The Pint-Sized Secret by Sherryl Woods Page A

fact that it had been repeated on Saturday. Apparently Bryce didn’t know about that. She stuck to explaining away Friday night. “He just offered me a chance to get a little revenge.”
    He chuckled knowingly at that. “Against Max Coleman, I imagine.”
    Brianna nodded.
    “Did it work?”
    She grinned. “Like a charm.”
    “Good. Can’t say I’m sorry about the way things turned out with Coleman, because it brought you here, but he deserved to have his nose rubbed in it.”
    “I couldn’t agree more,” she said fervently.
    “Then I’m glad my son was able to help you accomplish it. Was the revenge as sweet as you’d hoped?”
    She thought about Max’s reaction and her own satisfaction at seeing him lose his cool facade. “Yes, sir.”
    “I’m glad.” He hesitated. “Just one thing, Brianna.”
    “What’s that, sir?”
    “Maybe I have no business saying this, but I like you. Jeb is my son. He’s a good man, but he has something of a reputation with women.”
    “It doesn’t matter. Like I said, this was a one-time thing.”
    He waved off the explanation. “Actually, what I wanted to say was that you shouldn’t believe everything you hear.”
    “I shouldn’t?”
    “Jeb’s got staying power. He just hasn’t met the right woman yet.” Then, as if he sensed he’d said too much, he gestured toward the door. “That’s all. You can get back to work now.”
    Brianna nodded and left. As she walked into the outer office, she all but ran straight into Jeb. He stared at her in amazement, then began to chuckle.
    “So he got to you first, I see.”
    “What?”
    “Asking about our date, I imagine.”
    “Yes.” She began to get the picture. This hadn’t been anything more than fatherly nosiness and, maybe at the end, a subtle pitch. “And now it’s your turn?”
    “That’s my guess.” He leaned down and whispered, “Is there anything I should know? Did you reveal any of our deep, dark secrets?”
    “Not a one,” she assured him. “I did my best to downplay the whole thing.”
    “That wouldn’t stop Dad. He’s an independent thinker. He draws whatever conclusions suit his purposes. Two dates in one weekend would really get his attention.”
    “He only knows about one, I think, and I never mentioned Saturday.”
    “I guess all his spies haven’t checked in, then.” His expression sobered. “I’m sorry if he made you uncomfortable.”
    “Actually, I thought it was rather sweet.”
    “Don’t mistake meddling for sweet,” Jeb warned.
    “Since we have nothing to hide, I’m not worried about it.”
    “It won’t always be that way,” he said with an irrepressible wink that made Brianna’s pulse ricochet wildly, just when she was about to conclude that she could handle these occasional chance meetings without losing her composure.
    Promise or threat? The man had a way of delivering these unexpected little gibes so that she couldn’t tell. If he did it just to keep her off balance, he was doing a darn fine job of it.

    “Digging into my social life now, Dad?” Jeb said, after he’d poured himself a cup of the awful brew that passed for coffee when his father’s secretary wasn’t around. He normally avoided it like the plague, but he needed a couple of minutes to figure out how to handle what was likely to be an uncomfortable interrogation.
    “Actually, I was checking to make sure you weren’t going against my wishes and putting that woman on the spot.”
    “Even if I were, do you think she’d realize what I was up do? Believe it or not, I have learned a few things on those occasions when I’ve worked with Dylan. I don’t run roughshod over a suspect. In fact, I am capable of great subtlety and discretion when the situation calls for it.”
    “What the hell does that mean? Did you spend the whole evening pumping her for information that was none of your business?”
    “I spent the evening getting to know her. It’s not the same thing.” He hesitated, then conceded,