Read His Holiday Heart for Free Online Page B

h, I can’t wait to meet this Lucy I’ve heard so much about.” Gran tossed him the merry look of hers that said she knew something he didn’t.
    It was probably because she had called Katherine or Danielle or Rebecca, any of whom would have been more than happy to inform their grandmother about Lucy Chapin. Disgruntled, he gripped the steering wheel tight and took his gaze briefly from the road to give Gran the Eye, adding extra squint and heavy frown.
    “What? You don’t like Lucy?” Gran’s wide-eyed innocence was not too innocent.
    Yep, they had all been definitely talking about Lucy. He scowled. It was best to keep quiet. Anything he said would be misinterpreted. He knew this from vast experience. He stared at the road, hoping Gran would get a hint and change the subject.
    “Lucy is quite successful, isn’t she?” Gran’s voice gave a little smile, as if that was a good thing.
    “Success is a matter of opinion,” he said. Even as he said the words, they did not sound harsh enough to his own ears.
    “Oh, I think a person can be successful in more ways than one.” Gran was practically singing she sounded so happy.
    He rolled his eyes. What had his sisters been saying?
    “Your grandfather was a very successful businessman by any standards, and yet he never once lost sight of the other ways a man can be successful.” Gran paused, as if she were waiting for him to ask what those ways could be.
    “The only success is not disappointing your family or God.” Maybe that would stop her. “I’m not interested in Lucy Chapin.”
    “Why not? She sounds as nice as could be.”
    “Nice? Nice is not what I’m looking for.”
    “You can’t fool me, dear boy. You are transparent to me.” Gran’s words warbled with love and delight.
    Thank heavens the ride was over. He pulled the truck into Katherine’s shoveled driveway and cut the engine. “Conversation over, Gran. Now don’t you move a muscle until I get over there to help you down. It’s slick as can be out there, and I won’t have you falling.”
    “Yes, dear.”
    Her amusement followed him out into the bitter cold. Her mood seemed to hover behind him like those storm clouds overhead. There was no doubt about it now; he was in for a hard time today. The women in his family were probably planning his and Lucy’s wedding. His pulse stopped. His foot slipped. He grabbed the bumper for support.
    Marriage. Now that was one trap he wasn’t going to be lured into.
    He opened the passenger door and helped Gran down. Jack had been out early and shoveled and deiced, but Spence wasn’t taking any chances. He kept a good hold on his grandmother until they were safely beneath the porch’s wide roof. He raised his hand to knock, but the door was already swinging open.
    Ava’s smiling face seemed to burst with secret happiness. Was it too much to hope that she was still ecstatic about her pregnancy? Or was it something else—like Lucy—that she was smiling about now?
    “Gran! Right on time.” Ava kissed their grandmother’s cheek and drew her into the warm house. “You’re looking more gorgeous than ever.”
    “So are you, dear.” Gran took Ava by the hands and admired her. “I never looked so lovely when I was pregnant. Oh, and Aubrey dear, you look beautiful, too.”
    Spence stopped listening because his ears filled with static. That could only mean one thing—Lucy was close by. He couldn’t remember closing the door or taking off his coat. His optic nerve hardly registered the sights of his twin sisters tugging Gran into Katherine’s living room or the family greeting him. His eyes malfunctioned, and the only face he could see was Lucy’s. Her emerald eyes and the cute slope of her nose and her gentle smile were powerful enough to make his feet stop moving and his throat go dry. He could only pray no one would notice, especially his eagle-eyed sisters.
    “So you’re Lucy.” Gran’s voice rose above the others. “What a pleasure to meet you.