Dawn in Eclipse Bay

doing, Harte?”
    “Things aren’t quite the way they look,” Sullivan said.
    “I don’t believe that for one minute,” Lillian declared.
    “You’ve been talking to Mom and Dad, haven’t you? They told you I was seeing Gabe and you just leaped to the conclusion that he was after me because of H.I.”
    “Speaking of leaping to conclusions,” Gabe said mildly.
    She glared at him. “Stay out of this. It has nothing to do with you. This is between me and Granddad.”
    “And me.” Mitchell jabbed a thumb at his own chest. “Don’t forget about me. I’m involved in this thing, too.”
    “Sure,” Gabe said dryly. “Don’t know what I was thinking.”
    Lillian whipped her attention back to Sullivan. “I realize you feel you’re acting in my best interests. I know everyone believes that Gabe is after a piece of Harte. But that is absolute nonsense.”
    All three men stared at her.
    “Nonsense?” Sullivan repeated carefully.
    “Yes. Nonsense.” She swept out a hand. “He would never marry for business reasons. He’s a Madison. They don’t do things like that.”
    Sullivan cleared his throat. “Always heard that Gabe, here, was a different kind of Madison.”
    “Not that different,” she shot back. “And what’s more, you can’t buy him off or scare him off. Madisons don’t work that way.”
    “She’s right,” Mitchell said. “If Gabe wants to marry her, you won’t be able to get rid of him with money or threats.”
    “Which brings up a very crucial issue,” Lillian said. “As I told Mom on the phone, Gabe has never asked me to marry him. Isn’t that correct, Gabe?”
    “Correct,” Gabe said.
    “What’s this?” Sullivan grabbed the handle of his cane and used it to haul himself up off the sagging sofa. He turned on Gabe with a thunderous expression. “I was under the impression that you were serious about my granddaughter. If you think I’m going to stand by while you shack up indefinitely with her, you can think again.”
    “Wasn’t planning to shack up indefinitely,” Gabe said.
    Mitchell beetled his brows. “Just what are you doing here, Sullivan?”
    “Before we were so rudely interrupted,” Sullivan said, “I was presenting a business proposition to Gabe. Of course, that was when I was still under the impression that he intended to marry Lillian.”
    Mitchell eyed him with deep suspicion. “What kind of business proposition?”
    Gabe looked at Lillian. “Your grandfather was outlining the financial advantages of marriage to you. You come with one-third of H.I., you know.”
    “The advantages ?” Lillian stared at Sullivan. “You mean you’re trying to bribe him to marry me?”
    “I just wanted him to understand that we’d be happy to have him as a member of the family,” Sullivan said mildly.
    “Well, shoot and damn.” Mitchell whistled softly. “Got to hand it to you, Sullivan. Didn’t think you had that much common sense.”
    Lillian was aghast. “You weren’t trying to buy him off. You’re here to try to buy him for me. This is the most mortifying thing that has ever happened to me in my entire life.”
    Sullivan stiffened. “What’s mortifying about it? I thought you wanted Gabe.”
    “For heaven’s sake, Granddad. It’s like you’re offering him a dowry to take me off your hands. If he marries me and gets a chunk of H.I., everyone will say he did it for the money.”
    “Which is why I turned down the deal,” Gabe replied softly.
    She swung around to face him. “You did?”
    “Shoot and damn.” Mitchell waved a hand. “Why did you go and do something dumb like that? You coulda had the lady and one-third of H.I. That’s what we call a win-win situation.”
    “What choice did I have?” Gabe gestured toward the papers on the coffee table. “If I sign those Lillian would always wonder if I married her for her inheritance.”
    “No, I wouldn’t,” Lillian said quickly.
    Gabe looked at her. “I appreciate your faith in me but I’m afraid I can’t accept you and one-third of H.I., too. I just finished explaining that to Sullivan.”
    “What if I just give up my shares in H.I.?” she asked.
    Sullivan glared at her. “I’m not about to let you walk away from your inheritance, young woman. Wouldn’t be right. I worked my tail off to build that company. I did it for you and Hannah and Nick.”
    Her refusing a third of H.I. would be a terrible blow to him, she realized.
    “Evidently I’m fated to be doomed by my inheritance,”