There were five Christmas trees, decorated with multicolored lights and ornaments gathered and collected over the years, placed around the room and at the entrance to the club. Strings of tiny white lights were draped along the walls, and the scattering of tables were covered in red and green cloths. Pine boughs jutted up from vases and lay across the tops of framed paintings, with silvery threads of tinsel hanging from them, catching the light and dazzling the eye. Christmas carols were piped through the overhead speakers and champagne flowed like water.
“You’re late,” Violet said, coming up to Andi for a hug.
“We’re always late now.” Andi rubbed her belly and gave a small, sweet smile. Turned out Violet hadn’t been lying when she’d sent Mac to Andi all those months ago. Of course, she hadn’t known it at the time. It had been a wild guess—although Vi liked to pretend she’d had a psychic moment of intuition. Their baby girl would be born in three months and Andi woke every morning grateful for the love in her life.
“The baby’s not here yet. It’s not her fault,” Violet said, threading her arm through Andi’s to steer her through the crowd.
“But we start talking about her and making plans and today we were painting her room,” Andi admitted wryly.
“Again? I thought you were sticking with the soft peach.”
“I was, but it just seemed as though it would feel hot in there in summer,” Andi confessed, “so Mac’s painting it that pale green it was before.”
Violet laughed. “It’s so good to see Mac getting all twisted up over his yet-to-be-born daughter.”
“Yes,” Andi said, “because Rafe is so la-di-da over your son.”
Vi grinned. “I have new pictures to show you of your baby’s cousin.” She sighed and slapped one hand to her heart. “I swear, I never suspected you could love this much. But Rafe and I are so crazy about our baby boy, we’re already talking about expanding the family.”
“Good,” Andi said, chuckling, “because Mac still has plans to fill every bedroom in the ranch house.”
Vi blinked. “There are eight of them.”
“I know.” Andi sighed. “Isn’t it great?”
“Hey, there you are.” Mac came up behind Andi, put his arms around her and let his hands come to rest on the swell of their child. He was always touching her, touching their baby. It was as if he couldn’t stand to be away from her, and Andi was loving every minute of it.
“I missed you. How you doing? Tired? You want anything?”
“Not tired,” she said, “but water would be great, thank you.” He kissed the side of her neck, winked at Vi, then headed for the bar.
“I’m so happy for you guys,” Violet said on a sigh. “I’ve never seen Mac so relaxed, so...well, happy.”
“I am, too.” Andi took a deep breath of the pine-scented air and added, “My life is officially perfect.”
She had Mac, their baby, their families and friends. Life was just wonderful. Looking around the room, Andi let her gaze sweep across the friends and neighbors gathered there. Case and Mellie Baxter looked amazing. She knew Case was planning on running for another term as club president, and Mellie and Andi had made an informal agreement to use their respective businesses to support each other. With Mellie’s Keep N Clean, a house-sitting/cleaning business, and Andi’s own Put-It-Away, they would each benefit. Andi could pick up new clients and then could recommend Keep N Clean to her customers to help their newly organized homes stay that way.
“It’s pretty amazing what Mellie did for the TCC.”
“Generous, for sure,” Andi agreed. The TCC had decided it wanted to own the land it sat on instead of keeping the long-term lease they already had going with Mellie’s family. So they’d officially made an offer for the property. Which she had promptly turned down. Then, with the agreement of her father, who was now back from rehab and doing much better, Mellie had gone ahead and made a gift of the land to the club.
So, this party was not just for Christmas, but a celebration for the Texas Cattleman’s Club.
And the party was a huge success. With Christmas only two weeks away, everyone was feeling festive. Nolan and Raina Dane were laughing with the sheriff and his wife, Amanda.
Liam and Hadley Wade were married now and expecting twins, which explained why Liam was plopping Harper down into a chair in spite of her protests.
“What’s the smile for?” Violet asked.
“Just thinking about all that’s happened to our friends and the town in the last several months.”
Nodding, Vi looked around, too. “It was crazy a lot of the time, but I think we all came through really well. Oh, look. There’s Jolene and Tom!”
Tom veered off for the bar, clearly a man on a mission, and Jolene headed straight for Vi and Andi. Newly svelte, now that her fourth child and second son had been born a few months ago, Jolene looked as happy as Andi felt.
“Hi, you guys. Isn’t this party amazing?” She turned her head to take in her sister. “Andi, you look gorgeous. Love the color red on you.”
Andi sneaked a quick look to where Mac, Rafe and Tom were all balancing drinks and talking. “Mac likes me in red. Says it reminds him of what I wore on our first date. He surprised me with the dress this afternoon.”
And then he’d taken her to bed and proved to her beyond a shadow of a doubt how beautiful he thought she was. Such a gift, she told herself, to have a man’s love, to know that he felt what you did. To know that he would always be there for you and your children.
As if sensing her thoughts, Mac turned, looked directly at her and winked.
“Aren’t our men just gorgeous?” Vi sighed a little and waved to her husband as Rafe smiled at her.
“Oh, yeah,” Jolene agreed with a wink of her own for Tom.
Mac had supported her idea for a business of her own. Put-It-Away was building quickly, and Andi had as many clients as she wanted. She was picky, though, refusing to be drawn into another all-work, no-play scenario. Mac, too, had cut back on time at the office, leaving Tim more and more in charge as Mac himself concentrated on their growing family and the ranch that was the center of their lives.
“Look,” Andi said, “there’s Kyle and Grace Wade. They look great, don’t they? Grace tells me the twins are doing so well that Maddie is quickly catching up to Maggie development-wise.”
“I know. It’s great.” Vi nodded toward the far side of the room. “Oh, Parker Reese and Claire just came in. They’re so busy planning their wedding, I’ve hardly seen Claire lately.”
“I was sorry to hear Rafe’s sister and her husband wouldn’t be able to come for Christmas,” Jolene said.
“Me, too,” Vi murmured. “But with Nasira pregnant, Sebastian has decreed no long flights.”
Jolene frowned. “Is everything all right?”
“Everything’s great, but Sebastian is being as protective and proud as Mac is of our Andi. And though Nasira really wanted to be here, I think she’s enjoying having Sebastian hover and take care of her.”
“Well, we all like that,” Jolene said, “whether we cry feminist or not.”
“True.” Andi turned to smile at her husband as the three men rejoined the women. Mac dropped one arm around her and pulled her into his side.
“Having a good time?”
“The best,” she said, smiling up into his eyes.
“Have I mentioned lately how much I love you?”
“I believe you have but feel free to repeat yourself,” Andi said, a smile twitching at her lips.
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” piped from the speakers overhead, and as his arms came around her, she knew that every Christmas from now on would be perfect.
“I think we should go home early,” Mac whispered, his mouth so close to her ear that his breath brushed warmly against her skin. �
�Decorate the tree in our bedroom and then make love in front of the fire.”
She smiled as her insides tightened. Leaning into him, she turned her head so she could look out over the crowd while enjoying this private moment.
“I think that’s a wonderful idea, Mac.”
He tipped her face up and gave her a quick, soft kiss. “Merry Christmas, Andi.”
“Merry Christmas, Mac.” She leaned into him and smiled as her heart filled with the kind of joy that would be with her forever.
* * * * *
Don’t miss a single installment of TEXAS CATTLEMAN’S CLUB: LIES AND LULLABIES
Baby secrets and a scheming sheikh rock Royal, Texas
COURTING THE COWBOY BOSS
by USA TODAY bestselling author Janice Maynard
LONE STAR HOLIDAY PROPOSAL
by USA TODAY bestselling author Yvonne Lindsay
NANNY MAKES THREE
by Cat Schield
THE DOCTOR’S BABY DARE
by USA TODAY bestselling author Michelle Celmer
THE SEAL’S SECRET HEIRS
by Kat Cantrell
A SURPRISE FOR THE SHEIKH
by Sarah M. Anderson
IN PURSUIT OF HIS WIFE
by Kristi Gold
A BRIDE FOR THE BOSS
by USA TODAY bestselling author Maureen Child
***
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A Pregnancy Scandal
by Kat Cantrell
One
The third time Alex ducked behind the Greek statue, Senator Phillip Edgewood’s curiosity got the best of him. Yeah, he’d been watching her from across the crowded room as she chatted with her friends and coworkers. How could he not?
Alexandra Meer was the most beautiful woman in the room.
Surprisingly so. Phillip had half expected her to show up to his fundraiser-slash-party in jeans, which he would not have minded in the slightest because he liked her no matter what she wore. But this dressed-up, made-up, transformed version of the woman he’d first met a couple of weeks ago at the Fyra Cosmetics corporate office—wow.
Senator Galindo cleared her throat, drawing Phillip’s attention back to their conversation. Ramona Galindo, the other United States senator from Texas, and Phillip had a lot in common and they often socialized when they were both home in Dallas. But it was hard to focus on the senator with Alex’s secretive actions going on. He pretended to listen, because the whole point of this evening was to network with his colleagues outside of Washington, while he also strained to catch a glimpse of Alex.
Was she covertly dumping canapés before anyone figured out she wasn’t eating them? Or was she hoping to meet someone interesting in the shadowy recesses?
If it was the former, Phillip felt it was his civic duty to inform her that, while this was his party, he hated the canapés, too. If it was the latter, well, it might also be his civic duty to grant her wish.
Honestly, Phillip needed the distraction. Today was Gina’s birthday. Or rather, it would have been. If his wife had lived, she would have been thirty-two. You’d think nearly two years of practice being a widower would afford a guy a better handle on the designation. But here he was, still stumbling through it.
And that decided it. He could spend the rest of the evening morose and moody. Or he could fan the sparks that always kicked up whenever he was around Alex. When Phillip had agreed to help Fyra Cosmetics navigate the FDA approval process for a new product, he’d never expected to meet someone so intriguing, especially not when that someone was the company’s chief financial officer.
He and Alex had been developing a “thing” over late lunches and one-on-one meetings. She laughed at his jokes and made him feel like a man instead of a politician. And she’d come to this party stag when he’d been almost positive she’d decline. How much more of a hint did he need that their relationship might become more than two people working together?
“Excuse me,” he murmured to Senator Galindo as he skirted her expertly, tugging on the white shirtsleeves under his tuxedo as he beelined across his cavernous living room to catch the most interesting woman at his party in the act of...whatever she was doing.
He crossed his arms and stepped behind the statue, boxing her in. The scent of Alex overwhelmed him first...light, fruity...and then the woman did. He let both wake up his blood. Which didn’t take long.
“Fancy meeting you here,” he said blithely. “I hope I’m not the bore at this party that you’re avoiding.”
Alex’s eyes widened and then warmed dangerously fast. Her eyes were the most fascinating shade of green with a little brown dot in the left iris that he couldn’t help but notice. She was easily the most distinctive woman he’d ever met, and that was saying something when he regularly mixed with the elite of both Dallas and Washington.
“No, of course not. You couldn’t pry that title away from the mayor with a crowbar.” And then she groaned, which made him grin. “I mean, I’m not avoiding the mayor. And he’s not a bore. Neither are you! I’m not avoiding anyone.”
Was it wrong that he enjoyed flustering her so much? It was so easy to do and she always said something outrageous that never failed to make him smile. He needed to smile, especially tonight. And she was the only person in attendance who had managed that feat. The only person he’d met in a long time who seemed unimpressed by his position or wealth. He liked that.
“But if you were hoping to avoid someone, this would be the opportune spot.” He leaned against the wall and crossed one ankle over the other. “No one would know you were back here unless they were already watching you.”
The shadows weren’t deep enough to cover her blush. “You were watching me?”
“Oh, come now.” He tsked. “When a woman wears a dress like that, surely it’s not a shock that a man would spend a great deal of time looking at her.”
She glanced down and scowled.
“It’s just a dress,” she mumbled.
No, it was anything but. The off-white dress had a
hint of gold sparkle that caught the light when she moved, and the fabric draped over her curves in a way that announced she had some. That was news to Phillip and he’d call that a front-page story, because she was an amazingly beautiful woman already, even before this evening’s transformation.
But with the transformation...well, she’d captured his interest thoroughly, because he hoped it meant she wasn’t averse to the occasional dress-up event. Politicians attended a lot of those and Phillip had a huge void in the plus-one category.
Maybe he’d found a potential candidate.
“Yet I’ve never seen you in a dress.” He raised one eyebrow in emphasis, which she did not miss. “I’ve come by Fyra for FDA meetings, what, like three or four times? And you, my dear, have reinvented the concept of casual wear. Cass, Trinity and Harper always wear suits, but you’re most often in jeans.”
The other three cofounders of Fyra dressed well and without regard to price tags. Phillip appreciated a woman who knew her way around a stylist, and normally he would have said he preferred a sophisticated woman. Gina had never met a rack at Nordstrom she could leave untouched, and the small handful of women he’d preoccupied himself with after Gina died could only be described as high maintenance. He’d lost interest in them pretty quickly.
But Alex...well, Alex intrigued him. She’d instantly stood out from her three counterparts when his cousin Gage had introduced Phillip to the founders of Fyra Cosmetics.
He couldn’t ignore the demure, brown-haired woman clad in a T-shirt, hair scraped back into a ponytail. It was baffling to walk into a meeting with Fyra’s executives and see the chief financial officer’s face bereft of makeup. It would be like introducing himself to someone as Senator Phillip Edgewood and then claiming he had no interest in the laws of the United States.
He was intrigued. He wanted to know her better. Understand why he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Why she was so different from any woman of his acquaintance. But he had to tread carefully with the opposite sex for so many reasons, not the least of which was his aversion to scandal. And then there was the other thing: he was on the lookout for a permanent plus one. Only the right woman would do for that role and his criteria were stringent.
A Bride for the Boss Page 16
