bet.
Sybil was a shrewd woman. She needed security not only for herself but for her two small sons. Oliver soon showed signs of being able to eventually give her back everything she had lost.
For his part, Oliver needed someone to look after his sisters and brothers while he sweated blood day and night to rebuild the family fortune. He and Sybil had struck another bargain. The arrangement had worked. Sybil had stuck it out and been well rewarded.
Oliver always made good on his promises.
And he never forgot his enemies.
Which brought him to the matter of Valerie's new boyfriend. If Sybil was telling the truth, and there was no reason to doubt it in this instance, Oliver knew he would have to take action. He had no intention of allowing his youngest sister to get seriously involved with Paul Shore's son.
Oliver made a mental note to speak to Valerie. He would make it clear that Carson Shore was off-limits. He had never liked the Romeo and Juliet story.
4
Annie, I've got to tell you that I'm having a lot of second thoughts about this plan of yours. I wasn't overly enthusiastic about your marriage of convenience idea to start with. But now that you're actually going to move in with him, I'm getting downright scared.”
“Calm down, Joanna. Everything's going to work out beautifully. You'll see. Oliver and I understand each other perfectly. We settled all the details on Monday. He's very good at details.” Annie slashed open one side of the lid of a shipping carton with her knife. She turned the big box around and took aim at the next side.
She and Joanna were alone in the back room of Wildest Dreams. Annie's assistant, Ella Presswood, was out front handling two interior designers who had stopped in to shop for their clients.
There was less than an hour to go until Annie had to be at the courthouse for the wedding. Oliver had called that morning to say that he would send a car for her. When she had objected on the grounds that she could walk the few blocks from her boutique in Pioneer Square to the courthouse, he had politely overridden her protests. The car would arrive at three, she was told. Annie had been too busy with a customer at the time to argue the point.
“I don't know.” Joanna twisted her hands. “I just don't know. I feel very uneasy about you moving into his penthouse. Rain has a reputation for being dangerous.”
“I've gotten to know him very well during the past few weeks, Joanna. He's not dangerous in the least.”
“Are you out of your mind?” Joanna stared at her. “Annie, you're not accustomed to dealing with this kind of man. For heaven's sake, he's not another Arthur Quigley or Melvin Finch. Rain is not a wounded bird in need of rescue.”
“I know that. I'm not trying to rescue Oliver. He's going to rescue me.”
“I seriously doubt that Oliver Rain has ever rescued anything except the Rain fortune in his entire life,” Joanna muttered.
Annie slashed open another side of the shipping carton and glanced back over her shoulder. Joanna looked as worried as she sounded. There was tension in her pretty face and her gentle eyes were filled with uncertainty.
Annie had liked Joanna, who was a manager in a successful downtown property management firm, the moment her brother had introduced the two women. Annie had sensed immediately that Joanna was capable of the kind of love and unwavering devotion Daniel deserved. Joanna was as alone in the world as Daniel and Annie were; she longed to be part of a family.
Pale gold hair and fey blue eyes gave Joanna a deceptively ethereal look. But Annie knew there was rock-solid strength beneath the surface. That inner fortitude had emerged in the days following the news of Daniel's disappearance. Joanna was as convinced as Annie that Daniel was alive.
“Stop worrying,” Annie said gently. “Oliver and I both understand that the marriage is a business relationship.
Sybil was a shrewd woman. She needed security not only for herself but for her two small sons. Oliver soon showed signs of being able to eventually give her back everything she had lost.
For his part, Oliver needed someone to look after his sisters and brothers while he sweated blood day and night to rebuild the family fortune. He and Sybil had struck another bargain. The arrangement had worked. Sybil had stuck it out and been well rewarded.
Oliver always made good on his promises.
And he never forgot his enemies.
Which brought him to the matter of Valerie's new boyfriend. If Sybil was telling the truth, and there was no reason to doubt it in this instance, Oliver knew he would have to take action. He had no intention of allowing his youngest sister to get seriously involved with Paul Shore's son.
Oliver made a mental note to speak to Valerie. He would make it clear that Carson Shore was off-limits. He had never liked the Romeo and Juliet story.
4
Annie, I've got to tell you that I'm having a lot of second thoughts about this plan of yours. I wasn't overly enthusiastic about your marriage of convenience idea to start with. But now that you're actually going to move in with him, I'm getting downright scared.”
“Calm down, Joanna. Everything's going to work out beautifully. You'll see. Oliver and I understand each other perfectly. We settled all the details on Monday. He's very good at details.” Annie slashed open one side of the lid of a shipping carton with her knife. She turned the big box around and took aim at the next side.
She and Joanna were alone in the back room of Wildest Dreams. Annie's assistant, Ella Presswood, was out front handling two interior designers who had stopped in to shop for their clients.
There was less than an hour to go until Annie had to be at the courthouse for the wedding. Oliver had called that morning to say that he would send a car for her. When she had objected on the grounds that she could walk the few blocks from her boutique in Pioneer Square to the courthouse, he had politely overridden her protests. The car would arrive at three, she was told. Annie had been too busy with a customer at the time to argue the point.
“I don't know.” Joanna twisted her hands. “I just don't know. I feel very uneasy about you moving into his penthouse. Rain has a reputation for being dangerous.”
“I've gotten to know him very well during the past few weeks, Joanna. He's not dangerous in the least.”
“Are you out of your mind?” Joanna stared at her. “Annie, you're not accustomed to dealing with this kind of man. For heaven's sake, he's not another Arthur Quigley or Melvin Finch. Rain is not a wounded bird in need of rescue.”
“I know that. I'm not trying to rescue Oliver. He's going to rescue me.”
“I seriously doubt that Oliver Rain has ever rescued anything except the Rain fortune in his entire life,” Joanna muttered.
Annie slashed open another side of the shipping carton and glanced back over her shoulder. Joanna looked as worried as she sounded. There was tension in her pretty face and her gentle eyes were filled with uncertainty.
Annie had liked Joanna, who was a manager in a successful downtown property management firm, the moment her brother had introduced the two women. Annie had sensed immediately that Joanna was capable of the kind of love and unwavering devotion Daniel deserved. Joanna was as alone in the world as Daniel and Annie were; she longed to be part of a family.
Pale gold hair and fey blue eyes gave Joanna a deceptively ethereal look. But Annie knew there was rock-solid strength beneath the surface. That inner fortitude had emerged in the days following the news of Daniel's disappearance. Joanna was as convinced as Annie that Daniel was alive.
“Stop worrying,” Annie said gently. “Oliver and I both understand that the marriage is a business relationship.
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