Unforsaken by Lisa Higdon

part of their world. Kissing Matt had been stupid to the point of lunacy and only served to make the situation less manageable. She berated herself over and over for wanting to believe he still held feelings for her after so much time had passed. More than likely he was confusing gratitude and sentiment with desire.
    A knock at her door distracted Olivia from her troubling thoughts, and she glanced up to see Rodger peering into her office with a painfully friendly smile.
    "Afternoon, cousin,” he drawled and strolled inside without waiting for an invitation. “I have some news you'll be happy to hear."
    "How nice.” She seriously doubted that, but she faced him, waiting. “What is it?"
    "You remember Mr. Sullivan?"
    She nodded.
    "Well, he made his order this morning.” He placed the bill of sale on her desk. “He plans to start construction next week, and we're supplying the lumber."
    She glanced at the numbers. “You gave him quite a generous discount."
    "Well, considering how much he was willing to buy, it only seemed fair."
    "What do you know about Sullivan?"
    The question startled Rodger and he blinked. “Well, he ... ah, he comes from Liverpool, but he's lived in America for the last ten or twenty years. Made a fortune in cotton export."
    "And now he's moved to Georgia to start a textile mill? Doesn't that seem odd to you?"
    Rodger squirmed slightly. “There's a lot of opportunity nowadays. Lots of businessmen are taking advantage of such ... opportunities."
    "I thought you disapproved of doing business with carpetbaggers."
    "I do,” he assured her without hesitation. “They all have political agendas; Sullivan is no carpetbagger. He's simply making a good business move."
    "Taking advantage of a good opportunity, you mean.” At Rodger's pained expression, she let the argument drop. For now. “I just feel we should know more about who we're dealing with when we extend ourselves so heavily."
    "Well, I invited him to Sunday dinner.” Rodger smiled slyly. “That should give you an opportunity to get to know him better."
    "At my house?” Olivia was shocked by his presumptuousness. “Without asking me first?"
    "Olivia, dear, we always have Sunday dinner at your house. I didn't think you would mind.” He paused. “Unless you have other plans ... again."
    She could feel the color warm her face and tried to ignore the thinly veiled query. She hadn't missed the furtive looks and hushed whispers everywhere she went in the past week. She had known more than one person had seen her early morning return with Matt and Sarah, but she had no doubt Ada Kirk had spread most of the gossip as thickly as possible.
    "From here on, please ask me before inviting people to my home,” she conceded. “Especially strangers."
    "He's no stranger,” Rodger corrected her. “He could prove to be a valuable business ... associate."
    Her head snapped up, and she refused to pretend she hadn't caught the slip. “Valuable to whom? Rodger, whatever business dealings you involve yourself in are your own affair, but don't ever think you can use your connections with me for personal benefit."
    His eyes narrowed. “I'm thinking of the benefit of the business. Perhaps you should do the same."
    "What are you saying?"
    "Everyone in town is speculating on what happened between you and Matt Bowen.” His voice held a note of triumph, and she suspected he'd been dying to tell her that all week long. “What on earth were you thinking? You had no business going out there alone with him, let alone spending the night!"
    "Well, I certainly didn't plan on it!” she snapped. “How many times do I have to tell you that there was a storm—"
    "And you were stranded,” he finished for her. Leaning forward, his tone softened. “Look, I know you well enough to realize that you wouldn't intentionally do something so ... improper, but there are others who might not be so willing to give you the benefit of the doubt."
    "Let them think what they like; I