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“Welcome back,” she said, crossing to him and cupping his face.
“Same to you. I’m sorry you had trouble with weather.”
She studied him, noticed a new line or two. Not that lines were a problem for a handsome, rich man. Unlike women, men could age gracefully. After offering her cheek to be kissed, she set her handbag on a side table.
“Fortunately, we won’t have to go back to that wretched country for the rest of the year. I refuse to even think about traveling anytime soon. I don’t know how you did it, always moving around the world. It’s so inconvenient.” She turned back to the flowers and frowned.
“I must call the office in the morning and complain,” she said. “I’m more than a little surprised Jayne would put out the display. She’s normally more discerning than that.”
David laughed. “You don’t like the flowers?”
“They’re horrible. Whoever arranged them has no training and the aesthetic sense of a five-year-old.”
“That would be me. I bumped the vase when I was bringing my things in. A few flowers fell out. I put them back, but apparently not well enough.”
“Oh, that explains it. Good. I’m not in the mood to fire anyone.” She linked arms with him and led the way into the living room. “Do you want something to drink? I’m exhausted. Blaine is helping the driver with the luggage. Sometimes your father is the oddest man.”
She crossed to the antique buffet and opened the door on the right. “Scotch?” she asked, holding up the bottle.
“Sure.”
She collected three glasses, then poured. After handing David his, she crossed to one of the sofas and took a seat.
This room was one of her favorites. Open and large, yet elegant, it had taken her nearly a year to get it right. But now everything was perfect. From the custom-mixed pale sage paint to the Italian silk she’d chosen for the draperies. Blaine had complained about the five-hundred-dollar-a-yard fabric, but she’d ignored him. Quality mattered. She wasn’t about to have any of their friends talking about their cutting corners.
“So you’re back,” she said, then took a sip. “You said you were moving to L.A. Is that true?”
“Yes.” He settled across from her. “I’m going to buy a house and settle here permanently.”
While she wanted to believe him, he’d been living out of a suitcase for years. “You’ve never wanted to have a home base before.”
“Dad and I have been talking about it for a couple of years. I can do more for the business in the office. I’m ready to take on the responsibility.”
He sounded so serious and mature, she thought, telling herself to focus on what was good and would make her happy rather than on the fact that David and his father were annoyingly close. Blaine had ridiculous ideas about things that didn’t matter and a total disregard for one’s place in society. He was the most frustrating man. The last thing she wanted was his influencing David when her son hadfinallyreturned to the fold, so to speak.
“I know several excellent real estate agents,” she said. “Have you picked an area? My schedule is fairly full, but I can move a few things around and go with you. No man should buy a house on his own.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I’ll be fine. I promise not to buy any building that used to house a circus. Now, if I could find a former bordello, that would be interesting.”
“Oh, David.”
She knew he said those things just to upset her, but he could be so maddening.
“The luggage is upstairs,” Blaine said, walking into the living room. “David. You made it.”
David stood and approached his father. The two men greeted each other with a backslapping hug.
They were both tall—an inch over six feet—with thick hair and blue eyes. Blaine’s hair had gone gray, which actually looked just as handsome as the blond. Elizabeth knew her friends envied her perfect family. They thought she had it all. If only that were true.
She took another sip of the scotch and waited as the greeting continued with a stupidly complicated series of hand gestures and slaps.
“I poured you a drink,” Elizabeth told her husband.
“Excellent.” Blaine grabbed it and sat on a second sofa with David. “You think you can handle living in one place all the time? You ready for real life?”
“I’m ready to know where I am when I wake up in the morning.”
“Good. Good. What did you bring me?”
