* * *
Ethan made sure to sit beside Sienna at dinner. He intended to get to know her a lot better and hopefully figure out her sister’s plans in the process. Tonight, while Teagan wore a sequined, thigh-baring frock, with sheer sleeves, that could’ve graced any red-carpet event, Sienna paired black, wide-legged trousers with a modest white lace blouse. While her sister had chosen to pair chandelier earrings with her wild golden mane that framed her beautiful face, Sienna had opted for a severe, sleek look by pulling her long hair into a low ponytail and fastening small diamond studs to her earlobes.
Various family members peppered Teagan with questions about her life in New York, including her successful jewelry line and makeup concierge businesses as well as the various celebrities she’d been photographed with. Ethan noticed Sienna made no attempt to join the conversation.
“Were you able to sleep?” he asked, the images of her stretched out on the bed in the upstairs guest room sending a series of steamy pictures drifting through his mind.
“Can you still see the waffle pattern from the blanket?” She touched her cheek in a charmingly unselfconscious gesture. “I swear I was only going to close my eyes for a second and the next thing I knew two hours went by.”
“Are you feeling more rested?”
“Yes, thank you.” Her lips curved in a secret smile. “I think the reality of being on vacation is starting to take hold. If I’m not careful, my clients will think I’ve abandoned them.”
Could she possibly be as uncomplicated as she appeared? Was she simply a hardworking art curator who parlayed her Upper East Side connections into a lucrative career? The dossier Paul had prepared on Teagan touched only briefly on her other family members’ financial situations and public personas. In Sienna’s case, the information was limited to her professional website and several references in art-related articles.
After meeting both Burns sisters, he’d understood the warning delivered by the anonymous emailer where Teagan was concerned. But did Sienna’s fleeting smiles and quiet reserve hide a truly devious mind? It was hard to believe, yet didn’t that make her all the more dangerous?
“I guess while you’re visiting us, I’m gonna have to make sure you rest and play.” Ethan bumped his shoulder against hers in a friendly gesture.
“That’s kind of you, but I can’t take you away from business.” Was she playing hard to get to lure him in? If so, it was working. “And what I have planned would probably bore you to tears.”
Given the strength of his interest, he doubted that. “You might be surprised.”
“I’m going to visit every museum in Charleston and acquaint myself with all the Southern artists represented there.”
“I have to confess something.” Lowering his voice, he leaned her way in a conspiratorial manner and was rewarded by the rosy flush that stained her cheeks. “I’ve never been in half the museums in this town. That’s a shame, wouldn’t you say?”
Her blue-gray eyes lost a little of their sparkle as she surveyed his face as if to gauge his motives for flirting with her. Why would she do that? Couldn’t she feel the electricity between them? Without breaking eye contact, he took inventory of the women seated around the table. Sienna Burns was not the most beautiful or stylish of them, but beneath her calm exterior he sensed she sizzled with passion and determination. He just had to figure out the best way to focus that fervor on him, and the key to figuring out her sister’s plans would be in his grasp.
“I wouldn’t want to monopolize all your time,” Sienna demurred, her elusiveness a lure he couldn’t resist.
“I wasn’t just being polite earlier when I offered to show you around,” he said. “I wouldn’t want you to leave Charleston with less than the best impression of our fair city.”
“Well then, I accept.”
Satisfied that he’d successfully initiated step one of his divide-and-conquer plan, Ethan glanced toward Teagan and found her watching his interaction with Sienna. He thought he noted the tiniest trace of speculation in her green gaze. Catching her eye, he smiled and inclined his head to acknowledge her interest. The corner of her mouth twitched before she turned away to respond to a question his cousin Dallas had asked.
After dinner, when the family settled into the cozy library with its red walls and comfortable seating, Ethan offered to take Sienna for a walk around the grounds. Her gaze flicked to where the twins flanked Teagan on the blue velvet sofa, the blonde trio so similar in appearance that they looked more like sisters than cousins. Sienna’s expression grew pensive, and a familiar stab of angst pierced his chest. As the only dark-haired member of a family of blonds, he knew what it felt like to be an outsider.
Ethan doubted anyone noticed their departure as he guided her out the French doors that led to the side terrace, down a circular, wrought iron staircase and onto the brick walkway that ran the length of the house. They had a choice of several paths that led off through the gardens, toward the pool or the dwellings at the back of the property.
“The estate occupies a little over an acre,” he narrated as they ambled past formal beds filled with boxwood and flowers. “And includes the main house, carriage and caretaker houses. The twins occupy the latter if you’re ever looking for them.”
“An acre is a lot of land for downtown Charleston, isn’t it?”
“Over the years Grady was able to purchase some of the surrounding buildings that were original to the property and redesign the grounds.”
The deep gold of fading sunshine filtered through the lush plantings as Ethan kept pace with Sienna’s slow amble along the gravel path. She murmured in delight at the mix of formal and free-style design that took a landscape team several hours to maintain each week. Since his knowledge was limited to a few well-known flowering plants, he spent his time pondering the best way to approach her.
Maybe at first Ethan had expected to engage her in a rousing duel of clever questions designed to trick her into revealing her sister’s plans. But watching the way her fingertips skimmed over shiny leaves and delicate flower petals, he revised his strategy. Throwing her off-balance by exploiting her latent sensuality would be way more entertaining.
He’d never had fantasies about a sexy librarian before and although he’d heard that the brain was an important sexual organ, he was usually more interested in a woman’s body from the neck down. Now, however, as he drank in the soft floral scent of Sienna’s perfume and noticed the way she nibbled her lip when deep in thought, he suspected he’d been missing out. Ethan was abruptly besieged by images of her in a fitted pencil skirt, her full breasts straining the buttons of a snug white blouse. The fantasy look was completed by sexy, sky-high heels and ugly black glasses that she could whip off as her long, dark hair came tumbling out of a tidy topknot.
Holy...wow!
“Did you bring a swimsuit?” he asked as they reached the open space where the pool glowed like a turquoise jewel. “Dallas and Poppy do paddleboard yoga in the mornings. Lia got them started when she first came here to help my grandfather recover from his stroke. I’m sure they’d be thrilled if you and Teagan joined them.”
“I’ll mention it to her.” Sienna hesitated before adding, “Regarding Lia... I have a question.”
Tension gripped him at her curiosity. Their easy interaction had made him relax his vigilance.
“Fire away.”
“I don’t want to overstep your family’s warm welcome, but I have to ask...” Sienna’s gaze was fixed on the open-air pool house; she seemed to be gathering her thoughts. “Before dinner when I asked Lia how she and Paul met, she told me a rather startling story.”
Here was evidence of the two-pronged Burns sisters attack. Sienna dug up the dirt and passed it to Teagan to exploit. Still, it wasn’t as if he was the only person with knowledge of how Lia had come to be involved with his family.
“Grady was going downhill fast af
ter his stroke and his greatest wish was to see his granddaughter before he died. I convinced Lia to pretend to be his long-lost granddaughter, thinking this would make him happy.”
Her eyes went round. “So it’s true. I’m sorry, but that’s an extraordinary thing to do.”
“At the time it seemed like a simple plan,” he admitted. “One that was supposed to ease an old man’s heart.” Ethan shook his head as he recalled just how complicated the situation had become. “But Lia is a miracle worker. She spent a few days with my grandfather and he rallied.”
“So your brother mentioned.” Sienna was eyeing him keenly.
“Paul just about killed me when he came back from a conference and found out what I’d done.” Despite the strain the stunt had put on their relationship, Ethan didn’t regret the scheme. Because of it, Paul was in love with a wonderful woman and happier than he’d ever been.
“But he had to be delighted at your grandfather’s unexpected recovery.”
“Of course, and the happy outcome is that he and Lia are getting married.”
“Yet it wasn’t all that simple at the time.”
“I suppose it was a little uncomfortable for Paul to be falling for someone while pretending to be her first cousin.”
A little uncomfortable? Ethan knew Paul had gone through hell. He just couldn’t bring himself to feel bad about it. Grady was thriving. It had prompted them to try to locate their actual missing relative through a genetic testing service, and once they’d found Teagan, Ethan had decided to take a test of his own to see if his birth family was out there somewhere and looking for him.
“How did everything come out in the open?” Sienna asked, dragging Ethan’s thoughts back to the conversation.
“Why are you so curious about the story?”
“I was just wondering what sort of an impact the situation would have on your family accepting Teagan. After all, they fell in love with Lia after thinking she was your cousin. Will they be more cautious when it comes to Teagan?”
It was a valid question. “I don’t know. I mean, everyone was delighted to hear that we’d found Ava’s real daughter. No one has mentioned any reservations to me. As far as I can tell, they have every intention of fully embracing her. Why do you ask?”
“Teagan doesn’t show her emotions very often, but I know she has high hopes for becoming part of this family. I don’t want her to be disappointed.”
“I think you could see from how dinner went tonight that you don’t need to worry about that. Teagan is a Watts through and through.”
Sienna looked somewhat mollified. “You’ve been so kind to show me the grounds, but I should probably be getting back.”
“It’s been my pleasure,” Ethan declared, surprised how reluctant he was to part ways. “And I meant what I said earlier about showing you around Charleston. Let’s start by having dinner tomorrow night.”
“Okay.”
“Wonderful.”
Pleasure flared at her quick acceptance. “I’ll pick you up at six.”
They returned to the house in the fading light. At the bottom of the stairs that spiraled up to the side terrace, he bid her good-night.
“Thank you for making me feel welcome.” Her hand rested on his sleeve for too brief a second.
Lightning flashed along his nerve endings at the barely-there contact. “Of course.”
“Good night.”
Given his body’s agitation, Ms. Sienna Burns appeared to have won this round. Teeth grinding, he let his gaze linger on her departing form a heartbeat too long before heading for his car.
Watch your back.
Wise words, but Ethan wasn’t sure his back was the part of him in danger.
THREE
Sienna was seated with her laptop on the comfy love seat by the window when Teagan entered her room without knocking. She’d been reviewing an art collection that was being auctioned off in Salzburg in two weeks and making a list of the pieces that might interest her clients.
“We need to go shopping,” Teagan announced, homing in on Sienna’s closet like a fashion-seeking missile. Paying no attention to her sister’s objections, Teagan threw open the door, gave the contents a disgusted glance before turning to face Sienna. “Everything that we brought from New York is all wrong.”
Knowing it was fruitless to argue, Sienna looked up from her laptop and sighed. “You may have packed the wrong things, but everything I brought is perfectly fine.” Ignoring her sister’s disparaging snort, Sienna continued. “And for that matter, so is everything you brought. You’re just looking for an excuse to go shopping.”
Teagan’s expression spoke volumes. “I never have to look for an excuse to buy clothes. And you know I’m right.” Teagan was wearing a loose-fitting white crop top, floral midi skirt and black-and-white colorblock pumps. With red lipstick, blond hair sleeked back into a low ponytail and chunky earrings, she looked ready to lunch at La Grenouille. “Everything that I brought looks too New York. I stand out and that’s the last thing I’m trying to do.”
“For once,” Sienna muttered, too low and too fast for Teagan to catch.
“I don’t want my family to think, there’s the girl from New York City, every time they look at me. I want to fit in. I want them to think, hey, she belongs in Charleston.”
A brand-new email popped into Sienna’s inbox, taking her attention away from her sister. She’d sent several images from the upcoming Salzburg auction to one of her bigger clients and he’d gotten back to her.
“Could you please stop working for five minutes and talk to me?” Teagan demanded.
“Is this still about you taking over at Watts Shipping?” Sienna asked, scanning the message before typing a quick reply.
“Of course. How can I convince them to consider me for the position if I don’t look as if I’m planning on staying in Charleston? I need to look like I’m assimilating.”
As uncomfortable as Sienna was with her sister’s plan, she couldn’t argue with the logic. Appearances counted. A fact that had been thrown in her face starting when she was old enough to dress herself.
First it had been her mother’s despair that no matter how much she spent on Sienna’s clothes, the high-end designer fashions look frumpy on her. Then came high school where even though they wore uniforms, the truly fashionable stood out. Whether it was a trendy haircut, the way they styled their jewelry or the shoes they wore, something about the influencers set them apart.
Needless to say, Teagan was one of the trendsetters while Sienna, who’d never been confident about her looks, had faded into the background.
“Well, you’re right about fitting in,” Sienna said. “You’d better go shopping. Have fun.”
Expecting that this would send Teagan on her way, Sienna was caught off guard when her sister planted her palm on the cover of the laptop and snapped it shut. Sienna yanked her hands back just in time to avoid a solid rap on her knuckles.
“Hey!” she complained. “What’s the big idea?”
“You’re coming with us.”
“When you say us...?” Sienna asked, reluctantly setting aside her laptop. “Who else is coming?”
“Dallas and Poppy, of course,” she said, naming the twins. “And Paul’s fiancée, Lia.”
Sienna had watched her sister operate before. Every time she found herself in a new situation, she gathered people to her cause, charming, bribing or blackmailing them into assisting, whichever worked best. In this case, she needed to avoid making enemies, so charm and bribery it was.
“Sounds like you’ll have plenty of people offering opinions.” And of course, bestowing compliments. “You don’t really need me.”
“Of course I need you.” Teagan reached down and clamped her hand on Sienna’s arm, tugging her to her feet. “I know you’ll give me your honest opinion.”
Sienna sno
rted. “You want my opinion about fashion?” She crossed her arms and leveled a hard stare at her sister. “What’s your real reason for wanting me along?”
“Okay, fine. I knew you wouldn’t come if I told you that I want to go shopping to buy you some new clothes. I know what you’re gonna say,” she rushed on, holding up her hand to forestall Sienna’s protests. “But honestly, there’s not a flattering outfit in there. You need some clothes that accentuate your curves instead of hiding them, and a whole lot more color.”
Sienna glanced down at her serviceable navy pants and white shirt. It wasn’t that Sienna didn’t care how she looked; it was more that she’d hated being compared to her glamorous, fashion-influencer sister and had stopped trying to keep up with Teagan a long time ago.
“I don’t see the point in spending a bunch of money on things I won’t wear to work.”
Teagan waved her sister’s objections away. “It wouldn’t kill you to add some stylish pieces to your work wardrobe.” Looping her arm through Sienna’s, Teagan snagged her sister’s purse and drew her out of the room. “Besides, you need a few things to wear while you’re down here. Honestly, no one will give you a second look if you don’t make an effort.”
“Why do I care if anyone gives me a second look?” Sienna asked.
Yet although it pained her to admit it, Sienna was delighted to be included. In New York, Teagan had a hundred distractions. Between her hectic social life and three flourishing businesses, no one received Teagan’s full attention.
“You need it because I saw the way you were looking at Ethan,” Teagan said with a sly smile. “You’re attracted to him and if you want him to notice you, you need to put on a pretty dress, fix your hair and apply a little makeup.”
Sienna’s face went hot. “I am not interested in Ethan.”
“Oh, don’t even,” Teagan interrupted with zeal. “You were looking at him like he was a chocolate cake and you wanted to devour every bite.”
Remembering his smile, the electric zing of attraction when he’d taken her hand, Sienna opened her mouth to deny it again, but they’d reached the second floor and she was afraid the exchange would be overheard.
Harlequin Desire June 2021--Box Set 1 of 2 Page 19
