Swan's Grace by Linda Francis Lee Read Free Book Online Page A

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    Her head tilted back and she looked at him, her gold and green-flecked eyes filled with something he couldn't name. For one unbidden moment she was the young girl who had innocently followed him around. The girl he had known forever. Not provocative. Not forward. Just Sophie.
    But then her eyes flashed with something he couldn't name, and she changed—like a stage actress slipping into a new role, he thought fleetingly. Her lips parted. Her gaze drifted down to his mouth, and she was no longer the young girl. He felt an instant stab of desire for the woman she had become. Without thinking, he reached out with his free hand and ran the backs of his fingers ever so slowly down her cheek. He could feel her quick intake of breath— as if he had thrown her off balance.
    He curled one long strand of hair around his finger, and he could feel her tremble. In that second he didn't know if he wanted to strangle her for the way she was acting, or kiss her until she went soft in his arms.
    But he was saved from making a decision—much less a mistake, given the murmuring audience behind them— when Conrad Wentworth strode into the house.
    With Sophie standing so close, Grayson watched as the disconcerted lines of her face went soft and adoring. "Papa," she whispered, as if time had circled back and she were still a child.
    Grayson stepped away and she flew into Conrad's arms. "Oh, Father!"
    The older man hugged her tight, then set her at arm's length, his smile gentle and loving. "Let me have a look at you. Haven't you grown into the prettiest girl around." He glanced at Grayson. "Isn't that so?"
    He conceded the point with a nod. "I agree."
    Sophie's cheeks reddened.
    "What's this?" Henry asked, shooting Deandra a questioning look. "Do we have a blush?"
    Sophie pressed her hands to her cheeks, then laughed out loud and stood back. "Boston women can blush over a compliment as well as any Southern belle."
    Conrad cleared his throat. "Why didn't you let me know you were arriving early?"
    "It was supposed to be a surprise—a proper surprise that I was home."
    "Speaking of proper, Sophie, you need to pack your bags. You really can't stay here." He eyed her entourage. "And I'm sure your… um, friends will be more than happy at the Hotel Vendome."
    "Heavens," Henry said dramatically, "the place is getting an absolute profusion of business. What with our brutish Mr. Hawthorne staying there. And now us. Perhaps we should invest."
    Sophie ignored him. "Father, what is going on?"
    Conrad, however, had to drag his disbelieving glare away from the dapperly dressed little man. "I had planned to explain when I picked you up, but you got home early and didn't give me a chance."
    "Explain what? And where are you and Patrice and the girls living if not here?"
    "Well, I built a new home on The Fens. A beautiful place, actually. I know you'll love it." He smiled uncomfortably. "Didn't I tell you?"
    "No, Father, you didn't, and what does that have to do with Swan's Grace? Mr. Hawthorne said you sold it to him."
    Sophie stared at her father, her golden brown eyes darkening with vulnerability, and Grayson realized that she was silently, desperately willing the man to deny her words. She wanted the words to be untrue in a way that ran deep.
    Conrad hesitated, glancing around the room before turning back to his daughter. "Well, you see, princess, I did."
    She went still. Too still.
    Grayson saw a world of hurt and betrayal flash through the golden depths of her eyes, and for reasons he didn't understand, he hated the look, hated that only minutes before she had been laughing and teasing and thrilled to be home.
    He needed to tell her about the house and the betrothal, get it out in the open. But right then wasn't the time to do it. Instead he found himself stepping in. "As the ubiquitous Henry has just noted, I am staying at the Hotel Vendome, and I'm fine there while we straighten this out."
    "Straighten this out?" Conrad demanded.
    "Yes, Conrad."