Page 50 of Bridles and Bribery

His kisses were tender and filled with longing. The kisses of a mature man who knew a thing or two about loving and cherishing a woman. A man who wanted to love again. A man who was ready to.

She didn’t mind that his kisses dragged a few tears out of her. He’d managed to make her fall in love again, and that was something worth weeping over. She was probably going to weep all over again this evening when she knelt beside her bed and thanked the Lord for giving her a second chance at this kind of happiness. Or a sixth chance. She wasn’t too sure about God’s numbering system.

When Edward raised his head, his gaze glowed with happiness. “I have a question.”

She smiled joyfully at him. “Ask away.” Now that he knew she was in love with him, she had nothing more to hide from him.

“Who sent you flowers?” He arched a single eyebrow at her. “I’m trying to decide exactly how jealous I need to be.”

“Don’t know and don’t care.” She’d all but forgotten about them already.

A wrinkle appeared in the middle of his forehead. “Maybe we should let Gil know about them. Just as a precaution.”

Gil? Oh, dear!Her head whipped around toward the townhome where Jillian was currently all by herself. “Speaking of Gil, I need to get back to Jillian.” Looking after her daughter-in-law was the one thing Gil had asked her to do. That, and call him for a security escort anytime they so much as ventured into the driveway. And she’d done more than that. She’d left the property and stayed gone for goodness only knew how long. She’d completely lost track of the time.

A wail of female distress met her ears as she hurried across the wide, green pasture.Oh-oh!Eloise broke into a jog.

Edward’s boots pounded the ground behind her. She hadn’t realized he was following her. They burst through the front door of the townhome together to find Jillian doubled over beside the sofa in the great room.

“I think it’s time,” she moaned, clutching her midsection.

“It can’t be!” Eloise’s knees grew weak. “You’re still three weeks from your due date.”

“I know, but that was an honest to goodness contraction,” her daughter-in-law panted. “A big one!”

Eloise glanced down and tried to take heart in the fact that there was no dampness showing on Jillian’s leggings. No pool of water at her feet. That was a good thing, wasn’t it? “Here. Let’s get you comfortable.” She guided her to the sofa and helped her lie on her side. “There now.” She brushed her long blonde hair away from her face. “Just breathe and try to relax. In and out like we’ve done so many times before.” It didn’t sound like Jillian was experiencing another panic attack, and a single contraction didn’t mean she was in full-blown labor. It was entirely possible they were only dealing with one of those Braxton-Hicks false alarms.

“What can I do to help?” Edward crouched down beside Eloise, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

When Jillian’s gaze latched on to the possessive way he was touching her, Eloise blushed, realizing they’d been caught.

“You two,” Jillian murmured, dragging in a shallow breath.

“Yes.” Eloise reached up to touch her fiancé’s hand. “We’re engaged.” Despite saying it out loud, it still felt like a dream, one she never wanted to wake up from.Please don’t wake up, Eloise!

“I’m so happy for you.” Jillian’s eyes shone. “And for me.” She blinked through a sheen of dampness. “It means you’re staying, doesn’t it?”

“Yes.” Eloise squeezed Edward’s fingers. “Our cranky neighbor informed me he has very strict rules against kissing gals who are on their way out of the country.” She hoped he didn’t mind her cracking a joke. It was either that or burst into tears.

“A man with standards.” Jillian’s smile grew wider. “I like it.”

“Water,” Eloise said, suddenly remembering her fiancé’s earlier question about what he could do to help. “She needs to get some fluids in her.”

Edward shot to his feet and headed to the kitchen.

“He didn’t send the roses.” Though Eloise honestly didn’t care, she wanted to see Jillian’s reaction to the news.

Jillian frowned. “If he didn’t, then who did?”

“I don’t know.” Eloise glanced over her shoulder at Edward. “Edward thinks we should tell Gil.” She didn’t want to upset her by making too big of a deal out of it. “Just as a precaution.”

“Tell me what?” Gil’s voice wafted their way from thefront door. “While you’re at it, feel free to throw in an explanation why the front door was left wide open.” He stomped into the room, carefully shutting and locking it behind him. He threw the deadbolt for good measure, which made Eloise feel even more guilty.

“It’s my fault,” she admitted, reaching up to accept the glass of water Edward was handing to her. She held it to Jillian’s lips, helping her sit up to take a few sips.

“Not true. It’s my fault,” Jillian insisted. “I saw a delivery of roses on the front porch and brought them inside. We, er, assumed they were from Edward, but…” Her voice dwindled uncertainly. She nodded at Eloise, indicating it was her story to tell.

In for a penny.Eloise shrugged, knowing she was already in trouble. “I ran next door to tell Edward thank you, and?—”

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