Tall, Dark_.Westmoreland! - Brenda Jackson [30]
“Yes. My oldest brother is Jared, and he is a divorce attorney here in the city. Spencer lives in California and is the financial adviser in the family. Durango lives in Montana and is a park ranger. He’s thinking about retiring to play a bigger role in his horse-breeding business. And then there are the twins—Ian and Quade. Ian owns a resort on Lake Tahoe, and Quade used to work for the government, but now he owns a number of security firms around the country. Quade and his wife are the parents of triplets, and they live in Carolina, although they have another home in Jamaica.”
“Wow! You weren’t kidding when you said multiple births run in your family. Are your brothers married?”
“Yes, and happily so. I’m the only single Westmoreland living in Atlanta. My father has a brother, Uncle Corey, who lives in Montana. He also has triplets, Casey, Clint and Cole, and they are all married.”
At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and seconds later Chase entered with their food. “Everything smells delicious,” Olivia said, getting to her feet to help place the plates on the table.
Chase smiled. “I hope the two of you enjoy it,” he said, then left them alone again.
Once they were seated at the table, Reggie glanced over at her and smiled. “I’m glad you decided to stay.”
Olivia returned his smile.
During dinner Olivia was so tuned in to Reggie that she could only stare at him and listen to everything he was saying. He told her about the other family of Westmorelands, the ones living in Colorado, whom his father had discovered when he decided to research the family history a year ago. A family reunion was being held later this month in Texas, where both the Atlanta-based Westmorelands and the Denver-based Westmorelands would be getting together and officially meeting for the first time. It sounded exciting, especially to someone whose family was limited to two brothers and a father. Both of her sets of grandparents were deceased, and both of her parents had been only children.
“Would you like some more dessert?” he asked.
Reggie’s question reclaimed her thoughts, and she smiled over at him. He had kept his word, and although the attraction they shared was there, flowing blatantly between them, they had been able to harness it while sharing information about each other. A part of Olivia wasn’t sure why they had decided to spend time together when nothing would ever come of it, but they had. Once again, the desire to be together, if only to breathe the same air and share conversation, had driven them to defy what others around them felt they should do.
“No, thanks. I do have to leave. I told my father I was going to the park to paint.”
“I’m glad you agreed to meet with me and I’m sorry if I placed you in an awkward position.”
“You didn’t,” she said. “I mentioned to Dad that I was going to the park before you called. I just didn’t tell him of my change of plans, because he was resting.”
“Would you have done otherwise?” he asked her.
She knew she would be honest and said, “No, he would have forbidden it. And that’s the reason why, as much as I enjoyed sharing dinner and conversation with you, Reggie, we can’t do it again. I hope you understand.”
He met her eyes. “No, I don’t understand, because like I said earlier, Olivia, the campaign doesn’t concern our relationship.”
“The press won’t see it that way, and they would have a field day with the story of you and I being involved. I refuse to sneak around to see you.” She stood. “I need to go.”
Reggie stood as well. He knew he couldn’t detain her any longer, but he was more determined than ever to see her again and spend time with her. And he didn’t want them to sneak around, either. There had to be a way, and he was determined to find it. “I enjoyed our time together, Olivia.”
She held out her hand to him. “So did I. Thank you.”
Reggie took the hand she offered, felt the heat the moment he touched it and knew she felt the heat as well. His fingers tightened on hers, and they both were aware of the sensations flowing between them.