Her Heart's Desire (Sunflower Series Book 1) by Linda Joyce Read Free Book Online Page B

the
funeral. We’re making up for last year and celebrating this one,
too. You know how my mother was big on birthdays.”
    “Let me talk to him, Lucas,” Zoë
purred. “I think I can persuade the man that talking isn’t in his
best interest. And, their date is the perfect cover for the
surprise party. Lia will be so many shades of embarrassed when she
gets there we’ll need a fire hose to cool her cheeks.”
    “No, Zoë. I should be the one to take her to
dinner before the party. I’m a better decoy,” Lucas insisted.
    Zoë turned and looked him up and down. “That
may have been true once, but I think she’s over you. You had your
chance, dude...and blew it. Several times. If you asked Lia out
now, she’d know for certain something is up. Besides, you’re the
world’s worst liar. That’s one of the things we all love about
you.”
    “If I thought Lia would agree to dinner with
you and believe everything was normal, I’d say ask her,” Craig
said. “But, we all know, you asking her out now would be the same
as writing Warning, Amelia on the billboard at the entrance
to town. She sees through you like cellophane.”
    “If she could see through me, then she
wouldn’t be asking Karl out,” Lucas muttered through a clenched
jaw. His frustration shot up like mercury rising in a thermometer
facing the Midwest sun.
    “I don’t like it. Craig, why don’t you take your sister out for a family dinner?” Amelia together with
Karl, under any circumstances, would push his blood pressure into
the danger zone.
    “She’s barely speaking to me.”
    “Talk her into it. Charm her. That way, we
all know our secret is safe.” He couldn’t tell Craig about his
attraction to Amelia before he’d had a chance to show the woman he
loved how much she meant to him. In his plan, they’d break the news
to her brother together. But first, he had to get past the guards
holding Amelia’s heart in lockdown. Zoë was right. He’d had chances
in the past and blew them, but he was resourceful. Now he’d create
a new one.
    “Karl is our decoy.” Zoë rose. “Got to get
back to the horde. See you both tomorrow.”
    “Glad that’s settled,” Craig said, digging
into his food.
    Lucas frowned as Zoë rejoined her family.
Karl a decoy? That idea churned his irritation like a carnival
round-up ride, the twirling centrifuge. Somehow, he had to move
Karl out of the picture.
    “Hey, where are you?” Craig waved his hand.
“Look, I know you said you were through with my plan to get Amelia
back to the city, but I need your help, man, one last time. Have a
chat with Karl. Tell him no more than two dates. I’m going to
protect Amelia’s interest and will do so until I die. She’s moving
back to the city. That’s the end of that.”
    Lucas grunted. “Okay. This one last
time.”
    He’d help, but only because it served his
interests, too, and an idea began taking shape, and soon he’d allow
his feelings for Amelia to unfurl.
    But was Zoë right? Was he too late?
     
     
     

Chapter 5
     
    Lia sat alone on the wide back deck with her
legs stretched long in a chaise lounge. Gentle breezes ruffled her
hair and whispered through the corn. A few birds warbled, calling
to each other in the nearby trees. A butterfly danced from flower
to flower in the garden surrounding the deck. She flipped her robe
closed to cover her legs. Her mood matched the overcast sky. Low
hanging clouds brought hope for a chance of rain to water the
crops. Yet the same gray clouds dragged in dreariness, hid
sunlight, and swept cheerfulness away. Compared to this time last
year, her heart lifted buoyantly, but would it ever totally
heal?
    She sipped Earl Grey tea strongly dosed with
cream and sugar and tried to distract her mind from the movie
playing repeatedly in her head, the one from a year ago when the
whole town and half the county had turned out for her parents’
funeral. With Craig by her side, they’d greeted everyone and
thanked them for coming.