Regina Scott - The Bride’s Matchmaking Triplets

Though, she had to admit, he looked remarkably comfortable dealing with the boys. He was rocking Eli back and forth, the baby gazing up at him as if he was the most important person in the world.

She’d looked at him that way once.

She would never forget the day they’d met. Her aunt Evangeline had been hosting one of her famous dinner parties. It was well-known around Cambridge that Mrs. Dumont, wife of the influential financier, welcomed only the most interesting people to her table, so an invitation was cause to preen. As her niece, Elizabeth had dined with senators, adventurers, novelists, artists and scientists. That evening, attendees around the white damask-draped table had included the mayor and his wife, a man who had invented some sort of circuit for conducting electricity, an award-winning poet and the dean of the divinity school with his most promising student.

Brandon Stillwater.

As the least most notable person in the room, besides her, he would have had every right to sit quietly, speak only when directly addressed. Indeed, he had been quiet the first part of the meal. Then the inventor, a Mr. Lombard, had begun a paean to man’s ingenuity.

“Why, even now, in New York, a pneumatic system brings warm air in winter and cool air in summer,” he boasted, the sleeve of his black dress coat coming perilously close to dipping into his creamed asparagus as he waved a hand.

“Amazing,” the mayor proclaimed. “We may have to rethink our futures, gentlemen. Science seems to have the upper hand.”

Brandon had merely offered them all a charming smile as he reached for his crystal glass. “I think I’ll stick with the Author of invention instead of the implementer.” And he’d calmly taken a sip as if giving them all a moment to think about what he’d said.

How could she not be drawn to such a man? He was only a year older than her, yet he seemed so confident, so sure of who he was and what he was meant to do. She’d envied him that.

“Ready for this little fellow?” he asked her now, smiling on the infant in his arms. She remembered how it felt to be cradled close, those strong arms around her, making her feel safe, loved.

Elizabeth scooped up a baby and shoved him at Brandon, anything to stop these memories. “Here,” she said. “I’ll take Eli. You take Jasper.”

If he was surprised by the urgency in her voice, he didn’t show it. But as they exchanged babies, his fingers brushed her sleeve and a tingle ran up her arm.

Why was she still so aware of him after all these years? Even as she began to feed Eli, Theo watching them, she felt Brandon beside her. He held each baby so gently, every movement effortless. No other man had ever made her feel that she could rely on him no matter what.

A shame that feeling had turned out to be false.

She offered Eli another spoonful of applesauce, which he gobbled down. The men she had counted on had proven singularly unreliable. Her uncle, legendary for making fortunes, had been exposed as a swindler, stealing from clients to increase his coffers. The men who had flocked to her aunt’s table had quickly distanced themselves from scandal. The gentlemen who had seemed interested in courting her had followed suit. And Brandon...

Really needed to leave her room before she forgot herself and gave him a piece of her mind!

“You needn’t wait around, Pastor,” she said without looking at him. “The triplets and I are fine. We have Mrs. Tyson to help. You’ve done your duty by looking in on us.”

Mrs. Tyson smiled at her as she went to hang up the dirty cleaning rag. Brandon didn’t say anything, but his arm brushed her shoulder as he set Jasper back into the high chair. She turned without thinking, and her gaze met his. His silver eyes should have looked cold, forbidding, but now they drew her in like cool water on a hot day.

“Seeing to the well-being of those we care about is never a duty, Miss Dumont,” he murmured. “It is a privilege.” He held her gaze a moment longer, as if making sure she heard him. Such a heartfelt look, with his lips turned down in sympathy. She should agree, smile back. But she knew his tricks now. She was neither an awestruck girl nor a member of his flock who needed schooling. Elizabeth turned her face resolutely toward the babies. A moment later, she heard the door close behind her.

Mrs. Tyson came to lay a hand on her shoulder. “Pastor Stillwater is a good man. I’m sure he was only trying to help.”

Had she looked as if she was about to breathe fire at the minister? She certainly felt as if she could. Instead, Elizabeth gave the lady a bright smile. “But why should I trouble your pastor when I have all you lovely ladies to help?”

Mrs. Tyson’s round face turned a pleased pink. “We are delighted to help you, dear.” She bent and picked up Theo, whose eyes were already drifting closed. “Such darling boys. They make me miss my own sons.”

Elizabeth was almost afraid to ask, but it seemed the right thing to do. “What happened to your boys?”

Mrs. Tyson straightened slowly, then carried the baby toward the nearby crib. “They are grown men now. They had to leave to find work during the drought, but I have hopes they might return soon. In the meantime, if you need anything, please send word.” She laid Theo in the crib and smiled down at him a moment before helping Elizabeth transfer the other two into the crib as well. Then Elizabeth saw her out.

As she shut the door behind Mrs. Tyson, Elizabeth drew in a breath. At least that was over. Glancing back, she saw that all three boys had dozed off. In the silence, she could hear the clock ticking on the dresser.

Peace. Quiet.

Normally, that would be a blessing. Caring for the triplets was exhilarating and exhausting. She appreciated the moments when she could relax. But now all she could think about was Brandon Stillwater and the life she had once known.

Not for the first time, she wished Aunt Evangeline was still alive. Her aunt, who had raised Elizabeth after her parents’ death when she was a toddler, had always encouraged her to dream big.

“You could be an explorer, discovering new plants and animals,” she’d said, excitement dancing in her green eyes. “Or a novelist, unleashing the potential of the human heart. Only the best for you, my dear Elizabeth.”

Sometimes, sitting around the dinner table with people so famous and talented, she had thought she had found her calling, to be a society hostess like her aunt, bringing people together, sharing knowledge, encouragement. Other times, she wondered. Why must she be the one to listen to other people’s adventures? Why couldn’t she have adventures of her own as her aunt suggested?

Brandon had seemed to understand when she’d emboldened herself to confess her yearnings. After that first dinner, he had called whenever he could slip away from his studies. Studying, it seemed, wasn’t too difficult for him. They’d talk in her aunt’s opulent sitting room, take walks in the nearby park. They had been strolling beside an ornamental pond in the center of the park one Sunday afternoon when she’d told him she wished she might do something more.

“My brother, Bo, says the same thing,” he’d answered, bending to pick up a stone from the path and toss it into the pond.

She hadn’t met his brother yet. She hadn’t met anyone in his family, although she knew his mother had passed away and his father was an invalid. Aunt Evangeline said Mr. Stillwater senior was a fine gentleman who had run a prosperous business in Cambridge. Elizabeth had wondered why Brandon hadn’t introduced her, but she was certain it was only a matter of time.

“And what sort of adventures does your brother want to have?” she asked, lifting her green silk skirts away from a puddle in the path.