One More Dance by Roxanne Rustand (best ebook reader for pc txt) 📗

room wafted the incredible aroma of some sort of steak—perhaps that very same kind—and Kate’s mouth watered. The closest she’d been to a steak in the last six months had been cattle on the hoof at the vet school and all-beef hot dogs. Her stomach started to growl. Embarrassed, she folded her arms over her belly.

Another waiter appeared at Lionel’s side, and after a brief conversation regarding the chef’s recommendations, the lawyer ordered for everyone.

Over escargot and a creamy leek soup, the conversation turned to law school and the most advantageous law firms in the city for new grads.

Over the melt-in-your-mouth, buttery porterhouse steak for everyone except Sylvia, who chose a salad, the conversation veered into old family friends, politics, and the late Senator Mathers’s former cronies...many of whom had retired.

With every passing minute, Kate felt less visible, despite Jared’s valiant efforts to include her in the conversation. Futile efforts, because she knew none of the people and none of the situations, and the pointed direction of the conversation was clearly meant to illustrate exactly that.

When the settings were cleared and the dessert menu offered, Kate politely declined and excused herself for the ladies’ room, where she splashed some cold water on her wrists and tried to will away the growing headache that had started the moment she and Jared arrived.

Sylvia showed up a minute later, her expression triumphant, and Kate’s heart sank.

“I thought I’d give Lionel and Jared a few minutes to discuss private matters.” Sylvia gave a delicate shrug. “I know young men are so much more likely to accept advice from someone other than their mother, even if the information is all the same. A pity, really.”

Sylvia stood between Kate and the exit, and trying to walk out would not only be disrespectful, but mean brushing against her. “Does...he have good advice, then?”

“Lionel is telling him what I am going to tell you, my dear.” Sylvia folded her arms across her chest. “I do hope you have the backbone to hear me out.”

Kate’s heart sank.

“I told you already that there is no money. No security blanket to be had by marrying into this family. Our family ‘fortune,’ such as it is, is tied up in property that not only is heavily in debt with a second mortgage, but is heavily taxed. The only way Jared can hope to hold on to it is by becoming a very, very successful man. Do you understand this at all?”

A sharp retort died on Kate’s lips. Despite her biting tone, the older woman’s hands trembled and there was a hint of desperation in her eyes.

“His sister is ten years younger. An advantageous marriage for Jared would’ve ensured that she could receive an education at a good private college, where she’d have a better chance to marry well. It would’ve ensured that I could continue to stay in my home.” Sylvia’s eyes glittered with angry tears. “His former fiancée is a sweet, intelligent girl. Did you know that her dad owns a chain of upscale department stores? Marriage to her would have been Jared’s golden ticket...would have made his entire future.”

“But what about Jared? His happiness?”

“His happiness?” Sylvia snorted. “Any young man would be delighted to have a beautiful, classy woman like Sheila at his side, and eventually they convince themselves they’re madly in love. He’s just not thinking straight.”

Kate stared at her, speechless.

“Tell me how happy he’ll be when his old friends pass him by. When his friends and cousins are living exceedingly comfortable lives, while he’s in some two-bit law practice without the right connections. Or when his sister graduates from a state college, if she’s lucky enough to earn enough scholarships.” Sylvia’s mouth twisted. “I tried to tell you all of this already, but you wouldn’t listen. And now you’ve snared my only son with your selfish little schemes. I only hope Lionel can talk some sense into him before it’s too late.”

Kate suddenly felt faint. “T-too late?”

“Too late to try for an annulment, so we can clean up this mess as quickly as possible.” Sylvia leveled a contemptuous look at her. “Before you come up with any other complications so you can hang on to your foolish dreams."

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“AN ANNULMENT,” Kate said, two weeks later, keeping her voice flat and unemotional. “Your mother wanted you to pursue an annulment before ‘something happened.’ And now something has. I guess you made a big mistake, not listening to Lionel and her.”

Jared stilled, staring at her across their small kitchen table. “But we stood together against them, didn’t we? We’re both still in college, with 4.0 GPAs. No matter what they said, we’re going to succeed. So what’s wrong?”

She met his steady gaze, reading the love and determination in his beautiful, smoky gray eyes. Knowing it might change in a minute if she gathered enough courage to tell him.

She had two more years of vet school after this one, then the surgical residency she’d planned on long before she’d even started school—what about that?

Now her future stretched ahead, down the same dark road her mother had been on during her own life, and the thought of it twisted Kate’s insides into a painful mass of tension.

She turned away and braced her hands on the kitchen counter. “I’m pregnant.”

“Be serious. Tell me what’s really wrong.” He moved to stand behind her and clasped his hands in front of her waist to pull her close. “Don’t even think about what my mother and Lionel said.”

She bowed her head. “I never once missed one of my pills. Never, ever. They’re supposed to be so reliable. But I’ve been queasy every morning for the last week, and I finally went out to buy one of those kits at the drugstore.”

He rested his chin on top of her head. “And?”

“The strip turned blue. I can’t believe it. We had everything planned so well. We’d finish school. We’d each set up a practice in a perfect little town somewhere.” She was babbling, and she just couldn’t stop.