The Guest List Read Online Free PDF Page B

executor of the estate and the girls’ legal guardian in the event of both his and Harriet’s deaths, so I’ve had my attorney petition the court for custody. He seems pretty sure no one will contest it. I’m afraid Harriet’s aunt won’t see a penny. What money is left after the bills are paid and the house is sold will go into a trust for the girls.” Donovan took Carol’s hand and squeezed it. “Later on, after the girls have adjusted, I’d like to look into adopting them. I don’t even know if the courts would consider a bachelor, unless, of course, I wasn’t a bachelor, but a stable, married man.” He drew a long breath. “You want to get married, Carol, and make me a stable, married man?” He intended to spring the big question on her later, after the reception and before the girlscame back, but instead, the words had just popped out of his mouth.
    “If you’re looking for a stand-in mother and housekeeper, you’ve got the wrong girl, Donovan Mitchell,” Carol said, dashing his hopes. Then her expression changed, and a warm, loving smile lit her face. “However,” she lowered her voice a few octaves, “if you’re looking for a loving wife and a helpmate who’ll nurse you through the flu and rub your feet, I’m at the top of the list. If the kids are part of the deal, that’s okay. I love Abby. I honestly don’t know if I can learn to love Mallory. She’s a spoiled, willful little girl. I’d like to think with love and discipline we could change her, but …” She shook her head.
    “So what’s your answer? Yes or no?”
    Carol appeared to give the question serious thought. “I need you to say the magic words, Donovan.”
    “The magic words? You mean, I love you?”
    “Well, do you?”
    He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “I think I do. I’ve got all the symptoms. You can rattle my cage like no one else. I love the way you cook. I love the way you look. You make my blood boil when I think about spending the night with you. You’re great in bed. We’re great in bed. As in together. If you weren’t in my life, I would miss you. If that’s love, then I’d have to say I’m in love with you.” He flashed her a boyish grin.
    She grinned back. “That was quite a testimonial.”
    He dropped his hands from the steering wheel. “Look, Carol, I don’t know if I’m marriage material or not. I didn’t do so well the first time around. The girls are going to be a handful. I don’t know if I have the right to ask you to take them on. We’ll be a ready-made family. I’d want you to be a stay-at-home-mom, cooking and baking and all that wifely and motherly stuff. That’s not to mean you can’t work if you want to.You can.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what the hell I’m trying to say here.”
    “All I asked for were the magic words. I don’t want you to say them if you don’t mean them. It wouldn’t be fair, Donovan.”
    “I love you, Carol.” The minute the words were out of his mouth, Donovan decided he truly meant them. “I do. I really do.”
    “Then I accept.”
    He stared at her, hardly believing his good luck.
    “Will I like living in the South?” she asked.
    Donovan took a deep breath. “Probably not in the beginning, but it grows on you. I grew up in Louisiana, so I’m partial to it. Weather is great except for the humidity and the hurricanes. Stays green all year. People are gentler, more mannerly. It’s a laid-back way of life.”
    “Sounds nice.”
    “I hope the kids will adapt to all the changes. They’re so young that it shouldn’t be too hard on them. I’m not so worried about Abby, but Mallory …”
    “You’re going to have to work on hiding your feelings from her, Donovan. It’s obvious you don’t like her and that you adore Abby.”
    “It’s just that Mallory is so much like Harriet, it’s goddamn spooky. She makes my skin crawl, and I hate being around her. How do I overcome that?”
    “By working at it. She might need