Read Online Golden Vows by Karen Toller Whittenburg - Free Book Online Page A

another architect?”
    “What?” Amanda sat straighter in surprise. “Dane sold the firm? I don’t believe it!”
    Folding her arms, Martha smiled and began to rock. “I didn’t say he sold the firm. I just asked if you’d be interested to know it if he did.”
    Amanda sighed her impatience and tried not to admit it was also a sigh of relief. “You never give up, do you?”
    “You didn’t answer me, Amanda.”
    Lifting her palms in defeat, she capitulated. “All right, Martha. Yes, I’d be interested. But, then, so would dozens of other people.”
    “You know what I meant.”
    In a fluid rhythm of composure, Amanda set her tea glass on the table, crossed one knee over the other, and clasped her hands in her lap. “Let’s drop the subject.”
    “Let’s not.” Martha leaned forward, her eyes bright with eagerness to countermand the blasé tone of her voice. “You need to talk about Dane sometime. You can’t go on jumping every time his name is mentioned.”
    “I don’t.”
    “You do.”
    Agitated, Amanda stood and then wasn’t certain of what action to initiate next. It bothered her to know that Martha was right and it bothered her even more to realize that she was interested, insatiably so, in gleaning tidbits of information about Dane. On a breath of surrender Amanda sat back down. “How is he, Martha?”
    “Working too hard,” came the crisp, almost accusing answer. “He calls most nights from the office. I suppose he’s spending a lot of time there.”
    Amanda nodded. “The Reichmann account, I imagine. I know he was completing the scale models for that hotel chain. Just think, one day we’ll walk into a hotel in another country and recognize Dane as the architect. Won’t that be marvelous?”
    “For some of us.”
    “Martha, please. Just because Dane and I aren’t together anymore….” She had to stop and swallow again—hard. “I’ll always be very proud of him.”
    Martha gave an audible sniff. “You once said you’d always love him.”
    How could she answer that? “I know,” she said quietly. “I know.”
    “Let’s eat.” Martha rolled to her feet and walked to the doorway with a cursory glance at Amanda. “We’re having Chinese tonight. Stringy vegetables with globs of rice and Lord only knows what else. I made the mistake of letting Mr. MacGregor buy a wok, and he’s starving me to death.
    Amanda’s gaze followed her hostess from the room, but her mind was a little slow to catch up. The change of topic had been deliberate, of course. Martha was never subtle, but she had a way of making her point. With a shake of her head Amanda rose and started toward the dining room. Dane was in her thoughts now, as he hadn’t been before. His absence was an empty feeling that surrounded her and would almost certainly linger for the rest of the evening.
    Martha. You couldn’t trust her for a minute.
    As Amanda entered the room and seated herself, Martha smiled complacently. She waited a moment before bracing her hands on either side of her plate and challenging the burly man standing beside her. “All right, Mr. MacGregor, bring it on.”
    “With chopsticks or without?” he asked with brusque amusement.
    “Without, you sorry excuse for a cook!”
    Not by the blink of an eye did he let Martha intimidate him as he turned to Amanda with a wide grin. “You’ll like supper, Amanda. I know you appreciate fine cuisine.”
    Martha leaned close to rasp a whisper. “Don’t you dare encourage him. He’s unbearable as it is. I don’t know why I keep him around.”
    That was something Amanda had often wondered herself. She lifted a finger to her lips to quell their tendency to smile and remembered the first time she’d met Mr. MacGregor. He had just been there one day, acting as chef, butler, gardener, and generally aggravating Martha. There had been no explanations, only a brief introduction, and after that he was simply a member of the household.
    Even now Amanda had no idea if he