fluffy blond bangs. Pale blue eyes skewered him.
“Edmund Delaney.” Jenna waved a distracted hand in introduction. “This is my mother, Valerie Sinclair, Edmund.”
He moved a little closer to Jenna and stroked her back reassuringly. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Sinclair. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Which was a lie, but who was counting!
“It’s more than I can say of you,” she replied frostily, nostrils pinched with displeasure at the familiar way he was pawing her firstborn. “I’ve never heard Jenna mention your name.”
Jenna’s insides gave an ominous gurgle. “That’s because Edmund and I…haven’t…um…”
She petered into silence and flung him a beseeching look.
“Broadcast our relationship,” he finished for her, pasting on his most obsequious smile. “We wanted to keep it just between the two of us a bit longer, but now that you’ve caught us, I guess we might as well go public. We were discussing wedding plans. Jenna just agreed to marry me.”
Valerie Sinclair spared him a glance which, though brief, conveyed her opinion that he needed a lobotomy in the worst way, then fixed Jenna in a beady-eyed stare. “What’s he talking about?”
“I’d have thought it was plain enough, Mother,” she said, groping for his hand. “Edmund and I are engaged.”
“I see. And where does that leave Mark?”
“Nowhere,” Jenna said firmly. “I’ve tried telling you that for weeks, Mother, and you refused to believe me.” She thrust out her left hand to show off the diamond. “Maybe this will convince you otherwise and prove that I, at least, have moved on to better things.”
“Well! I…hardly know what to say!”
“Congratulations would be nice,” Edmund suggested.
“No doubt,” Valerie replied, giving her nostrils another workout. “But you’ll have to forgive me if I’m not quite up to par on social niceties, Mr. Delaney. This is a decided shock. We had no idea Jenna was seeing…someone, let alone getting serious about him. Well!” She shrugged her skinny shoulders helplessly. “I suppose you’d better join us for dinner, too. Once he hears the news, my husband will certainly insist on meeting the person who’s swept Jenna off her feet in such a mysteriously short time.”
“I guess we can accommodate you, just this once,” he said, ignoring Jenna’s smothered gasp of dismay. “Where are you dining?”
“At The Pavilion.”
He should have guessed. Securing a table at one of the city’s most exclusive restaurants would be right up Valerie Sinclair’s alley! She’d probably lose her appetite for a month if she knew he had a standing reservation there any time he wanted one.
“In case you have trouble finding it,” she went on, “it’s down on—”
“I know where it is,” he said. “Go ahead and don’t worry about us. We’ll meet you there.”
“We can’t have dinner with them!” Jenna cried, the minute the door had shut behind the old harridan. “They’ll see through us in a flash!”
“They’ll see exactly what we want them to see and not a thing more,” he told her. “Your mother might like to think she can rearrange the weather to suit her, but she’s met her match in me.”
“You don’t know what you’re letting yourself in for, Edmund!”
“I know this is something we have to face sooner, rather than later. We’re working to a pretty tight schedule here, Jenna, and while I agree it would have been better if we’d had a bit more time to rehearse, we can’t postpone the show indefinitely.”
“I can’t go through with it!” she moaned, flopping down on the couch like a rag doll. “Not tonight! Not this soon!”
“Sure you can. Just follow my lead. And if things get too dicey, go powder your nose and leave me to handle everything.”
“What if you can’t?”
He hunkered down in front of her and took her hands. “Hey,” he said, “this is me, remember? When have I ever let you down?”
He never had, nor
“Edmund Delaney.” Jenna waved a distracted hand in introduction. “This is my mother, Valerie Sinclair, Edmund.”
He moved a little closer to Jenna and stroked her back reassuringly. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Sinclair. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Which was a lie, but who was counting!
“It’s more than I can say of you,” she replied frostily, nostrils pinched with displeasure at the familiar way he was pawing her firstborn. “I’ve never heard Jenna mention your name.”
Jenna’s insides gave an ominous gurgle. “That’s because Edmund and I…haven’t…um…”
She petered into silence and flung him a beseeching look.
“Broadcast our relationship,” he finished for her, pasting on his most obsequious smile. “We wanted to keep it just between the two of us a bit longer, but now that you’ve caught us, I guess we might as well go public. We were discussing wedding plans. Jenna just agreed to marry me.”
Valerie Sinclair spared him a glance which, though brief, conveyed her opinion that he needed a lobotomy in the worst way, then fixed Jenna in a beady-eyed stare. “What’s he talking about?”
“I’d have thought it was plain enough, Mother,” she said, groping for his hand. “Edmund and I are engaged.”
“I see. And where does that leave Mark?”
“Nowhere,” Jenna said firmly. “I’ve tried telling you that for weeks, Mother, and you refused to believe me.” She thrust out her left hand to show off the diamond. “Maybe this will convince you otherwise and prove that I, at least, have moved on to better things.”
“Well! I…hardly know what to say!”
“Congratulations would be nice,” Edmund suggested.
“No doubt,” Valerie replied, giving her nostrils another workout. “But you’ll have to forgive me if I’m not quite up to par on social niceties, Mr. Delaney. This is a decided shock. We had no idea Jenna was seeing…someone, let alone getting serious about him. Well!” She shrugged her skinny shoulders helplessly. “I suppose you’d better join us for dinner, too. Once he hears the news, my husband will certainly insist on meeting the person who’s swept Jenna off her feet in such a mysteriously short time.”
“I guess we can accommodate you, just this once,” he said, ignoring Jenna’s smothered gasp of dismay. “Where are you dining?”
“At The Pavilion.”
He should have guessed. Securing a table at one of the city’s most exclusive restaurants would be right up Valerie Sinclair’s alley! She’d probably lose her appetite for a month if she knew he had a standing reservation there any time he wanted one.
“In case you have trouble finding it,” she went on, “it’s down on—”
“I know where it is,” he said. “Go ahead and don’t worry about us. We’ll meet you there.”
“We can’t have dinner with them!” Jenna cried, the minute the door had shut behind the old harridan. “They’ll see through us in a flash!”
“They’ll see exactly what we want them to see and not a thing more,” he told her. “Your mother might like to think she can rearrange the weather to suit her, but she’s met her match in me.”
“You don’t know what you’re letting yourself in for, Edmund!”
“I know this is something we have to face sooner, rather than later. We’re working to a pretty tight schedule here, Jenna, and while I agree it would have been better if we’d had a bit more time to rehearse, we can’t postpone the show indefinitely.”
“I can’t go through with it!” she moaned, flopping down on the couch like a rag doll. “Not tonight! Not this soon!”
“Sure you can. Just follow my lead. And if things get too dicey, go powder your nose and leave me to handle everything.”
“What if you can’t?”
He hunkered down in front of her and took her hands. “Hey,” he said, “this is me, remember? When have I ever let you down?”
He never had, nor
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