Eternally Yours - Brenda Jackson [62]
Braxter followed the senator’s gaze. “Not personally, but I know who she is. She’s Lorren Madaris’s best friend.”
“Lorren Madaris? Justin Madaris’s wife?”
“Yes.”
“What’s her name?”
“Syneda. Syneda Walters.”
Shakily the senator reached out to steady himself with a hand on the edge of an oak table. “Did you say Wal…Walters?”
Braxton frowned, clearly worried by the shocked expression on the senator’s face. “Yes, Walters. Sir? Are you all right?”
“I need to get out of here for a moment, Braxter. I’m going up to my room for a while. Please make the necessary excuses.”
Before Braxter could respond, Senator Lansing turned and went up the stairs.
Celeste stood on the other side of the room, grateful she had taken a lip reading class as an elective in college. She took a quick glance at the woman who had made the senator lose some of his color.
The attractive woman appeared to be around her age. Was she someone with whom the senator had once had an affair? Well, whoever she was, the sight of her had shaken up the old man. She smiled. She would have to find out the woman’s name, and more about her. There might be something about the senator’s reaction to the woman that was worth checking into.
Chapter 14
Clayton glanced around the crowded room, his gaze seeking out Syneda. He saw her dancing again, this time it was with his uncle Jake.
He relaxed, not concerned about competition from his uncle, who was the youngest of the seven Madaris brothers. Although Jacob Madaris was still a strikingly handsome man at the age of forty-four, everyone knew Jake was married to the Whispering Pines ranch. While in his early twenties, he’d married a woman who had left him after less than a year. She had been a city girl who had hated the rural life Jake loved.
“Where have you been?”
Clayton turned toward the sound of the familiar voice, and came face-to-face with his brother Dex. “I’ve been around.”
Dex Madaris shook his head. “No, I don’t mean tonight. I mean where have you been for the past couple of weeks? Caitlin and I haven’t seen you since that weekend you kept Jordan for us. And you’ve been missing Sunday dinners at Mom’s. It’s not like you to pass up a free meal.” Dex flashed him a grin. “Although with you not being there, there’s more food to go around.”
“Funny, Dex. Real funny. You’re turning into a regular comedian,” Clayton said, grabbing a handful of mixed nuts from the table.
“So, where have you been?”
Clayton frowned slightly. “Why is it that everyone wants to get in my business?”
Dex smiled. “Because you’re usually in everyone else’s.”
“You can’t deny that, Clayton,” Justin said, coming to join them.
Clayton stopped munching for a moment and looked at the two brothers he loved and respected. But at the moment they were annoying. “Your opinions of me are touching,” he said drily.
Before the brothers could respond, an old acquaintance of Justin’s walked up. Introductions were made and conversations began. But Clayton tuned out all the talk around him, although he forced a smile and nodded his head occasionally. His real interest was in the woman across the room. The dance had ended and she stood talking to Caitlin, Lorren and Corinthians Avery, a woman who was the head geologist for Remington Oil.
“I see she has caught your interest, as well.”
“Who?” Clayton asked the man standing beside him who had been engaged in a conversation with Justin and Dex moments earlier.
“The woman in the teal gown. She’s gorgeous. I’ve had my eyes on her all night.”
Clayton tried to keep his features expressionless. “Really?” He searched his memory for the name of the man Justin had introduced him to just minutes ago. Ahh, yes, his name was Bernard Wilson, and according to Justin he owned a large pharmaceutical company in Waco.
Clayton balled his fists at his side. A part of him wanted to smash the man’s face for even noticing Syneda.
“So what do you think of her?” Bernard