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If anyone else picked up on the double meaning of her words, it didn’t show. From the look on her face, you would assume she was innocent enough and that any subtext had been a mistake. But her eyes told a different story. Her eyes stayed on Harvard. And they were tinged with desire.
“Have you two set a date yet?” Preston asked.
“No,” Rachel said at the same time as Harvard said, “Preferably soon.”
Jonathan laughed, while Harvard waggled his eyebrows at his supposed fiancée. She wasn’t amused.
“Oh, do let me pick the bridesmaid dresses,” Samantha pleaded. “I’d just die if I didn’t get the right color for my complexion.”
“We wouldn’t want that,” Rachel said dryly. “Who said you’re a bridesmaid anyway? Last I checked, the bride got to choose.”
“Of course, I’m going to be one of your bridesmaids. Possibly your only one.” She arched an eyebrow at Rachel. “We all know how good you are at making friends.”
“Point taken,” Rachel said. “I’ll allow you to act as a bridesmaid.”
“And the dresses—assuming you manage to find more than one bridesmaid? We both know I have better fashion sense than you. Otherwise you would have ducked out of our seasonal shopping sprees years ago.”
“Fine, but the dresses better not upstage the bride.”
“Would I do that?” Samantha feigned horror.
“In a second,” Rachel said.
“I hate to be the voice of doom,” Preston said, “but you do have a prenup, don’t you? If you don’t, I have experience in drawing them up, even though it isn’t my area of expertise.” He cast a wary glance at Harvard. “You really should have one. You never know what the future might hold.”
“In other words,” Harvard drawled, “he’s worried your lowly American bodyguard is after your money.” If only they knew how much he was worth on his own. While at MIT, he’d discovered that not only did he have a knack for analytical methodologies, but he was also damn good at playing the stock market too.
Preston turned red and blustered. “I don’t mean to be insulting, but Rachel is a very wealthy woman, and she should protect herself.”
It was clear her cousin meant well, so Harvard let him off the hook. “I wouldn’t marry her without one. I don’t want Rachel’s money—I want her body.” He winked at her. “And her heart.” And wasn’t that the truth. “I’ll sign whatever you draw up.”
“My goodness.” Samantha fanned herself. “An honorable man in this day and age. Where did you find him?”
“I thought we’d already established that I rent him by the hour,” Rachel said, making Harvard laugh. At least she’d picked up on her cousin’s earlier dig. “And let me tell you, services the likes of which Harvard provides don’t come cheap.” Solemnly, she looked up at him. “It’s no wonder you don’t need my money. You make enough of your own.”
“You know.” Samantha considered her cousin. “I think you’ve also become more sarcastic since you went to work for this security company.”
“I don’t work for them,” Rachel said. “They work for me. I’m a partner.”
“Well, you were,” Jonathan said, reminding them of the other half of their cover.
“You were?” Marcus leaned forward, yet another full glass of whiskey in his hand and a glazed look in his eye. The man was at least three sheets to the wind. “Did you sell your stake? What are you doing now? I thought you’d found your niche at Benson Security.”
“I did find my niche, but now it’s time to move on. After I came into my TayFor shares last year, my interest in the company returned, and I found that I wanted to be more involved. As of Monday, I’ll be working at the main office with the rest of you. Meet the new director of special projects.” She gave a little bow.
After a few seconds of stunned silence, her cousins erupted.
“I’m so glad you’re coming back.” Samantha pulled her into a hug. “I hate being the only female in our generation who’s there. Now I’ll have backup.”
“I never understood why you left in the first place,” Marcus said. “I always expected you’d become CEO after your father retired. Not that Jonathan isn’t great.” He winced in Jonathan’s direction before holding up his drink in a tipsy salute. “Sorry, old chap.”
Jonathan’s laugh was good-natured. “I thought the same thing. In fact, if Rachel is back for good, I might try to talk her into taking over.”
“As the official company lawyer,” Preston said, “I’d like to point out that you can’t exactly hand the CEO role over to your sister. Which, given that you also studied law, is something you should know. It’s got nothing to do with her ability. We all know she could boss us around blindfolded. It’s more to do with perception. To the rest of the pharmaceutical industry, Rachel is an unknown. You’d be wiser to offer it to the family members who already work at TayFor first, then if they—we—decline, it’s all Rachel’s.”
“Don’t worry,” Rachel said. “I don’t want to become CEO. Jonathan is stuck with the role, but it will be interesting to be back in the fold.”
“We need to celebrate,” Marcus said then looked around. “Oh, wait. We already are.” He cheerfully swayed in place, sloshing his drink over the front of his shirt. He didn’t seem to notice he was now wearing his whiskey. “Listen up, everyone,” he shouted.
