The Delacourt Scandal by Sherryl Woods Page B

some reason, Maddie?”
    “Of course not. Why?”
    “You seem a little jittery. I thought maybe you were thinking about that kiss in my folks’ driveway. Like I said, it was no big deal, just a little something for my mother’s benefit.”
    Maybe it wasn’t a big deal to him, she thought with a touch of indignation. All the more reason to be sure there were no more. Apparently he went around dispensing kisses as casually as handshakes.
    “It was nothing,” she agreed. “I’d completely forgotten about it till you brought it up just now.”
    His eyes twinkled. “Had you?”
    “Are you making fun of me?”
    “I wouldn’t put it that way. I’m just trying to getyou to lighten up a little. You’ve been far too serious all day.”
    “I’ve had things on my mind.”
    “Such as?”
    “Finding a job,” she blurted, seizing on the most believable excuse she could think of.
    “I’ve told you before, I can help with that. Or if you don’t want me to make any contacts for you, I could loan you some cash till you’re back on your feet.”
    She would sleep on the streets before she accepted a dime from a Delacourt. “That’s very kind,” she said stiffly. “But this is my problem.”
    He held up his hands. “Okay. I’m not going to give you another lecture on false pride. Just know that both offers are there if you decide you need anything.”
    Suddenly restless, Maddie stood up and began pacing, glancing idly at the photos as she moved about the room. Tyler watched her silently. When she came to the spot where the baby picture had been, he seemed to tense even as she realized it was missing. There was a faint mark in the dust on the tabletop confirming precisely where it had been.
    “Something wrong?” he asked, his voice strained.
    “Nothing,” she said, reaching randomly for another picture. She grabbed a photograph of his parents that had evidently been taken many years earlier. “Your parents look very happy here.”
    “They were on their honeymoon. That was probably the last real vacation my dad took,” he said with a laugh. “Maybe that’s why he’s encouraging Michael to stay away. Perhaps it’s sentiment, rather than an attempt to keep me here.”
    “What happened to the other picture that was here?” she asked casually. “Did you move it?”
    He met her gaze evenly. “Was there another picture there? I don’t remember.”
    Should she push him on it? What did she have to lose? “Wasn’t it a baby picture? You never did say who it was.”
    He stood up so abruptly, the movement threw her off balance, and she stumbled slightly but recovered quickly. She put her hand on his arm, felt the muscle jerk beneath her touch.
    “Tyler?”
    “Drop it, Maddie,” he ordered, not meeting her gaze.
    “But—”
    “I said to drop it. Let’s go. I’ll walk you back to O’Reilly’s so you can get your car.”
    She sighed heavily. It was clear she wasn’t going to get a straight answer. What disturbed her even more, though, was that she couldn’t quite decide if her disappointment was professional or personal. The line was getting more blurred all the time.
     
    “Tyler, Tyler, Tyler, you’ve been holding out on us,” his brother Jeb taunted on Monday morning. He strolled into Tyler’s office, poured himself a cup of coffee, then planted himself on the corner of the desk as if he intended to linger awhile.
    “Go away,” Tyler snapped. He was in no mood to discuss Maddie, or much of anything else, for that matter.
    “Is that any way to talk to your big brother?”
    “In your case, yes. Go bother your wife.”
    “Brianna’s away checking out some prospective drilling site that is going to make us all fabulously wealthy.”
    “And you’re at loose ends? Go investigate something.”
    “I am.”
    “What?”
    “Your love life. Fascinating stuff to hear Mother tell it. She liked your young woman, though she wasn’t entirely sure she was—and I quote—one of our kind.”
    Tyler’s