Beth Andrews - Feels Like Home

“Guess that’s what they call making a sacrifice,” he said. And he didn’t plan on sacrificing his peace of mind for the next two months, or fall blindly in line with his mother’s plans. “You came in here to get some sort of guarantee I’d treat you fairly. Let me just say that during your stint here, I’ll treat you cordially and with the respect you deserve.” There was nothing in his tone that suggested that amount of respect would be little to none. “And that’s a promise.”

One he could make without any worries about risking his pride. Or his heart. He never made the same mistake twice.

He sat back down and put on his reading glasses with one hand, while picking up a random piece of paper with the other. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a lot of work to do before I can go home, and I’d like to get back to it.”

He pretended to study the paper—an invoice Matt had given him earlier for the cost of new plantings. She didn’t call him on how she’d walked in on him doing nothing more than staring out the window, but she also didn’t leave. He turned to his computer and moved the mouse to wake it from sleep mode.

After a few moments, she finally turned and walked away.

Thank God.

YVONNE DESCENDED THE last step into the foyer, her jaw so tight it ached.

Bastard.

But she couldn’t let him see how furious he made her. Or worse, how much his obvious dislike for her hurt.

Here she was, back in a place where she’d never felt she truly belonged, surrounded by people she’d suspected never really wanted her here.

Not much had changed, it seemed.

She’d been… God, she’d been so…so arrogant. Had seriously thought that Diane needed her. Had imagined how she’d sweep in with her schedules and grand plans and experience and organize their efforts. That Diane’s wedding would be the talk of the South, and the Diamond Dust would be set up as the premier place to hold events in Southern Virginia. Maybe in the entire state.

All thanks to Yvonne.

Showing them all she was more than just the spoiled rich girl Aidan had brought home. The one who’d never fit in.

But Diane didn’t need her. She was using her because of her past with Aidan.

At least that was a new one. Usually people wanted her in their lives because of her name, her wealth, her connections or her looks.

No one ever wanted her for herself.

She was halfway to the front door when someone rounded the corner behind her at the back of the house.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

As with Aidan earlier that day, this voice was familiar to her. Except it belonged to a woman. One she would’ve been happy to have gone her entire stay in Jewell without ever laying eyes on.

No such luck.

Pasting on a fake, toothy smile, the one she’d used to perfection during her pageant days, she faced Connie Henkel. “That’s the second time I’ve been greeted with those same words,” she said, intensifying her accent. She knew the drawl would irritate the other woman no end. “Does everyone here have something against a simple hello? Or maybe y’all just lack manners?”

She immediately regretted her snide comment when Connie’s eyes narrowed, giving her the look of a sleek cat. A dangerous one. And, Yvonne had to admit with an inner sigh, a sexy, confident one in her tight jeans and snug T-shirt the color of a ripe plum. The collar of her own formal blouse suddenly choked her.

Connie had always made her feel as snobbish and uptight as her mother. Like Diane, the other woman intimidated her, pure and simple. She’d fit here, with the Sheppards.

A tall, broad-shouldered man came up behind Connie and the woman whirled around to demand, “What the hell is she doing here?”

He looked over her head at Yvonne, his eyes widening. “Don’t blame me. I had nothing to do with it. But if she sticks around, it’d knock Aidan on his ass.” He smiled at Yvonne. “Please tell me you plan on sticking around.”

It was that grin that helped her realize why he looked so familiar. “Matt?” she asked, taking in the changes seven years had made in the youngest Sheppard’s appearance. Gone was the gangly, baby-faced charmer. Now Matt’s face was leaner, his cheeks and chin covered in dark blond stubble, his long, wheat-colored hair held back in a ponytail.

“One and only,” he assured her with a wink.

Connie sent him a scathing glare. “Really? You’re flirting now? With her?”

He slung a companionable arm around Connie’s shoulders. “Now, sugar, you know you’re the only woman I flirt with,” he said, and though his tone was teasing, the heat in his eyes when he looked at Connie said there was more going on between these two than friendship. A lot sure had changed around here. “I’m being friendly. After all, Yvonne used to be family.”

“Used to be,” Connie muttered, crossing her arms as yet another man came around the corner from what Yvonne remembered was a large family room-kitchen area.

He was a few inches shorter than Matt, his hair lighter and cropped close to his head, his eyes blue to his younger brother’s green. But the shape of his nose, the sharp angle of his jaw and the confidence in his posture gave him away as a Sheppard.

“Hello, Brady,” she said. “So nice to see you.”

He blinked—the only sign he gave of being surprised to find her in his mother’s foyer. “Yvonne.”

“Please tell me you just happened to be passing through town.” Connie stepped toward Yvonne, brushing off Matt’s arm. “And that you’re now on your way back to…wherever it is you took off to before.”

She looked so hopeful—almost as hopeful as Yvonne had felt about her six weeks here. Before she’d found out Diane was only using her.

“Oh, Connie, I’m sorry to have to disappoint you…” She was even sorrier to face that same disappointment herself. “But I’ve accepted a position here for the next two months. And may I just say,” she added, keeping all trace of sarcasm out of her voice, “how much I’m…looking forward to working with you all.”

She ended her performance with a soft smile, her expression composed, her grip on her laptop relaxed.

Brady and Matt exchanged a quick, loaded look, while Connie’s mouth worked but no words came out. Then she took off up the stairs, her long legs taking the steps two at a time. “Aidan!”

“Well,” Yvonne said brightly to the two men staring at her, “I should get going as well. It was lovely to see you both.”

TWENTY MINUTES LATER, Connie paced between Aidan’s desk and the matching leather chairs where Brady and Matt sat. He’d asked them all to his office at the end of the workday so he could explain about Diane hiring Yvonne and moving up her wedding date. He’d been as quick and concise as possible, leaving out only a few minor details. Such as how seeing Yvonne again had tied him in knots.

“I don’t trust her,” Connie said, her strides not slowing in the least. “She’ll stab us in the back. You wait and see.”

Aidan rubbed at the headache brewing behind his temples, and leaned back in his chair. “How would she do that? Sabotage Mom and Al’s wedding?”

“I don’t know.” Connie tossed her hands in the air, her slim body vibrating with rage. “She could…order the wrong flowers. Or…or mess up the cake on purpose.”

“I hate to say it,” Matt interjected lazily, “but you’re sounding a bit paranoid.”

“He’s right.” Aidan held up a conciliatory hand when she looked ready to leap down Matt’s throat and rip his heart out. “Yvonne’s not going to do anything to ruin the wedding or risk it not being perfect. After all, she has as much to gain from it being a success as the Diamond Dust does. And she’d never do anything to hurt her own reputation.”