Full Bloom by Jayne Ann Krentz Read Free Book Online Page B

knew that his handpicked troubleshooter was not only happy to save Emily from a dangerous marriage, he was also interested in taking her to bed.
    Gifford Ravenscroft would be outraged. Catherine Ravenscroft would be livid. And as for Drake, well, Drake was a little less predictable, but Emily was almost certain he wouldn't approve. He was as protective of Emily as everyone else in the family.
    Emily knew her family well enough to guess that although they might be willing to use Jacob Stone's peculiar talents when it suited them, they were not likely to view him as any more suitable as a son-in-law than they had Brad Carlton or Damon Morrell.
    The Ravenscrofts were not above trying to arrange a marriage for their one and only daughter. As with most other things in life, Emily's family tended to view marriage as a business matter. Emily had been introduced to enough "suitable" men by her parents to know exactly what type they had in mind for her. Someone established and successful in his own right, with good family and social connections. Someone who would be willing to sign a contract guaranteeing he would keep his hands off Emily's shares in Ravenscroft International.
    Emily grinned as she thought of the shares she owned. They definitely constituted a thorn in the side of the rest of the Ravenscrofts. But Grandmother Emelina Ravenscroft had always been good at irritating the other Ravenscrofts. She had always considered herself their conscience. It had been her money that had originally started Ravenscroft International, although she freely admitted it had been her husband's natural predatory qualities that had made the firm so successful. It had been the perfect marriage combining money and business talent and RI had prospered.
    Emily's grandfather had left his shares of the firm to his son, Gifford, and his grandson, Drake. But her grandmother had stunned everyone by leaving her piece of the firm to Emily. No one had quite recovered from the shock.
    When the family had gathered itself sufficiently to think logically once more, Emily had been told that it would be best if she surrendered her interest to her father and brother. The firm could not afford to buy her out.
    Emily, remembering the deathbed promise she had made in private to her grandmother, had calmly refused. She had never explained what had been said between herself and her grandmother during that private interview, and no one had thought to ask. All the rest of the family cared about was the fact that for the first time in her life, Emily was defying them.
    It had been her first major act of defiance, and no one had believed she would stand firm. It was assumed she would give in on this matter just as she had crumpled at the age of eighteen when she had been informed she would go to an exclusive private college, not join an artists' colony as she had planned.
    Two years had passed since Emily had started Emily's Garden against her family's wishes, but the Ravenscrofts still had trouble believing Emily had truly changed.
    "Practicing for the big flower show, Emily?" Diane asked casually as she came through the shop door after lunch. She peered at the delicate design taking shape under Emily's fingers. "I like that arrangement, but frankly I've got to tell you it might be a little too subtle for the judges. You know how they were last year."
    "Just because I didn't win last year doesn't mean the judges don't respect subtlety," Emily said. "We have to take into account the possibility that the winning entry was actually a better design than the one I submitted."
    "Hah. I refuse to admit that." Diane made a theatrical gesture with her right hand. "Yours was perfect. Magnificent. A tribute to the melding of two cultures. You combined the Japanese approach to celebrating the harmony and grandeur in nature with the Western love of opulence. It was a work of art and the judges were blind. This year, skip the simple celebration of harmony and grandeur and go for