Lucy Ellis - How To Seduce An Heiress - The Reluctant Heiress / Pride After Her Fall / Project - Runaway Heiress

“I’m sorry you feel that way. I don’t. I can’t forget and I’d never want to undo the moments we spent together.”

She should stop him or walk away—anything to reject him—but she couldn’t move, trapped in his compelling gaze. His focus shifted to her mouth and she couldn’t get her breath. In spite of her anger with him, there was no way to forget his kisses. She grew hotter with fury because she could not stop reacting to him physically.

Taking a deep breath, she turned away, breaking the mesmerizing spell. She moved on, no longer seeing him in her peripheral vision. Finally, she couldn’t keep from looking. When she glanced around he was gone.

Her first reaction of disappointment stirred a surge of anger. She should be glad he had left. She tried to forget him, but it was impossible. Feeling unhappy and forlorn, she gathered her things and left without interrupting Edgar, who was talking to people.

At home, she sank in a chair. Her unhappiness grew, settling on her like a dense fog that shut out everything else. Garrett had looked so handsome tonight. She thought of being in his arms, the shared laughter and the passionate moments. She reminded herself that she was not in love with him, but she still felt betrayed. Impatiently, she changed clothes and went to her studio, pouring herself into her work, trying to shut out memories and longing. But once again, she had to stop because she was doing a poor job, ruining what had started as a satisfactory painting.

She spent the weekend in misery, with Garrett’s arguments constantly nagging her. Everything he had said, Edgar had echoed. She had always tied the Delaney sons to their father, but they’d simply ended up with him, too, through no fault of their own, just as Garrett had pointed out.

Monday morning the brochures and reports Garrett had sent arrived in the mail. Clipped to the annual report was an envelope. She opened it to shake out the contents.

Snapshots fell on the table. She couldn’t keep from looking at them as they tumbled out of the envelope and she saw the Delaney brothers. And there were pictures of the little girl, Caroline.

Sophia’s insides clutched and she drew a deep breath. She picked up each picture, starting with one of Caroline. In a pink sundress, she had a huge smile and held a furry white dog in her arms. Sophia set aside the picture and picked up one of four men smiling at the camera. She recognized Will from the picture Garrett had showed her.

She stared at all of them. She bore the most resemblance to the two older brothers, Will and his deceased brother, Adam. For a while she pored over them before setting them aside and pulling out an annual report to start reading. A lot of money was going to help Dallas schools and parks, autistic children, medical research, various university scholarships. There was a long list.

Next, Sophia pulled out the will and read, seeing what would occur if they did not claim their legacies. It was a clear paragraph in which Argus stated that each inheritance would go to the church Argus attended and to the city for art projects—both worthy charities, but that money could do so much more if she cooperated with the Delaneys.

Rubbing her forehead, Sophia continued to think. When she considered meeting with them, should it be one or all of them? Would she feel overwhelmed by them? She could request they meet in Houston where she was at home. When the possibility began to overwhelm her, she went to her studio to inventory her paints and repair a broken chair, trying to think about something else, but she kept seeing the picture of Will and Caroline—the two people who looked the most like her.

Would it hurt to fly to Dallas and meet them? In spite of her anger with Garrett and what she had said to him, she imagined telling Garrett she would go with him. Even though she didn’t want to go back to the relationship she’d had with Garrett, she knew she would feel better if he was with her.

She shook her head. She couldn’t do it and she wanted to spend more time thinking about it.

In the late afternoon Edgar called to ask her to dinner.

“Thank you,” she replied, smiling faintly. “But I don’t want another lecture on why I should see the Delaneys. I think I’ll pass, Edgar.”

“Sophia, you and I go way back. I feel like a father to you. Whatever you decide, I do not want it to come between us.”

“It won’t as far as I’m concerned. But you may be unhappy with my decision.”

“I’ll live with whatever you decide. I really have your best interests at heart, though.”

“I know you do,” she replied with a sigh. “I’ve been giving it consideration today.”

“Excellent news. Somehow I thought you would eventually let reason take charge. Usually you’re quite levelheaded and sensible, and I expected the moment to come when you could stand back and see what you’re doing here.”

“Edgar, I’m getting the lecture again.”

“All right, I apologize. If you don’t want dinner, I’ll try again another time. But don’t go flying off to Santa Fe. Running isn’t going to help on this one.”

“All right, I’ll bear your suggestion in mind.”

“‘Bye, Sophia.”

She put away her phone and gazed into space. She didn’t feel like eating. The sun slanted in the western sky and in another hour twilight fell. With it her spirits sank and nothing could get her mind off the Delaneys—and Garrett. She thought about the time she had spent with him, going back over their moments together, their lovemaking. Had he really cared about her? Or had it been a tactic he used while he tried to get close to her for his own purposes?

Even though his deception hurt badly, she missed him and his dynamic personality. Her life had been different with him, more exciting even through the most ordinary moments.

Have you once thought about if our situations had been reversed? What would you have done? His words had echoed continually in her memory. If she had been the one to try to get to know him with secret intentions, would she have had the same kind of reaction?

Had Edgar been right—was she making a mistake she would regret forever? Worse, had her anger with Garrett been misplaced? Had he been working toward a solution that would help them all, including her?

Garrett flew home Monday morning and went to see Will in the afternoon. Entering Will’s office, Garrett carried a wrapped package under his arm. He crossed the room to place it on Will’s desk.

“What’s that?”

“It’s for you, from me.”

Will gave Garrett a puzzled, searching look and picked up the package to open it while Garrett settled in a leather chair across from the desk.

He tossed aside wrappings and paper and lifted out a painting in a simple wooden frame. “Garrett, this is excellent.”

“It’s one of hers. Now I don’t have to tell you that she is truly talented—you can see for yourself.”

“Damn, I’ll say. This is a great picture. Looks like Santa Fe.”

“It probably is.”

“I’ll put it here in the office. Give me a sales slip and you don’t need to bear the expense.”

“Forget it. It’s a gift. Of course, she knows nothing about it.”

“Yeah, too bad,” Will said. His smile faded as he set the picture on a nearby table and then picked up the wrapping to dispose of it in the trash. He sat and faced Garrett.

“I did my best, Will. Sorry I didn’t come back with Sophia.”

“We all know you did what you could. What do you think? Any chance she’ll appear?”

“I don’t think there is, but she was taken aback when I showed her your picture with Caroline and told her this was Caroline’s future inheritance, too.”

“She must have really hated the old man. He didn’t abuse any of us, he just ignored us until we were young adults. Even then, it was never a deep relationship. But once I started in this business that all changed.”