Cherished by Jill Gregory Read Free Book Online Page B

expression. Behind his gaze was a keen, richly
amused glint that she found somewhat unnerving.
    He cut a splendid figure. Tall and slim, he
had a rugged countenance browned by sun and wind and distinguished
by a light, well-trimmed mustache and a pair of shrewdly
intelligent topaz eyes. She remembered those eyes. His hair, a
darker gold than Juliana’s, was brushed smoothly back, each strand
perfectly in place. His jaw was strong, with a cleft in his chin.
His grooming was immaculate; he looked like a man whose suits would
always be flawlessly pressed, whose boots were at all times
magnificently polished. Even his teeth shone as he smiled down at
her, but something about that smile, and the anticipatory
expression in his eyes, made Juliana uneasy. His look was bold,
victorious almost.
    Like a mouse caught between a cat’s paws, she
suddenly wanted to squeak and run.
    Silly
, she admonished herself.
You’re imagining things
.
    But Juliana had not been the belle of St.
Louis society for two seasons without having learned to recognize
when a man was attracted to her. She felt a tiny shock race down
her spine as she continued to meet the intent stare of John
Breen.
    He had shown no sign of being attracted to
her that one time they’d met—had he? Thinking back quickly, Juliana
realized she had been so busy with her swarm of overeager suitors
that evening, she had barely paused for breath when Uncle Edward
had introduced her to John Breen. Now, searching her mind with
great rapidity, she did remember that he had held her hand an
inordinate amount of time, and complimented her on her beauty
before she had been swept off by her current dancing partner. But
she had taken both the compliment and the warm look he bestowed on
her as civilities, nothing more. She hadn’t given John Breen
another thought until Uncle Edward had told her of this business
trip to Denver. Even then, she had thought of him merely as her
uncle’s associate, a mogul famous for his vast self-made
wealth—never as a suitor with a romantic interest in her. Yet, as
she stood before him now on the porch, she could not deny that he
was regarding her with the glance of a man who has much more on his
mind than business.
    “Are you cold, Miss Montgomery? You’re
shivering. Come into the house and get warm.” He glanced over at
the rest of the Tobias family, who had come onto the porch and were
standing silently by, waiting to be greeted.
    “Edward! Here, at last,” Breen threw over his
shoulder. “Come in, everyone. You’ll want to rest before the party
gets under way.”
    To Juliana, as he led her into the house, he
said, “I hope the journey wasn’t too tiring for you.”
    “No, Mr. Breen. Not at all.”
    “You’re a bit pale. Every bit as beautiful as
I remember, of course, but ...”
    “Juliana fainted when we got to town,”
Victoria blurted out.
    Juliana gritted her teeth and managed to
restrain herself from glaring at her cousin, though at that moment
she would have dearly loved to box Victoria’s ears.
    “Fainted?” Swift concern flashed across
Breen’s features. He swung Juliana around to face him. “Are you
ill? Shall I send for a doctor?”
    “Oh, no, please. It was nothing. Victoria
shouldn’t have mentioned it.”
    Victoria, having no idea of John Breen’s
marital intentions toward her cousin, had been feeling peeved at
being so pointedly ignored. It was bad enough that Juliana
commanded the attention of the handsomest young men back home, but
to see John Breen positively doting on her the moment they arrived
without scarcely a glance at anyone else was too much to bear. She
knew Juliana hated any reference to her weakness regarding
bloodshed, and it gave her a surge of pleasure to confide something
to John Breen that would discomfit her cousin: this one missish
quality, the only frailty she seemed to possess, embarrassed
Juliana, and perhaps, Victoria thought with a flash of inspiration,
it would even diminish their host’s