loved her mother’s understated wit. “Yes.” She lay on her back and stared at the ceiling. Not much to look at but she didn’t need a painting. She still saw Decker’s face.
“He didn’t offer you up like some fourteenth-century daughter of a king, did he?”
“No. He gave me the option of meeting him first.”
Her mother laughed, a deep, genuine sound that filled Kendall with a surge of love. Then she quieted and sobered. “Sweetheart—”
“Don’t, Mom.” Kendall knew what her mother would say.
“What if you enter into this and he...”
“Only wants me for the business deal?”
Her mom let out a short, tense breath. “Yes.” Then she perked right back up to the pistol Kendall had grown up with. “I’ve been going over and over how Decker would respond to his greedy father telling him he had to marry you and I’m just...worried.”
“Don’t be.”
“Well, what if he would do it just to please his father?”
Kendall had been away at college and worked another job before coming home at her father’s request. She didn’t know much about Decker, the man he’d become.
“Maybe he’s not like his father. He’s successful. That might be their only similarity.”
“You always were an optimist. But why would you go through with it? Even the dinner?” her mother asked, sounding concerned.
“I’m...” She wasn’t sure how honest she wanted to be right now. “Curious.” That was honest.
“Satisfying a high school crush?” her mother asked.
“Yes.” And maybe secretly linking in with her young heart, wondering if they’d work out and if it would be as great as she imagined.
“Please be careful, sweetie. If he’s half as much of a shark as his father, he’s incapable of loving anyone.”
She felt a moment of doubt. Maybe dinner was a foolish idea. She could argue she was doing this for her father, but that wasn’t entirely true. Then again, how would she ever know if Decker was worthy of her—even in an arranged marriage—if she didn’t at least see him face to face?
“I’ll know after the dinner.”
“I wonder if he’s still as good-looking,” her mother mused.
“That would be a bonus,” Kendall quipped.
“Or a problem.”
Decker stood in the living room of the Colton Manor where his parents resided. A thirty-five-million-dollar, eighteen-thousand-square-foot mansion above the valley, it had seven bedrooms, eleven bathrooms, a wine cellar, an indoor pool and much, much more. Saying the place was nice didn’t do it justice, but this kind of excess wasn’t to Decker’s taste. Decorated quite modern, nothing personal filled the luxurious space.
He waited before the wall of windows with a view of a portion of the gondola that started at The Chateau in the valley and ended at The Lodge. Russ and Mara talked behind him on the sofa. They had an amenable but businesslike relationship in his opinion. Sometimes he wondered if they ever truly loved each other. They both worked all the time. This rare display of them conversing like a couple felt odd.
The front doorbell rang. Kendall and her parents had arrived.
He rarely got nervous but a flash of anxiousness arrested him for a moment. After all these years, he’d finally see Kendall again.
Russ and Mara’s butler led the Hadleys into the living room. Bernard came first, in a dark suit and tie. Adorned in a tasteful beige-and-black dress, Marion strolled in next beside her daughter. His breath hitching ever so slightly, Decker’s gaze drifted over Kendall as she walked in calf-high black boots with the grace of a ballet dancer. The short-sleeved black dress she wore was fitted to her bodice, waist and hips and the sweetheart neckline exposed some cleavage. She’d left her long wavy blond hair down and other than mascara, had applied a soft rosy gloss to her full lips. Her bright blue eyes zeroed in on him.
He could never have anticipated the strength of the punch in seeing her. She’d obviously matured, but oh. What a woman.
He swallowed—an involuntary reaction. Wow.
She seemed to spend a few seconds inspecting him, as well. Those stunning eyes—he didn’t remember them being so darn blue—ran up his body, went all over his chest and arms and finally landed on his face. He hadn’t worn a suit, just a nice long-sleeved ocean-blue shirt with gray pants and leather loafers. He had chosen a tie.
“Kendall.” He stepped forward. “It’s so good to see you again.” He took her hand and dipped his head to kiss it, seeing her face up close now. She had a few freckles but they somehow enhanced her beauty.
“Y-you too.”
By her stutter and slightly bewildered look, he suspected she hadn’t expected to like what she saw as much as she did, which matched his reaction. He caught his father’s approving gaze with a subtle, almost shrewd, grin.
Bernard and Marion went to Russ and Mara and started a conversation while a servant appeared with a tray of champagne flutes. Kendall took one and then Decker did also.
“Dad tells me you’ve been working for Hadley Forestry as a conservancy consultant.” Might as well start with the small stuff.
“Yes. I worked for a company in Fort Collins after college but my dad needed me here.”
“He needed you?” Decker didn’t know much about the forestry industry or her father for that matter.
“He’s getting older. He needs help running the company. I think someday he’d like to see me take over.”
“Is that what you want?”
She looked away as she thought. “I do love my degree and my work. Running Hadley Forestry would be right in line with that. I’m just not sure I want that level of executive responsibility. I’m an outdoor girl.”
“You could always hire a CEO.”
She smiled. “I’ve thought of that. My dad isn’t crazy about someone outside the family running his baby.”
Decker nodded with a grin. “My dad wouldn’t care. He’d only care that his baby made lots of money.”
She stopped smiling as she turned to look over at Russ as though a rumor or two had just been confirmed.
“Don’t worry,” Decker said, trying to keep things light—and hopefully putting her at ease. “I’m nothing like him.”
That pretty smile returned, as did her gaze. “Good to know.”
“At the risk of seeming ignorant, what, exactly, does a forestry company do, aside from chopping down trees and selling lumber?”
“There is a supply side and a conservation side,” she explained. “We do a lot of logging, milling and forestry management. We supply Douglas fir, western larch, ponderosa pine and lodgepole pine to the building industry and since I’ve started, we’re looking into partnering with the World Wildlife Fund.” She released a breath before continuing. “Also, one of the first things I did when I came on was to arrange for the company to start harvesting trees destroyed by mountain beetle. It’s proven to provide a great supply source for the company and clears out forested land.”
“Impressive.”
“Conservation is my specialty.” She smiled, revealing straight white teeth. “What about you? You run The Lodge?