The MacGregor Brides by Nora Roberts

breath. “I’m all right, really. I’m irritated with myself, more than anything. And I can handle it. It’s just a matter of slowing things down a little, of refocusing.”
    “Of being too stubborn, or too afraid to risk your feelings.”
    “Maybe.” Laura acknowledged the possibility with a nod. “But I don’t want to lose him, and I would if I complicated things. I’d rather have what I have than watch him walk away.”
    “And you’re sure he would.”
    “I’m not sure of anything. But I’ve decided to keep things fairly status quo, perhaps with a little distance. Once I have a better perspective, I’ll go from there. And distance shouldn’t be a problem, with the amount of work I have and the holidays.” She put some effort into making her lips curve up. “So, to circle back to the beginning, I’m absolutely fine.”
    * * *
    With his mood light and the small glossy bag in his hand, Caine strolled back to the offices. He’d slipped out to pick up a necklace he’d had designed for his wife. He could already picture her opening the Christmas gift, and himself slipping the collar of gold and colored stones around her throat.
    She was, he thought, going to be very happy.
    When he caught sight of the man starting up the steps to MacGregor and MacGregor, Caine’s mood darkened instantly. Royce Cameron, he thought, the man who was playing fast and loose with his baby girl.
    “Cameron.”
    Royce glanced around, and his own mood, not too cheery to begin with, dropped several levels. Damn MacGregors were everywhere. “Mr. MacGregor.”
    “Office hours are nine to five,” he said coolly. “Laura’s assisting on a very important case. If you want to see her, you’d best wait until she’s done for the day.”
    “I didn’t come to see Laura. I came to see your wife.”
    Caine’s eyes went sharp and hot. “Oh, really? And do you have an appointment?”
    “No, but I think she’ll want to see me. It’s a legal matter, Mr. MacGregor, not a personal one.”
    “Diana’s caseload is already overburdened. But I’ve got a few minutes to spare.”
    For the first time, Royce smiled. “Mr. MacGregor, if I had a legal problem, you’d be the very last lawyer in Boston I’d come to. You’d like nothing better than to see me locked away for ten to twenty, preferably in solitary.”
    “Not at all. I was thinking more along the lines of hard labor in a maximum-security facility.” But because Caine appreciated a man who knew the lay of the land, he opened the door.
    He led the way into the reception area, with its antiques and polished woods. “File this under Christmas, Mollie,” he asked the woman manning the desk.
    “Oh, Mr. MacGregor, it’s the choker, isn’t it? Can I peek?”
    “Just make sure my wife doesn’t see it, then buzz her, will you, and see if she has a moment for Mr. Cameron?”
    “Right away.” But she was already slipping the velvet box out of the bag and opening the lid. “Oh.” She pressed a hand against the starched jacket she wore. “Oh, it’s the most beautiful necklace I’ve ever seen. She’s going to love it.”
    Distracted, Caine eased a hip on the desk and took another look himself. “You think?”
    “Any woman who found this under the Christmas tree would know she’s adored. Just look how the sunlight catches these stones.”
    Baffled, Royce watched the dignified former attorney general of the United States grin down at a piece of jewelry the way a giddy boy grinned at a jar full of lightning bugs. And it struck him that this was a man completely besotted by a woman he’d been married to for a quarter of a century.
    How did that happen? Royce wondered. How did it last? How did two people possibly live together for a lifetime and still love?
    “No comment, Cameron?”
    Royce jerked himself back and took a look at the necklace. It was exotic, deeply colored stones glinting against thick gold. He imagined it would suit Diana MacGregor perfectly. And undoubtedly