Page 4 of Her Ex's Father
My father-in-law is four seats away, between my mother and Mr. Carter.
Onlyhefoundmefirst—his gaze already locked on my face when I looked up.
It’s as if the room gets quieter. Those green eyes, calm, his stoic features as he watches me—the way a hunter watches elk.
He’s dressed in an understated, dark blue suit with leather at the elbows. The button-down underneath brings out the silver in his hair beautifully, making him practically shine.
He’s everything Derrick isn’t: mature, strong-jawed, silent, watchful.
It stirs something in me that I tamp down in a panic.
The last thing I need the night of my engagement party is to be attracted to the man who will be my father-in-law in a few short weeks.
Chapter 2
Benedict
Madeline Clarke is sinfully beautiful.
I’ve seen her before, of course; her father, when he proposed the match, sent over a literal dossier on her. Photos of a trim young woman, dirty blonde, with brown eyes and freckles.
Laughing with the ranch hands. Staring out across a sunset Montana landscape. Riding a horse, her features in profile, focused and determined.
The dress she’s wearing pays homage to her slight curves, her décolletage and long neck. It gives her eyes a warmth that’s hard to look away from when she glances up at me.
What’s even more attractive is imagining her in fitted jeans and a ranch hand’s flannel. Hair up, dirt smudged on her cheek.
The sound of silverware clinking on glass draws my attention back to my surroundings—and the fact that my son is marrying this woman. This is no time to be distracted by Madeline Clarke.
Rupert Clarke stands, his smile mellow and eyes flat. It’s surprising that Madeline, who seems so lively as she glares at my son on his phone, comes from a man so cold. He holds up a champagne glass.
“Thank you all for coming this evening. We’re delighted to be celebrating the engagement of our daughter, Madeline Laurel Clarke, to Derrick Bronson of Bronson Hall.”
Interesting how he managed to sneak in my company’s name.
“This isn’t just a celebration of two people—it’s a formal joining of two families. Two names, two legacies. In business as in life, strength comes from alliances.”
Rupert looks at his daughter, whose polite smile has faded, her face pale and dull. Derrick tips his head back and stares at me as if to say,Happy now?
My gut twists with rancid anger. It’s clear that despite their success in the world of luxury spirits, the Clarkes have no taste. Gwen, seated next to her husband, is sweeping a triumphant gaze across the guests.
A hand smacks my arm. I look over to find Caroline, my sister, smirking.
“Watch it, Ben, you’re going to burn a hole through those two.”
Cracking my neck, I watch as the guests clap and salute my son and future daughter-in-law. Madeline looks as though she’d rather sink through the floor than be here.
“Where’s Leo?” I ask, wondering how much trouble a sixteen-year-old can get into on a Montana ranch. Not that we don’t have ranches in Colorado; in fact, my estate and the neighboring nature preserve come close to touching the Clarke acreage.
“Oh, I told him to sneak off. He was curious about the horses, I think.”
“You think that’s a good idea?”
“Better idea than this marriage,” she mutters.
I shift uncomfortably. Caroline, five years younger than me, has had an easier life. In some ways. She had Leo after aone-night stand and parted amicably with his father, who is somewhere in France the last I knew.Ourfather passed away of a heart attack, not long after she announced casually that she’d been knocked up`.
“When Derrick was sixteen, you were signing the contract for this marriage, weren’t you?”
