McFarlane's Perfect Bride by Christine Rimmer Page A

huh?”
    â€œWe aren’t quite at that point yet. Want to come with me?”
    She shook her head. “I think I’ll just stay out of that, if you don’t mind.”
    He kissed the tip of her nose. “Tuesday, then? I’ll take you to dinner.”
    â€œI have a better idea.”
    â€œWhat could be better than you, me and dinner?”
    â€œYou, me, CJ, Ryan, Jerilyn…and dinner.”
    He groaned. “Dinner with the kids. Not exactly the romantic evening I had in mind.”
    She chided him, “You know it’s a good idea.”
    â€œYeah, I suppose it is.” He planted a kiss on her sweet mouth and slid his arm out from under her. “Okay. Tuesday. Dinner with the kids—and I have to go.” He jumped from the bed and grabbed his briefs and his jeans. When he was fully dressed, he bent close to her for a final kiss. “Every summer should start this way.”
    She twined her arms around his neck and lifted her mouth to his. “I couldn’t agree with you more.”
    Â 
    â€œYou didn’t. ” Allaire wore an expression of total disbelief. She sent a quick glance around the Tottering Teapot, clearly worried that someone might have heard what Tori had just said.
    â€œYeah,” Tori answered, after savoring a slow bite of her avocado and swiss sandwich with sprouts. “I did. We did. And it was wonderful.”
    Allaire leaned closer across the lace tablecloth and pitched her voice barely above a whisper. “But you said yourself he admitted he’s buying out the resort—and then leaving town.”
    â€œI like him. I like him a lot. I want to be with him, for as long as it lasts.”
    A look of concern crossed Allaire’s face. “I just don’t want to see you hurt, Tori.”
    â€œI know you don’t. And I realize that I might be hurt.”
    â€œMight?” Allaire demanded.
    Tori busted to the truth. “Okay. I guess it’s likely, in the end. But I want to be with him more than I want to protect myself against heartbreak. Sometimes you just have to go for it, you know? Go for it and not count the cost.”
    Â 
    Connor couldn’t stay away from Tori.
    She drew him like a bee to a flower, a kid to a cookie jar. He stopped by her house that afternoon and confessed that he couldn’t bear to keep away. Tori said she understood completely, that she felt the same.
    That night, he went out to the Douglas Ranch, asplanned. Riley Douglas, who was Caleb and Adele’s son and Grant Clifton’s partner in running the resort, showed up, too. Riley was silent through most of the meal—silent and watchful. When Caleb and Connor discussed the resort, Riley said that he was sure he and Grant could turn things around, given time.
    Caleb looked at his son and said in a weary tone, “Money’s tight. You know that. And time is the one thing I don’t have a lot of.”
    â€œJust don’t rush into anything,” Riley warned.
    â€œI’m not rushing,” Caleb replied, sending Connor a telling glance. “I’m considering the options, son. Considering them fully.”
    When he left the Douglas Ranch, Connor went straight to Tori’s. She didn’t ask if Caleb had offered to sell him the resort—or anything about what had happened during his visit with the Douglases. He knew she didn’t want to know.
    And he was more than content to say nothing of his meeting with Caleb. He only wanted to take her in his arms, to feel her soft body pressed close to his.
    Tuesday morning after he took CJ and Jerilyn out to Melanie’s, he got a call from Grant Clifton. Grant wanted to speak with him alone.
    Connor drove up toward the resort, stopping off at the office complex down the mountain from the main lodge. Grant led him to his private office and shut the door.
    Grant was furious, Connor could see that in the tightness of his square jaw. He said he’d talked to