Jude Deveraux (37 page)

'It's a
good place to
live,'
Brad said, his voice pleading with her, his eyes
near to tears.

'Brad,
you're a wonderful man, a little controlling for someone as independent as I
am, but a good man. But I need to try out my wings. I need to ... to see some
of the world before I get to be too old to enjoy it.'

'Wherever
you want to go, I'll go with you,' Brad said, struggling to stand up.

She
stepped down a step. 'Give me a year,' she said. 'One year.'

'A
year,' he said in agreement. 'Then I'm going after you wherever you are in the
world.'

'A
deal,' she said, then she turned and ran down the porch steps before she could
change her mind.

Eden
Palmer looked up from the book she was reading. A man was standing over her.
The sun was behind his head so she couldn't see his face. But she knew who he
was.

'This
seat taken?' he asked, motioning to the beach chair next to her.

'No,'
she answered and put down her book. She twirled around in the chair, presenting
her almost naked back to him, and handed him the suntan lotion.

'I hear
you've been busy,' Jared McBride said as he massaged oil into her skin. Since
she was lying completely in the shade of a huge umbrella, and her skin was
perfectly white, he knew she didn't need the lotion.

'Very
busy,' she said, turning her head toward the ocean where Melissa and Stuart and
her grandson were playing.

'You
didn't stay in Arundel?'

'No, as
I'm sure you know.'

'I
might have checked out a few things about you. Now and then. I hear you're
writing a book about gardens around the world.'

'It
gets me into the gardens,' she said.

'I
stopped by Arundel about a month after the trial.'

'Trials,'
Eden said.

'Yeah,
right. Your testimony helped put Runkel away. And we got Jolly's boss. You were
great!' He grinned at Eden, but she didn't smile back, just kept looking at him
solemnly. 'Sorry you had to go through that, but the agency appreciates it a
lot.'

'Tell
them they're welcome.' She didn't say any more, just let Jared continue
caressing her back. She saw Stuart start toward her, but Melissa stopped him.

'I saw
Granville.'

'Oh?'

'You
can imagine my surprise when I found out that you two weren't married. I
thought that was a done deal. Money change your mind?'

'Being
so close to death changed my mind. How was Braddon?'

'Full
of confidence. He said that when you got back you two would be married. He told
me . . . Well, actually, I had to get him drunk first, but he told me that
you'd asked for a year to make up your mind. He seemed to think that was a
normal thing. He said that in Victorian times it was ordinary for a young woman
to take a year to make up her mind about who to marry.'

'Ah,'
Eden said.

'What
does that mean?'

'Nothing.
Just ah.'

'I did
a little checking and it's been over a year since you asked him for a year to
make up your mind.'

'Ah.'

'Have
you made up your mind yet?'

'Maybe,'
she said, then turned and took the lotion from him. 'I don't have access to
every person   on   earth’s intimate   files, nor
do   I   get people drunk, so I haven't been able to keep
track of you. What have you been doing in the last year?'

'One
year, six weeks, and two days,' he said. 'Not that I've been counting. I quit
the agency.'

'Get
another job?'

'Don't
want one.'

'What
do you plan to do with the rest of your

life?'

'I
thought I'd take it one day at a time. Not plan anything. You wouldn't like to
go on a safari with me, would you?'

'Photos,
not shooting?'

'No
shooting anything. I gave that up. I think they have some gardens in Africa.'

'Really?'

There
was a shout and Jared looked toward the water. 'That your grandchild?'

'Yes,'
Eden said, and her voice nearly melted.

'Handsome
kid.'

'Yes,
he is.'

He
turned back to her. 'Eden, I've lived my whole life alone. Even when I was
married, I was alone. I made a real cock-up of that, but I'd like to try
something different. Maybe — '

She put
her fingertips over his lips. 'I've been alone too, so let's see how we get
along. I'd like to go on a safari.'

Melissa,
Stuart, and dear little Cody were walking toward them. Stuart was frowning at
Eden in a protective way.

'By the
way,' Eden said, not taking her eyes off her approaching family. 'What's your
real name?'

'Montgomery.
Jared Montgomery.'