a navy SEAL, the twins were both Harvard graduates—Adrian obtained his PhD in engineering and Aidan completed medical school—and Bailey, the youngest of the four, was presently working on her MBA. However, it was quite obvious to Trinity that behind Adrian Westmoreland’s chiseled good looks, irresistible charm and PhD was a man who could return to his old ways if the need arose.

“I don’t think we need to go that far,” she said, swallowing. “Like Tara suggested, we can pretend to be lovers and hope that works.”

“If that’s how you prefer handling it.”

“Yes. And you don’t have a problem going along with it? Foregoing dating other women for a while?”

He pushed his plate aside and leaned back in his chair. “Nope. I don’t have a problem going along with it. Putting my social life on hold until this matter is resolved will be no big deal.”

Trinity released a relieved sigh. She had heard that since he’d returned to Denver to work as one of the CEOs at his family-owned business, Blue Ridge Land Management, Adrian had acquired a very active social life. There weren’t many single Westmoreland men left in town. In fact, he was the only one. His cousin Stern was engaged to be married in a few months; Bane was away in the navy and Aidan was practicing medicine at a hospital in North Carolina. All the other Westmoreland men had married. Adrian would definitely be a catch for any woman. And they were coming after him from every direction, determined to hook a Westmoreland man; she’d heard he was having the time of his life letting them try.

Trinity was grateful she wasn’t interested. The only reason she and Adrian were meeting was that she needed his help to pull off her plan. In fact, this was the first time they had seen each other since she’d moved to Denver eight months ago. She’d known when she accepted the internship at Denver Memorial last year that a slew of her sister’s Westmoreland cousins-in-law lived here. She had met most of them at Riley’s wedding. But most lived in a part of Denver referred to as Westmoreland Country and she lived in town. Though she had heard that when Adrian returned to Denver he had taken a place in town instead of moving to his family’s homestead, more for privacy than anything else.

“I think we should put our plan into action now,” he said, breaking into her thoughts.

He surprised her further when he took her hand in his and brought it to his lips while staring deeply into her eyes. She tried to ignore the intense fluttering in her stomach caused by his lips brushing against her skin.

“Why are you so anxious to begin?”

“It’s simply a matter of timing,” he said, bringing her hand to his lips yet again. “Don’t look now but Dr. Casey Belvedere just walked in. He’s seen us and is looking over here.”

* * *

Let the show begin.

Adrian continued to stare deep into Trinity’s eyes, sensing her nervousness. Although she had gone along with Tara’s suggestion, he had a feeling she wasn’t 100 percent on board with the idea of pretending to be his lover.

Although Dr. Belvedere was going about his pursuit all wrong, Adrian could understand the man wanting her. Hell, what man in his right mind wouldn’t? Like her sister, Tara, Trinity was an incredibly beautiful woman. Ravishing didn’t even come close to describing her.

When he’d first met Tara, years ago, the first thing out of his mouth was to ask if she had any sisters. Tara had smiled and replied, yes, she had a sister who was a senior in high school with plans to go to college to become a doctor.

Jeez. Had it been that long ago? He recalled the reaction of every single man at Riley’s wedding when Trinity had showed up with Thorn and Tara. That’s when he’d heard she would be moving to Denver for two years to work at the hospital.

“Are you sure it’s him?” Trinity asked.

“Pretty positive,” he said, studying her features. She had creamy mahogany-colored skin, silky black hair that hung to her shoulders and the most gorgeous pair of light brown eyes he’d ever seen. “And it’s just the way I planned it,” he said.

She arched a brow. “The way you planned it?”

“Yes. After Tara called and told me about her idea, I decided to start right away. I found out from a reliable source that Belvedere frequents this place quite a bit, especially on Thursday nights.”

“So that’s why you suggested we have dinner here tonight?” she asked.

“Yes, that’s the reason. The plan is for him to see us together, right?”

“Yes. I just wasn’t prepared to run into him tonight. Hopefully all it will take is for him to see us together and—”

“Back off? Don’t bank on that. The man wants you and, for some reason, he feels he has every right to have you. Getting him to leave you alone won’t be easy. I still think I should just break his damn hands and be through with it.”

“No.”

He shrugged. “Your call. Now we should really do something to get his attention.”

“What?”

“This.” Adrian leaned in and kissed her.

Trinity was certain it was supposed to be a mere brush across the lips, but like magnets their mouths locked, fusing in passion so quickly that it consumed her senses.

To Trinity’s way of thinking, the kiss had a potency that had her insides begging for more. Every part of her urged her to make sure this kiss didn’t end anytime soon. But the clinking of dishes and silverware made her remember where they were and what they were doing. She slowly eased her mouth away from Adrian’s.

She let out a slow breath. “I have a feeling that did more than get his attention. It might have pissed him off.”

Adrian smiled. “Who cares? You’re with me now and he won’t do anything stupid. I dare him.”

He motioned for the waiter to bring their check. “I think we’ve done enough playacting tonight,” he said smoothly. “Ready to leave?”

“Yes.”

Moments after taking care of their dinner bill, Adrian took Trinity’s hand in his and led her out of the restaurant.

Two

“So how did things go with Trinity last night?”

Adrian glanced up to see his cousin Dillon. The business meeting Dillon had called that morning at Blue Ridge Land Management had ended and everyone had filed out, leaving him and Dillon alone.

He’d never thought of Dillon as a business tycoon until Adrian had returned home to work for the company his family owned. That’s when he got to see his Denver cousin in action, wheeling and dealing to maintain Blue Ridge’s ranking as a Fortune 500 company. Adrian had always just thought of him as Dillon, the man who’d kept the family together after a horrific tragedy.

Adrian’s parents, as well as his uncle and aunt, had died in a plane crash more than twenty years ago, leaving Dillon, who was the oldest cousin, and Adrian’s oldest brother, Ramsey, in charge of keeping the family of fifteen Westmorelands together. It hadn’t been easy, and Adrian would be the first to confess that he, Aidan, Bane and Bailey, the youngest four, had deliberately made things hard. Coming home from school one day to be told they’d lost the four people who had meant the most to them had been worse than difficult. They hadn’t handled their grief well. They had rebelled in ways Adrian was now ashamed of. But Dillon, Ramsey and the other family members hadn’t given up on them, even when they truly should have. For that reason and many others, Adrian deeply loved his family. Especially Dillon, who had taken on the State of Colorado when it had tried to force the youngest four into foster homes.

“Things went well, I think,” Adrian said, not wondering how Dillon knew about the dinner date with Trinity even when Adrian hadn’t mentioned anything about it. Dillon spoke to their Atlanta cousins on a regular basis, especially Thorn Westmoreland. Adrian figured Tara had mentioned the plan to Thorn and he had passed the information on to Dillon.