Secrets of the Tycoon's Bride by Emilie Rose Page B

tremble too much.
    â€œIt’s beautiful.”
    â€œYour brother has excellent taste.” Good. Her voice sounded almost normal.
    Brooke looked doubtful. “Adam does? How long have you been dating?”
    Panic hit Lauryn hard and fast. She and Adam hadn’t discussed that. She looked at him but he’d turned to talk to Stephen. “Um, not long. We met when I interviewed for the job at Estate seven and a half months ago, but we, um, tried to deny our feelings…because of the no-fraternization policy.”
    She stuck to the truth as much as she could because she hated lying to these people. To anyone, really. She’d spent too much of her youth telling whoppers. And getting caught. She kept waiting for the half-truths of her current life to blow up in her face. One misstep and—
    â€œWhat is wrong with you people?” a harsh and slightly slurred female voice asked from behind the others. The group parted for the thin woman barging through them like a Coast Guard cutter. Her short dark hair was streaked with gray. Her cold, blue gaze plowed into Lauryn’s. Adam’s eyes, only Lauryn had never seen his look as hard. And she hoped she never did.
    â€œWhy is it none of my children have the decency to marry in a church?”
    â€œHello, Mother,” Adam said.
    The chilly gaze raked Lauryn from head to toe before shifting to Adam. He air-kissed his mother’s cheek with about as much warmth as a polar ice cap. “This is Lauryn. My wife.”
    â€œSo I hear.”
    Lauryn suppressed a flinch at the caustic tone.
    Adam continued as if his mother hadn’t rudely interrupted. “Lauryn, Bonita Garrison. My mother.”
    â€œIt’s nice to meet—”
    â€œAre you pregnant?” Bonita Garrison snarled.
    Lauryn gasped and lowered the hand she’d extended. “No.”
    â€œGood. I need another drink. Lisette!” Adam’s mother wheeled around and headed across the vast living room beyond a fat stone column. The housekeeper hustled after her.
    â€œI shouldn’t be surprised to find her already working her way through a bottle,” Adam muttered.
    â€œThat’s our mother,” Brittany said. “I can’t believe you didn’t take Lauryn on a decent honeymoon. Three days in the Bahamas? Please. I never took you for a cheapskate.”
    Adam shrugged. “We have too much to do. We’re moving into the Sunset Island estate tomorrow. I’ll make it up to Lauryn later.”
    â€œYou’re giving up the bachelor pad?” Stephen said in a surprise-laden voice.
    â€œNo. The property’s too valuable to sell and it should continue to appreciate. The club will use it the same way I’ve been using the estate. But Lauryn and I want a home. The kind you’d raise a family in.” He quoted her words from the night he’d given her the house tour.
    Adam’s arm around Lauryn’s waist guided her along with the group as it moved toward the French doors on the far side of the room, through which Bonita Garrison had disappeared. Outside, a limestone patio surrounded an Olympic-size pool. A border of tall palms swayed in the evening breeze. Lauryn tried not to gawk, but it was impossible not to be overwhelmed by such opulence.
    â€œDrink?” Adam released her and moved toward a marble-topped wet bar.
    Lauryn debated sipping something to calm her nerves versus the possibility of loosening her tongue and tripping over it. And then she noticed Adam’s disconcerted expression. She realized he had no clue of her drink preference. “Um, sure. Do you have a dry white wine tonight?”
    â€œComing up.”
    â€œWe’re late for dinner,” Mrs. Garrison groused.
    Adam leisurely reached for a goblet and bottle. “Go ahead, Mother. Lauryn and I will join you in a minute. Lisette, would you ask the kitchen to serve champagne with dessert? And join us for a glass.”
    The