Rebels and Lovers Read Online Free PDF Page A

Chasidah had no children. Your mother’s grief at believing he—that any part of him—was gone forever was heartbreaking.”
    More than Valerie grieved over the early—and erroneous—reports of Philip’s death. Devin took the news as if someone had sucker punched him in the gut. He was closer in age to Ethan than to Philip, but mentally, emotionally, and intellectually, Devin had attached himself to Philip since he was small. He went to Philip with his problems at school or at camp. He looked up to Philip, first in a Fleet cadet’s uniform, then as a lieutenant, then captain.
    Philip was, quite truthfully, more than his brother. He was Devin’s close friend—a friendship that had expanded several years ago to include Trippy. Just as Philip had seemed to sense Devin’s isolation as youngest son, Devin saw Trip’s isolation as eldest grandchild. Different sides of the same coin.
    The best times he had lately were when he, Trip, and Philip were together.
    But now Trip was at Montgomery University, and Philip was somewhere over the Baris–Calth border.There was an emptiness in the family circle, so Devin understood Valerie’s fears. He only wished his parents didn’t look to him for the solution.
    “Your mother needs to see all her boys happy and settled,” J.M. said with a nod to Jonathan. “Philip is always in our prayers. We respect his dedication to what we all know is inevitable—there will be changes in the Empire. But the life he’s chosen is a dangerous one. Your mother needs a distraction from that.”
    Devin turned his teacup around on the saucer. “And Tavia and I are to be that distraction.” It wasn’t a question. It was a statement of fact.
    “Tavia’s a lovely young woman from a well-placed family. We approved of her from the first time you brought her here. Is there anything about her that you now find objectionable?”
    “No.” Tavia Emberson
was
lovely—a natural beauty made even more attractive by her family’s money. Her shoulder-length black hair was thick and glossy, her dark honey-colored skin was perfect, and her tall, lithe body even more so. Like him, she had a passion for singles handball, and that sport plus her trainers kept her in top condition. Any number of men would trip over themselves to have Tavia Emberson. Devin wondered now and then what she saw in him: an antisocial number cruncher who had an annoying habit of inspecting his host’s computer data systems rather than making small talk with the other guests at the high-profile parties she invariably dragged him to.
    Then reality always kicked in. He was a Guthrie. And on the amateur sport circuit in Aldan, he consistently ranked as one of the top-five players in competitive handball. Plus, he was a better-than-average dancer—thanks to those lessons his mother had forcedon all her boys. Three things he knew were important to Tavia Emberson.
    She never realized that dancing with her rescued him from having to chat with her friends at those parties she so loved.
    “My problem,” Devin said, stilling his movements with the teacup, belatedly realizing he was giving away too much, “is the timing. For one thing, I have several projects in my department that can’t be shunted aside while I participate in planning engagement parties or a wedding.”
    “Marguerite already offered to help Mother and Tavia,” Jonathan said. “So has Hannah.”
    “Marguerite and Hannah aren’t going to stand in for me at the parties,” Devin answered. “You’re talking not only Garno society but Port Palmero. And Aldan Prime, likely, if aunts and uncles get involved.”
    “You can have Nathanson and Torry handle the Webster merger, the Galenth Fund project, and the Baris–AgriCorp deal,” his father put in smoothly. “I’ve already had them clear their schedules.”
    Devin’s mouth opened but no sound came out.
Nathanson and Torry …
Shock roiled through him. Those were
his
projects, especially Baris–Agri, which had