Read Hunter's Bride and A Mother's Wish for Free Online Page A

her body matched the curve of the dolphin, and the sunlight made both of them glow with a kind of harmony that startled and disturbed him.
    It was as if the Chloe he knew back in the office had transmuted into a different being here, one as alive and natural and free as that first Chloe. He didn’t know how he felt about that—but he did know it was going to make their relationship different in ways he couldn’t even imagine.
    Â 
    â€œChloe Elizabeth, I hear you brought a young man home for your family to meet.” Her father’s second cousin, Phoebe, squinted across the crowded dining room at Luke. “’Bout time you were settling down. When is the wedding? Not June, I hope. That’s nowhere near enough time for your momma to get ready.”
    Chloe nearly choked on a mouthful of shrimp toast. Was that what everyone was thinking? “We’re not ready to set a date yet,” she murmured.
    Cousin Phoebe gave her a sharp glance. “That’s not what your gran says. She’s already planning the wedding quilt for you. Asked me to look out some fabric for her, so I said I would. You’d best decide on colors soon, heah?”
    The shrimp turned to ashes in Chloe’s mouth. Could this get any worse? If she denied it further than she already had, Cousin Phoebe would be rushing off to Gran with the story. Perhaps she could distract her.
    â€œCousin Phoebe, is that Aunt June’s daughter over there?”
    The sight of another relative she could interrogate always appealed to Phoebe. She veered off, replaced immediately by Gran herself.
    â€œGran, are you enjoying your party?” Chloe hugged her, feeling a rush of love at the soft, papery cheek next to hers. And feeling, too, a rush of guilt. She shouldn’t be letting Gran and everyone else believe a relationship existed between her and Luke.
    Gran patted her cheek. “It’s a good party, Chloe girl. But the best part is that you’re here, and you’ve finally brought a nice young man home with you.” Gran’s eyes twinkled. “Even if I did have to invite him myself.”
    The “nice young man” seemed to be the topic of the day with her elderly relatives. Chloe glanced across the room. Luke stood by the window, deep in conversation with her cousin Matt. Matt, a television news reporter who’d come all the way from Egypt for Gran’s birthday, ought to be able to talk about something Luke would understand. She recognized a similarity in them and wondered if Luke would see it—they were both driven, intense, competitive.
    â€œI think he’s having a good time.” She couldn’t actually bring herself to say she was glad Gran had gotten her into this fix. In fact, the truth pressed against her lips, wanting to burst out. If she told Gran all of it, Gran would understand, wouldn’t she? Or would she look at Chloe with disbelief that her granddaughter had behaved this way?
    Gran held Chloe’s hand, her gaze fixed on Luke, too. “Maybe one of my grandchildren will finally find a lasting love. I’d started thinking the dolphin ruined that for all of you.”
    Chloe blinked. “What are you talking about?”
    A faint flush mounted Gran’s cheeks. “’Spose you’ll think it nonsense.”
    â€œYou know I’d never think that. But what do you mean? What dolphin?”
    â€œChloe’s dolphin, child. What else?” Gran’s eyes brightened with tears. “That dolphin carving disappeared from the church, and no Caldwell has been married under it since. It’s not right.”
    â€œGran, you’re not superstitious, are you?” She’d known Gran mourned the loss of the dolphin that was part of the family heritage, but hadn’t imagined it meant more than that to her. “You don’t really believe that old story!”
    Gran looked at her sternly. “Chloe Elizabeth, there are more true things