Family Pride (Blood of the Pride) Read Online Free PDF Page A

me to survive the overwhelming smells and sounds crashing through my mind’s eye.
    I was dangerously close to losing it. There was so much going on, so much to pay attention to and so many different scents vying for attention.
    It didn’t help that I was on edge, my nerves jingle-jangling at every strange sound and smell.
    “Rebecca?” Bernadette repeated.
    “Yes. That would be nice,” I answered, fighting my way out of the mental cloud.
    The waiter hovered nearby, pen waiting.
    I fumbled my way through ordering the steak, baked potato and mixed vegetables. The waiter didn’t flinch when I asked for the meat to be rare.
    Bran gave me a curious look as he and his parents placed their orders. I rubbed the tip of my nose, hoping he’d catch on to the reason for my temporary confusion.
    “Mom, tell me about this newest charity you’re involved with. Something about prisons?” He took over the conversation as I sorted through the mental chaos and balanced myself again, taking short, sharp breaths to anchor myself.
    Bran patted my hand as his mother leaped into a cheerful litany about her new love, another rehab program for ex-convicts. I couldn’t complain about their efforts; I’d seen some good work come out of those organizations. Sure it was a way for the rich to dump money and get tax write-offs but a lot of men and women got a foot up into a new, clean life.
    The food arrived. I tried not to drool over the fat slab of near-raw meat on my plate. A handful of vegetables scattered around the edges of the steak completed the picture.
    “Do you deal with a lot of criminals, Rebecca?” Bernadette sliced an asparagus spear into tiny bite-sized pieces.
    “Not as many as you’d think.” I followed suit, making mine even smaller. “Most of my clients have marital problems.” The green stalk held a bit of char from the grill. “You’d be surprised how many normal people have problems in their marriage.”
    Her cool eyes caught mine with the efficiency of a laser sight. “How sad. Are they mostly based on money or love?”
    I popped the tip into my mouth and chewed slowly, buying time for my answer. Bran, caught up in a discussion with his father over the future of ebooks and investing in same, kept watching me for signs of distress.
    “Usually one leads to the other.” I speared a thin slice of steak. The piece of meat sat at the end of my fork, dripping blood. “If you marry for money you’re likely to leave when the money runs out. If you marry for love you’ll stay together through thick and thin.”
    “I see,” she replied. “And which do you prefer?”
    I looked over at Bran, still mired in the conversation with his father. “Love. Because in the end everything else can be taken from you but love lasts forever.”
    Bernadette drew her fork over the china. “Well played.”
    “Excuse me?”
    Her eyes met mine, sharp and piercing. “I’ve seen gold diggers before. You think you’re the first to try and seduce my son, take control of the Hanover fortune?”
    I resisted the urge to stab her with my fork.
    It’d ruin the taste of the Kobe beef.
    I leaned in and dropped my voice to a whisper. “If you’ve done your homework you’ll know I’m no dumb blonde looking to score a rich man. I had no idea who your son was when I first met him and I didn’t know you two existed until this morning.”
    Her eyes narrowed.
    I continued. “You married into the Hanover fortune—why can’t I accuse you of the same thing?”
    I knew it wasn’t the right thing to say if I wanted to suck up to his parents but I’d had it with the Hanovers at this point.
    One edge of her mouth twisted upward. “Our marriage was arranged. Does that surprise you?”
    I didn’t reply.
    She drew the fork tines across the plate again, creating a high-pitched squeal that ripped at my eardrums. “My parents owned one of the first companies Hanover Investments bought out. Instead of hating the Hanovers, my parents became fast