Free Iris in Bloom: Take a Chance, Book 2 by Nancy Warren

she talked to the way too good-looking guy at her side. Her eyes sparkled, her teeth gleamed as she laughed, her hair tangled with the candlelight, gleaming gold and red. She wore a dress the color of the summer sky right when the light falls and it’s a deep, dusky blue. Brought out the color of the stone at her neck and her blue eyes.
    He’d never seen her legs before and he thought that a woman with legs like that shouldn’t be allowed to cover them up with jeans and pants. It was a crime. They were meant to be displayed exactly as they were now, with a dress and those sexy heels.
    “Geoff, glad you could make it,” Jack Chance boomed across the room.
    He still couldn’t take his eyes off Iris. When she heard her father’s words she glanced quickly up and their gazes connected. He felt the second punch to the gut and he knew right then that whatever happened, he did not want to be friends with this woman. In spite of the complications in his life. He wanted more. A lot more.
    It took Jack’s clap on the shoulder to pull him out of his trance. “Thanks for inviting me,” he said, and they shook hands.
    “What can I get you? It’s a full bar and we’ve got beer and wine and—“
    “A beer would be great. Thanks.”
    While his host went to fetch his drink, he walked over to Iris. “Happy Birthday,” he said. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. Once more her scent assailed him, the sugar and spice of her and some exotically darker note beneath.
    “Thank you.”
    Then she turned to the GQ model sitting beside her who was looking Geoff up and down with more than casual interest. “Evan Chance, this is Geoff McLeod. Geoff is the new high school English teacher. And Evan is my big brother.”
    Feeling much more disposed to like the guy now he knew he was her brother, Geoff held out his hand.
    “How do you like Hidden Falls?” Evan asked him.
    “I like it. I’m settling in. Jefferson High’s a good school. I haven’t seen you around.”
    “No. I live in Miller’s Pond, a couple of hundred miles from here. It’s a good place too.”
    “What made you move from a small town in Oregon to an even smaller town in Oregon?” The guy did not look small town.
    A look of mixed emotions, some pride, some embarrassment, some amusement crossed his features. “A woman.”
    “The right woman,” Iris added.
    Geoff followed the brother and sister glances and the whole story was written there. “The right woman,” he agreed.
    Then Evan rose. “I’m going to see if I can help Mom in the kitchen. Maybe we can catch up later.” And he vacated the chair next to Iris.
    “Nice guy,” Geoff said sitting beside her, appreciating the tactfulness of her brother.
    “He’s the best.”
    “You look beautiful tonight. You sparkle.”
    She laughed. “It’s hard not to sparkle when people you love put on a nice party for you and bring presents and make food.” She raised the glass in her hand, as sparkly as she was. “And open champagne.”
    Jack Chance brought him his beer and stopped to chat for a moment. “I’m sorry we didn’t get more of the kids home.” He sighed. “Seems like every birthday we have fewer of the brood home. You’re all growing up, moving away, having busy lives.”
    “I got emails and phone calls from every one of them,” Iris said, obviously trying to cheer her dad up. “Prescott sent me an architectural drawing of my house. He must have taken it from a photo when he was last here. It’s gorgeous.”
    “He’s a good boy. But he should come home more often.”
    “Wait a second,” Geoff said. “Prescott Chance is your brother?”
    “One of the many.”
    “Prescott Chance the architect?”
    “You’ve heard of him?” She sounded amused.
    “Who hasn’t? The guy’s legendary.”
    “Well, to me he’s a brother. Mostly, I remember him saying, ‘I don’t have to do what you say. You’re not the boss of me.’” She imitated a surly kid pretty well.
    “From what I read, no