Free In Serena's Web by Kay Hooper Page B

sole product of that marriage.”
    “He’s your half brother?” Brian asked faintly.
    Hoping to avoid being strangled—there was a definite possibility of that, she was afraid—she hastily clarified a bit more. “Josh’s father was a very wealthy man; he left most of his estate in trust for his son. Until Josh came of age, his uncle had control of the various businesses, and Josh spent a lot of time with his aunt and uncle in the East. He and Daddy are close, but they never had much in common, and they never publicized the relationship.”
    “Which is why,” Brian murmured, “I never knew Long was Stuart’s stepson. And your half brother.”
    “Uh-huh.”
    Brian took a step toward her, but only so that he could sit down on the bed. He stared at her. In spite of the sexy dress, she looked like a little girl who’d been severely scolded; he wondered if Josh was responsible for that. And he wondered why he wasn’t absolutely furious with her. His principal emotion was sheer relief.
    However, he wouldn’t have been human if he didn’t want to punish her just a bit for her tricks.
    “So you pretended to be after him to make mejealous,” he said. “And you asked me to teach you how to seduce a man. And you said that we could have an affair. Josh wouldn’t mind; Josh wouldn’t want a virgin in his bed. Was that a lie too?”
    She didn’t have to ask what he meant. She knew. Avoiding his intent stare she murmured, “No, it wasn’t a lie. I’ve never had a lover.”
    “I’m sure it wasn’t for lack of hopeful candidates,” he said politely.
    Serena looked at him silently.
    Telling himself sternly that her guileless gray eyes weren’t going to get to him
this
time, Brian went on, relentless. “All those wonderfully sweet and innocent comments of yours—planned. Cold-bloodedly. Like some general launching a campaign, you plotted to make me jealous. Is that the way it was, Serena?”
    “Yes.”
    “Were you planning to push it all the way to the altar, or was an affair your goal?”
    Serena sighed very softly, but made no attempt to defend herself or justify her actions. “The altar,” she answered.
    “You decided to marry me?”
    “Yes.”
    “And just when did you come to this momentous decision?” he asked politely.
    “In London. At Heathrow.”
    “Now for the biggie,” he said dryly. “Why?”
    “I fell in love with you,” she answered simply.

FIVE
    H ER WORDS CAUGHT Brian completely by surprise. He had momentarily forgotten her quiet question in the garden. But even if he had remembered, he would not have expected her to admit to love. Not now. Not after the last few minutes and his relentlessly polite grilling. It just wasn’t—it didn’t seem
reasonable
somehow.
    “You don’t expect me to believe you,” he ventured to say.
    “No,” she said. “I’ve made that impossible, haven’t I? I realized that tonight in the garden.More important, though, I realized that I’d built a wall between us higher than any you can claim.”
    “Walls?” He gazed at her still face. “You think I have walls? That’s why you tried to trick me?”
    Serena shrugged. “Does it matter now? It’s over, Brian.” After a moment she dropped her gaze to the jeweled watch on her wrist. “I’ll call Daddy,” she said, “and explain how I’ve put you in an impossible position. He knows me; he’ll know it was my fault. He won’t blame you a bit for going back to California. You don’t have to let your sense of responsibility keep you here.”
    He waited until her gaze lifted again. “I told you. I’m in for the duration. I go back to California when you do, and not before.”
    Her smile was a shaky, rueful one. “I thought you’d say that. Well, I’m stuck here for a while, Brian. Daddy’s orders; he needs more time. So I have to stay put to give him that time. But you don’t have to worry about staying close to me. Josh is going to do so, and he’s hired a private investigator to keep an