Calder Promise (Calder Saga 8)

“Gramps,” Laura said in a tone of indulgent reproach. “It’s yellow for happiness.”

“And when’s the wedding to be?” Sebastian inquired.

“We haven’t set the date yet,” Laura replied easily.

“But it will be soon,” Tara inserted with ringing certainty. “Boone made it clear that he was not in favor of a long engagement.”

Sebastian merely smiled. “It’s a viewpoint shared by most men, I dare say.”

“Where’s Trey?” Laura asked, then held up a hand to stave off any answers. “I forgot. He told me he was jackpot roping somewhere this weekend. I suppose it’ll be after sundown before he gets home.” The opening of the front door was accompanied by a hard thud. Laura glanced in its direction. “That must be Vince. He said he’d bring my luggage from the plane.” Her glance ran to Sebastian in light challenge. “Instead of standing there looking decorative, you can be useful and carry them upstairs for me. I’ll show you the way. Come on.”

Jessy couldn’t help noticing that Tara looked anything but happy when the two retraced Laura’s steps to the entryway together. She wasn’t surprised that Tara disapproved of Laura associating with a man who had little money. Personally, Jessy had her own reservations about Sebastian Dunshill, but his lack of wealth wasn’t one of them.

“A wedding here at the Triple C, won’t it be wonderful?” Tara declared. “Of course, Laura hasn’t said that she wants it here, although I’m certain she will. Naturally it would have to be an outdoor affair to accommodate all the people who will come. Wouldn’t it be lovely to have the ceremony on the veranda?”

“Very lovely,” Jessy agreed. “Although it might be a bit difficult seating people on the slope.”

“I hadn’t considered that.” Tara appeared to give the matter some thought, but Jessy noticed the way her attention covertly strayed to Laura and Sebastian when they started up the oak staircase. “Perhaps something on the lawn. It would be simple enough to bring in beautiful white arbors, or even some pillars to echo the front of the house.” The moment the pair reached the top of the stairs, Tara leaned forward and lowered her voice to a secretive level. “There is something about Sebastian that you really need to know—”

Jessy didn’t give her a chance to say more. “If you are referring to his current financial problems, we already know. He told us.”

“How very clever of him.” But there was contempt in Tara’s voice. She smoothed the lay of her skirt. “I’m surprised you allowed him to stay. It’s obvious his chief interest is in Laura’s bank account. You should have ordered him off the ranch the minute he arrived. He’s nothing but a fortune hunter.”

Chase made a small snorting sound. “If we had done that with everyone whose motives or sincerity we doubted, your foot wouldn’t have crossed our doorway in years.”

Tara tilted her chin at a combative angle. “My concern is strictly for Laura, and I don’t particularly care whether you believe that or not.”

“I’m sure you believe that,” Jessy said. “But it doesn’t really matter. Sebastian came here to see Laura. If she wants him to leave, she can te

ll him so.”

Upon entering the bedroom, Laura gestured to the walnut dresser’s curved front with a sweep of her head. “You can put them down over there,” she told Sebastian.

Her luggage consisted of no more than a garment bag and a slim, weekender-sized suitcase. He set the suitcase on the floor and draped the bag over it, then turned to her expectantly.

His gaze was alive to her, compelling in its warmth. The spacious and slightly grand bedroom suddenly seemed small with him in it. But Laura knew it was purely her own reaction to him, the livening of all her senses and that faint thrum of excitement that ran through every nerve.

“What? No tip?” He smiled with his eyes.

“Since when does a gentleman expect a tip for helping a lady,” she countered, matching the lightness of his tone even as her gaze wandered over his lean, smooth features. Laura remembered every detail of his face, including the scattering of pale tan freckles. She turned slightly serious. “I was surprised to see you when I walked in today. At the same time, though, I think I always knew you would show up sooner or later.”

“What made you so certain of that?” His look seemed to delve for the deeper meaning behind her words.

“Under the circumstances, you couldn’t afford not to, now could you?” Laura taunted without an ounce of malice, then made a little pout of mock regret. “What a pity that you arrived too late.”

“What makes you think it’s too late? Surely you don’t believe that gaudy rock on your finger changes anything, do you?” Sebastian replied with amusement. “You know as well as I do that that ring can come off as easily as it went on.”

She laughed in her throat. “It can, but it won’t.”

“You don’t truly expect me to believe you’re in love with him, do you?” Skepticism riddled his voice.

“I’m marrying Boone, aren’t I?” Laura reasoned, then snapped her fingers in an exaggerated show of dawning realization. “That’s right. I forgot. You don’t regard love as an essential part of marriage, do you?”

“Was that supposed to be a wounding blow—or merely a knife flick?” Sebastian smiled as if to show that she had drawn no blood with it.

“It’s nothing more than the truth,” Laura replied easily. “You’re wasting your time, Sebastian, and you have precious little of it to waste.”

He leaned a hip against the dresser and folded his arms in front of him. “I don’t see it that way.”