dimples indented his bronze-colored features as a slow smile spread across his lips. “It means you should start planning a wedding. And I'll make plans for the wedding night,” he said softly.
Unexpected warmth rode up Netherland's legs, beginning at her toes, and settled in her center. She inhaled deeply. She had to pull herself together. Ashton Sinclair was almost too much for her to handle. The soft huskiness of his voice and the determined intensity in his eyes stirred something to life deep within her.
“You're wrong. There won't be a wedding,” Netherland finally said firmly, looking at Ashton with a deep frown on her face.
He stood. His gaze was intent. He reminded her of her brother Dakota when he was hell-bent on having his way. “Yes, there will. You can bet Sisters on it. Good night, Netherland.”
Netherland watched, barely breathing, as Ashton turned and walked out of the restaurant.
“Some people have all the luck. I wish some good-looking man would ask me to marry him.”
Netherland blew out an exasperated sigh. “Have you heard anything I've said, Rainey? Ashton Sinclair didn't ask me to marry him. He told me in no uncertain terms that we were getting married.”
“How romantic.”
“How ludicrous. Just who does he think he is anyway?”
Rainey smiled. “Evidently he thinks he's the man who will become your husband.” Rainey leaned closer to Netherland. She had quickly slid into the seat Ashton had vacated, dying to get the scoop. “Did he actually say he was going to plan the wedding night?” she whispered.
Netherland nodded. “Yes, can you imagine his nerve?”
Rainey giggled. “Umm, right now I'm too busy imagining other things.”
“Rainey!”
“Okay, okay, I'm back in check. I'll behave.” After a moment she said, “So, Nettie, what are you going to do? Go to the police?”
Netherland raised a brow. “The police?”
“Yes, if you think he's harassing you.”
Netherland shook her head. That thought was too ridiculous to think about. Ashton wasn't harassing her. He was just being a pain in the rear end. “He's not harassing me.”
“So you kind of like having him here checking you out every night,” Rainey quickly concluded. Too quickly for Netherland.
“I wouldn't say that. It's just that so far he's been harmless enough. Like you said earlier, he's been good for business. And now that I know where his mind is, I'll know how to handle him.”
Rainey lifted a brow and crossed her arms over her chest. “And how do you plan on handling him?”
Netherland shrugged. “I'm sure a good night's sleep will give me some answers.”
Chapter 3
Netherland didn't get a good night's sleep. Neither did she have any answers upon awakening the next morning. If it hadn't been for the fact that she had a ten o'clock appointment at the restaurant, she would have been tempted to stay in bed a while longer.
The wind tossed the dark curls around her face when she got out of her car. She recognized the Mercedes sports car parked in the space next to hers as belonging to Syneda Madaris. Netherland couldn't help but admire the gorgeous car the woman drove. It was real class—just like the woman herself. Although Syneda and her husband Clayton were prominent attorneys in Houston, Netherland had heard the car had been a gift to Syneda on her thirtieth birthday from her father, oil magnate Syntel Remington.
Netherland pushed the curls out of her face once more as she walked up the sidewalk to her restaurant. There was once a time when Clayton Madaris had been Houston's most eligible bachelor and a frequent customer of Sisters. Now Clayton was a happily married man and a father-in-waiting. Netherland smiled. Miracles never ceased to amaze her.
Rainey looked up from what she was doing the moment Netherland entered the building. “Syneda Madaris is here.”
Netherland nodded. “Has she been waiting long?”
“No, she just arrived. I told her it was okay to wait in your office.”
“Thanks, Rainey. Our meeting shouldn't last for more than an hour or so.”
Rainey nodded. “I'm dying to know if any answers came your way last night,” she said before Netherland could walk off.
Netherland shook her head, frowning. “No, not a one.” She quickly moved toward her office before Rainey could question her further. She hadn't missed her friend's smirky grin. Okay, so she hadn't come up with any answers yet. That didn't mean anything. It certainly didn't mean she was headed for the altar as Ashton Sinclair had claimed.
She found Syneda sitting in her office busy scribbling notes on a legal pad. Evidently Syneda had a court date sometime that day and was getting prepared. As usual, Netherland noted, the woman was dressed to the bone. Her melon-colored shoes were the exact shade of her two-piece business suit. Amazing, Netherland thought, coming into the room. Not everyone could wear a color that vibrant and get away with it. Syneda, with her light complexion and hair the color of golden bronze, was the epitome of style and sophistication in the outfit. “Sorry I'm late, Syneda.”
The other woman waved off her words. “Don't apologize. I was early. I let Clayton talk me into having breakfast with him at Barneys. He knows I have a weakness for their bagels.” She laughed. “He also knows I'm not a morning person—unless I'm tempted with a bagel from Barneys, or,” she said, curving her lips in a sheepish grin, “I'm tempted with one other thing…”
Netherland smiled as she sat behind her desk. It was evident that even after almost a year of marriage, Syneda and Clayton were very much in love. Anytime she saw them together, they were all into each other, probably even more so now that Syneda was expecting the couple's first child. “And how is Clayton doing these days?” she asked.
Syneda leaned back in her chair smiling. “Clayton is Clayton, what can I say? He's being difficult as usual.”
Netherland shook her head. “And what are you two disagreeing about now?” It was a long-standing joke with everyone that Syneda and Clayton rarely agreed on anything.
Syneda's smile widened. “The baby.”
“The baby's name?”
“No, we're in full agreement there, believe it or not. Boy or girl, our child will be named Remington.”
Netherland nodded. Since that was Syneda's father's last name, she could only assume the child was being named after him. Remington was a name Syneda never got to claim as her own while growing up, thanks to her grandfather's deceitful plan to keep her from her father. “What is it about the baby the two of you can't agree on?”
“Where he or she will be born. I want a home birth with a midwife. Clayton is adamant about me going to the hospital. This is an argument I intend to win even if I have to lock myself in the bathroom when the labor pain starts coming.”
Netherland chuckled. She'd
