Yielding for Him by Lauren Fraser

place, but the yard has all changed since the last time I was here.” Rachel swept her arm out, indicating the wooden bridge and walking path in the front yard. The natural stone path complemented the Tudor style house to perfection. The landscaping blended beautifully. It looked like it had always been there.
    “It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?” Jan asked as she stepped out of the car.
    “It is, but it doesn’t really look like Lila’s thing. It certainly doesn’t go with her taste in interior decorating.” Rachel shuddered when she thought of the battles she had with Lila before they decided Rachel wasn’t the right interior designer for the house.
    She turned to Jan. “What did she say when you told her you were bringing me by today?”
    “She asked if I had finally convinced you to get some culture and join our book-club.” Jan flashed her wicked grin, her brown eyes twinkling with amusement.
    “Yeah, good luck,” she muttered. “Just because she didn’t like my taste in interior design doesn’t mean I don’t have culture. I just don’t happen to enjoy trying to prove it to a bunch of bored middle-aged socialites.”
    Jan reached out and squeezed Rachel’s hand, offering immediate comfort and solidarity. “Put your claws away, hon.”
    Rachel wrinkled her nose at Jan’s teasing tone. How many times had they had a conversation about the hypocrites in her old social circle? She pasted on a saccharine sweet smile. “Let’s do this.”
    Lila opened the front door and stepped towards Jan. She warmly hugged her, placing the appropriate air kisses on Jan’s cheek before she pulled back and air kissed Rachel’s cheeks with somewhat less enthusiasm. With the welcome out of the way, Lila linked arms with both women and led them through her house towards the backdoor. “So, Rachel, Janice tells me that you are interested in having your backyard landscaped differently.”
    “Yes, I am. Roger chose the current style and it doesn’t really reflect what I am looking for any longer. Jan told me that your son built you a fantastic gazebo, so I thought it would be worth checking out.”
    “Oh, he did. Mark is incredibly talented. It’s too bad we couldn’t convince him to use his business degree for something better than opening up his own landscaping company. Who ever heard of using an MBA from Harvard for landscaping?” Lila shook her head.
    Rachel met Jan’s gaze behind Lila’s back and rolled her eyes. God the woman was pretentious. “Well, at least he’s putting his education to use. I’m sure all of those courses will help his new business thrive,” Rachel told her. For some reason, she felt the need to defend Lila’s son. After the tongue lashings she’d taken while working for Lila, she could only imagine what growing up with her as a mother must have been like.
    “Yes, well…” Lila’s smile didn’t quite meet her eyes. She pushed open the French doors and stepped outside. “Here we are,” she said, gesturing towards the yard.
    Rachel scanned the backyard. “Wow,” she murmured. Lost in her own world, Rachel walked down the stairs of the deck, absently running her hand along the railing. Now this was a backyard.
    She followed the flagstone pathway, intent on reaching her goal. Ahead of her lay the most fantastic teak gazebo. A stunning array of climbing roses covered the wall. The furniture was a bit ostentatious for Rachel’s taste, but the gazebo was amazing.
    She could already picture something similar in her own backyard. With fantastic outdoor furniture you could just get sucked right into and spend an afternoon lazing about. Rachel stepped up closer to the gazebo and trailed her hand over the craftsmanship. Roses were intricately carved into the wood, sweeping up the arms like a living entity. It truly was a thing of beauty.
    Lila’s harsh voice broke her from her reverie. “The gazebo is nothing too fancy but it serves its purpose. Mark said this design would work the