A Wish For Love (Gates-Cameron 2)

“Why not?”

“It would be better if you didn’t. I don’t want to spoil her vacation.”

“But—oh. You want to surprise her when she returns?”

He inclined his head, not exactly an answer. “I would appreciate it if you don’t mention me to anyone. I can’t explain now, but I assure you, my reasons are valid,”

Bailey wondered in exasperation why the man was so evasive. “Anna and Dean won’t be back for another two and a half weeks—which you would have known if you’d bothered to call.”

“Then I’ll wait.”

She studied him curiously. “You have that much time to blow?”

“Blow?” he repeated, looking puzzled.

“Waste.”

“I won’t be spending the entire time here, twiddling my thumbs,” he answered wryly. “But, as it happens, I have more than enough time to, er, blow.”

“What do you do? For a living, I mean”

He lifted one shoulder. “I’m very versatile.”

His shrug drew her attention to his clothing. He wore a black woven shirt, buttoned to the throat, and a loosely constructed suit of a dark charcoal fabric that might have been wool or flannel. The cut was odd, rather retrospective. But it looked great on him. Anything would.

He’d worn dark colors the last time she’d seen him, she remembered. Maybe even this same suit. She wondered where he was staying, and how long he intended to stay. Before she could ask, he changed the subject.

“Anna mentioned that your brother was married before. That his first marriage ended in divorce.”

Taking the comment as criticism, Bailey scowled, immediately going to her brother’s defense again and forgetting the questions she’d intended to ask Bran. Which might well have been his intention, she thought, even as she burst into speech.

“Dean’s first wife was a selfish witch. Gloria thinks the whole world revolves around her and her needs. When she and Dean were dating, she put on a front of being interested in his life, but after they were married, she dropped any pretense of caring abou

t anything but herself. Nothing he could do was good enough for her, and God knows he tried to make her happy. When he realized that he was wasting his time, he stopped trying. That’s when she dumped him… though, if you ask me, it’s the best thing that could have happened to him.”

“Did he move here to get away from her?”

“No. He moved here because he saw the inn advertised in a real-estate magazine and he liked the sound of it. He was bored and restless in the monotonous work routine he’d established in Chicago, and he’d always liked the idea of owning an inn. Our grandfather, Aunt Mae’s father, was a hotelier. Did Anna tell you that?”

“No. She didn’t.”

“He had a little chain of hotels based in Atlanta. He sold them when Dean and I were young, but Dean was always interested in the business. When he saw the ad for this inn, he decided to give it a try. It wasn’t quite as impulsive as it sounds, but he took a lot of people by surprise. Still, I don’t think hell ever regret his decision. This is a wonderful place.”

“Yes,” Bran agreed, and Bailey wondered if she imagined the wistfulness that seemed to briefly cross his face. He was expressionless again when he said, “Your former sister-in-law sounds like a difficult woman. I hope your brother is aware of how fortunate he is to have found Anna.”

“He is. And Anna knows how lucky she is to have found Dean.”

Bran chuckled, and Bailey was struck by how different his face looked when he smiled. Younger. Warmer. A little softer.

Devastating.

“You are very loyal to your brother, aren’t you?” he asked, sounding amused by her defensiveness.

“I love him,” Bailey answered simply. “Our parents died when I was six and he was fourteen. He and Aunt Mae were all the family I had after that. The three of us have been very close ever since. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for either of them—or they for me.”

“Then you are all very fortunate,” Bran murmured, and this time Bailey knew she wasn’t imagining the hint of longing in his voice. He suddenly looked very much alone, his eyes shuttered, his longish hair tumbling onto his forehead, his hands buried in the pockets of his dark slacks.

Typically, her first reaction was a desire to help him. Before, he’d been a suspicious stranger. Now that she knew he was Anna’s brother, she felt some of her doubts fading. Anna wouldn’t miss him so much if she didn’t love him, would she? And she wouldn’t love him if he hadn’t in some way earned her affection. Maybe there was something Bailey could do to help.