Lone Star Lovers
Page 19
Nolan didn’t give a royal flip what her phone number was, since he had no intentions of calling her, regardless of the fact that his matchmaking great-grandmother fully expected him to do so. He would continue to ignore Miss Chapman and any correspondence she sent him. He refused to give in to his great-grandmother’s matchmaking shenanigans.
He tossed the envelope aside and picked up his cell phone to call his family and let them know he was back. He had slept off jet lag most of yesterday and hadn’t talked to anyone other than his cousin Reese and his brother, Corbin. Reese and his wife, Kenna, were expecting their first baby in June and everyone was excited. For years, Reese and Kenna, who’d met in college, had claimed they were nothing but best friends. However, the family had known better and figured one day the couple would reach the same conclusion. Mama Laverne bragged that they were just another one of her success stories.
Nolan ended the call with his parents, stood and walked over to the window to look out. Like most of his relatives, he leased space in the Madaris Building. His electronics company was across the hall from Madaris Explorations, owned by his older cousin Dex.
He loved Houston in March, but it always brought out dicey weather. You had some warm days, but there were days when winter refused to fade into the background while spring tried emerging. He was ready for warmer days and couldn’t wait to spend time at the cottage he’d purchased on Tiki Island, a village in Galveston, last year. He’d hired Ron Siskin, a property manager, to handle the leasing of the cottage whenever he wasn’t using it. So far it had turned out to be not only a great investment but also a getaway place whenever he needed a break from the demands of his job, life itself and, yes, of course, the women who were becoming more demanding by the hour.
The buzzer sounded and he walked back over to his desk. “Yes, Marlene?” Marlene was an older woman in her sixties who’d worked for him since he started the company three years ago. A retired administrative assistant for an insurance agent, Marlene had decided to come out of retirement when she’d gotten bored. She was good at what she did and helped to keep the office running when he was in or out of it.
“There’s a woman here to see you, Mr. Madaris. She doesn’t have an appointment and says it’s important.”
Nolan frowned, glancing at his watch. It’s wasn’t even ten in the morning. Who would show up at his office without an appointment and at this hour? There were a number of family members who worked in the Madaris Building. Obviously, it wasn’t one of them; otherwise Marlene would have said so. “Who is she?”
“A Miss Ivy Chapman.”
He guessed she was tired of sending notes that went unanswered. Hadn’t she heard around town what a scoundrel he was? The last man any woman should be interested in? So what was she doing here?
There was only one way to find out. If she needed to know why he hadn’t responded, that he could certainly tell her. She could stop sending him those notes or else he would take her actions as a form of harassment. He had no problem telling her in no uncertain terms that he was not interested in pursuing an affair with her, regardless of the fact that his great-grandmother and her grandmother wanted it to be so.
“Send her in, Marlene.”
“Yes, Mr. Madaris.”
Nolan had eased into his jacket and straightened his tie before his office door swung open. The first thing he saw was a huge bouquet of flowers that was bigger than the person carrying them. Why was the woman bringing him flowers? Did she honestly think a huge bouquet of flowers would work when her cute little notes hadn’t?
He couldn’t see the woman’s face behind the huge vase of flowers, and without saying a word, not even so much as a good morning, she plopped the monstrosity onto his desk with a loud thump. It was a wonder the vase hadn’t cracked. Hell, maybe it had. He could just imagine water spilling all over his desk.
Nolan looked from the flowers that were taking up entirely too much space on his desk to the woman who’d unceremoniously placed them there. He was not prepared for the beauty of the soft brown eyes behind a pair of thick-rimmed glasses or the perfect roundness of her face and the creamy cocoa coloring of her complexion. And he couldn’t miss the fullness of her lips that were pursed tight in anger.
“I’m only going to warn you but this once, Nolan Madaris. Do not send me any more flowers. Doing so won’t change a thing. I’ve decided to come tell you personally, the same thing I’ve repeatedly told your great-grandmother and my grandmother. There is no way I’d ever become involved with you. No way. Ever.”
Her words shocked him to the point that he could only stand there and stare at her. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared back. “Well?” she asked in a voice filled with annoyance when he continued to stare at her and say nothing. “Do I make myself clear?”
Finding his voice, Nolan said, “You most certainly do. However, there’s a problem and I consider it a major one.”
Those beautiful eyes were razor-sharp and directed at him. “And just what problem is that?”
Now it was he who turned a cutting gaze on her. “I never sent you any flowers. Today or ever.”
Find out if Nolan Madaris has finally met his match in
BEST LAID PLANS
by New York Times bestselling author
Brenda Jackson, available March 2018
wherever HQN Books and ebooks are sold.
www.Harlequin.com
Copyright © 2018 by Brenda Streater Jackson
ISBN-13: 9781488091889
Lone Star Lovers
Copyright © 2018 by Jessica Lemmon
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