Attraction Read Free

ways of men.
So, how’s he in bed?”
Roberta laughed, perhaps a little nervously. “Riley, I don’t kiss and tell.”
“Yeah, you do. You always call me up the next day to go over in fine details the guy’s
attributes and performance.”
“Oh, all right. Well, Heron…I don’t know how to say it.”
“Is he any good in bed?”
“Oh, yes, he is. Frighteningly so.”
“Frighteningly? Now, what do you mean…”
They were interrupted by their parents and Heron coming back. Lawrence beckoned
everyone to the living room.
In the living room, while Heron, Roberta, and her parents engaged in small talk,
Lawrence, in a rather courtly manner, mixed drinks at the trolley tray that held various liquors,
and passed them around. Riley sat silently, sipping her martini, content for the moment to watch
and listen to Heron being courteous and warm to her parents. Sometimes she thought he went a
little too far, like when he complimented profusely on their “charmingly small” suburban house
with its easy comfort. He said that it lent a certain coziness that was missing in his own living
quarters.
Oh, give me a break, Riley thought, barely suppressing the rolling of her eyes. How
generous of him to compare her parents’ tiny middle class suburbia abode to his million dollar
mansion.
“Heron, Robbie tells us that your family go way back before gold was discovered in San
Francisco,” Caroline said.
Heron looked puzzled. “Robbie?”
“Roberta,” Caroline said. “We’ve called her Robbie since she was a baby.”
Heron looked over at Roberta, reaching for her hand. “I’m afraid I can never call her that.
I couldn’t possibly equate a boy’s name to someone as beautiful and elegant as your daughter.”
Oh, come on, is this guy for real, Riley thought, ready to regurgitate the martini she had
downed. She could see, though, that her parents were eating it right up.
Heron said, “Yes. My great, great, great grandfather was one of the early railroad barons.
That’s where our money comes from. Many say it was blood money, and I’m inclined to agree. “
“Robbie, that is, Roberta tells me that your family is connected to English royalty,”
Lawrence said.
Heron winced a little. “My mother says that my great grandmother, who came from
England, was distantly related to Queen Victoria. I have my doubts, though.”
Marge appeared from the kitchen to announce that it was time to sit down to dinner. They
sat down with the first course of the meal, strawberry and watercress salad, which was followed
up by fusilli with eggplant and smoked mozzarella, procuitto-wrapped grilled asparagus, and
Cornish hens marinated in tequila. Riley had to admit the food prepared by Marge was miles
away from her mother’s meatloaf and lumpy mashed potatoes. Out of the corner of her eye, she
saw that Heron seemed a bit surprised and impressed by the elegant meal. She suspected that he
had been prepared to put up with a fare that was much more inferior.
It was Lawrence’s turn to make the guest feel welcome and included in the family fold. “I
understand, Heron, that you own a law firm in San Francisco. You chose not to go into your
family business?”
Heron answered, “I run a corporate law practice in the city. I am the general counsel for
my family’s business, though. I expect my younger brother will be groomed for heading the
family business.”
Caroline slid her eyes over at her oldest daughter. “Oh, you have a brother. Roberta did
not mention him.”
“He’s just finishing his MBA in Harvard. He’ll be joining the firm a month after he
graduates.”
Riley grudgingly gave him a point as she heard the underlying pride and a hint of
affection in Heron’s voice as he talked about his brother.
“Sometimes Heron has the craziest cases,” Roberta said. “Darling, tell them about the one
where the two brothers are suing the previous owner of this Victorian house that they bought for
a nightclub but they claim is haunted.”
“Is it really