The One That Got Away Read Free

with my jeweller
this afternoon. I’m sure he’ll have something more than suitable. That way Evie
will have a ring on her finger when she attends the cocktail party I’m hosting
for the pair of you tonight.’
    ‘You didn’t have to fuss,’ said Max as he set their overnight
cases just inside the door beside a wide staircase.
    ‘Introducing my soon-to-be daughter-in-law to family and
friends is not fuss,’ said Max’s mother reprovingly. ‘It’s expected, and so is a
ring. Your brother’s here, by the way.’
    ‘You summoned him home as well?’
    ‘He came of his own accord,’ she said dryly. ‘No one makes your
brother do anything.’
    ‘He’s my role model,’ whispered Max as they followed the
doyenne of the house down the hall.
    ‘I need a cocktail dress,’ Evie whispered back.
    ‘Get it when I go ring hunting. What kind of stone do you
want?’
    ‘Diamond.’
    ‘Colour?’
    ‘White.’
    ‘An excellent choice,’ said Caroline from up ahead and Max
grinned ruefully.
    ‘Ears like a bat,’ he said in his normal deep baritone.
    ‘Whisper like a foghorn,’ his mother cut back, and surprised
Evie by following up with a deliciously warm chuckle.
    The house was a beauty. Twenty-foot ceilings and a modern
renovation that complemented the building’s Victorian bones. The wood glowed
with beeswax shine and the air carried the scent of old-English roses. ‘Did you
do the renovation?’ asked Evie and her dutiful fiancé nodded.
    ‘My first project after graduating.’
    ‘Nice work,’ she said as Caroline ushered them into a large
sitting room that fed seamlessly through to a wide, paved garden patio. The
table there was set for four. Perfumed roses filled several large vases, their
colours haphazard enough to make Evie smile.
    ‘I had a very demanding client who knew exactly what she
wanted,’ said Max. ‘My ego took such a beating. These days I only wish all our
clients could be that specific.’
    ‘Max tells me you’re a civil engineer,’ said Caroline. ‘Do you
enjoy your work?’
    ‘I love it,’ said Evie.
    ‘And this new project you’re quoting on? You’re as enthusiastic
about it as Max?’
    ‘You mean the civic centre? Yes. It’s the perfect stepping
stone for us.’ Us being the business. ‘The right
opportunity at exactly the right time.’
    ‘So I hear,’ said Caroline, with an enigmatic glance for her
son. ‘I hope it’s worth it. Let me just go and tell Amelia we’re ready for
lunch,’ she said smoothly, and swanned out of the room before anyone could
reply.
    ‘She’s not buying it,’ said Evie. ‘The whirlwind
engagement.’
    ‘Not so,’ said Max. ‘She’s undecided. Different beast
altogether.’
    ‘You don’t take after her in looks.’
    ‘No,’ said Max. ‘I take after my father.’
    ‘You mean tall, dark, handsome and rich?’ Evie teased.
    ‘He’s not rich,’ said a deep voice from behind them. ‘Yet.’
    That voice. Such a deep, raspy baritone. Max had a deep voice
too, but it wasn’t like this one.
    ‘Logan,’ said Max turning around, and Evie forced herself to
relax. Max had a brother called Logan; Evie knew this already. It was just a
name—nothing to worry about. Plenty of Logans in this world.
    And then Evie turned towards the sound of that voice too and
the world as she lived in it ceased to exist, because she knew this man, this
Logan who was Max’s brother.
    And he knew her.
    ‘Evie, this is my brother,’ said Max as he headed towards the
older man. ‘Logan, meet Evie.’
    Manners made Evie walk puppet-like to Max’s side and wait while
the two men embraced. Masochism made her lift her chin and hold out her hand for
Logan to shake once they were finished with the brotherly affection. He looked
older. Harder. The lines on his face were more deeply etched and his bleak,
black gaze was as hard as agate. But it was him.
    Logan ignored her outstretched hand and shoved his hands deep
into his trouser pockets instead. The movement