Full Bloom

exasperation. "So loyal. We were very sorry to lose him two months ago. Drake will certainly miss him. He had come to rely on him just as Giff had."
    "I'm sure Drake will find a replacement," Emily said without a lot of concern.
    "Never mind. About your father's birthday party. It will be formal, as always."
    "You mean I can't show up in jeans?"
    "Lately your sense of humor has become very strange, Emily. Goodbye, dear. See you in a couple of weeks." Catherine's motherly instincts kicked in somewhat belatedly. "And don't waste your energy pining over Damon Morrell. He certainly isn't worth any tears."
    "I'll keep that in mind," Emily said dryly. She replaced the receiver with an annoyed crash.
    "Well?" Diane asked chattily as she began arranging flowers in the display refrigerator. "What did Mom want?"
    "She was just checking to make sure I had been properly brought to heel last night at the family conference."
    Diane arched her brows. "And have you?"
    "Well, I've certainly lost what little interest I had in Damon, but I'll be darned if I'll let Jacob or the family know that, at least not for a while. Won't do them any harm to sweat it out a bit."
    Diane peered at her through a twisting mass of greenery. "You are annoyed with that bunch, aren't you?"
    "Very." Emily paused. "But maybe not so much with Jacob as I am with my family."
    "Why not? Seems to me he did the dirty work this time around."
    Emily made a face. "He always does the dirty work. He's good at it. But part of me feels sort of sympathetic."
    "Sympathetic!"
    "I know. It's hard to explain. It's just that, deep down, he's a decent man and he's always acted out of loyalty to my family and to the firm. He really did believe he was acting in my best interests this time around."
    "You're making excuses for him, Emily. Why?"
    "How should I know?" Emily admitted with a groan. "Maybe it's because I've never forgotten the way I felt five years ago when I was sitting in that cabin with that maniac and Jacob Stone came through the window. You can find a lot of excuses for a man who once came to your rescue in a big way."
    "Yeah," agreed Diane thoughtfully. "You can."

THREE
    « ^ »
    O n Monday morning Emily was in the middle of experimenting with a deceptively simple design using three magnificent daisies and a spray of myrtle when she again allowed herself to think about Jacob Stone. She had been thinking about him on and off since Saturday. The truth was, she couldn't get him out of her mind. There was no getting around the fact that she was secretly disappointed he hadn't reappeared on Sunday.
    She also wondered what her father would say if he knew that his handpicked troubleshooter was not only happy to save Emily from a dangerous marriage, he was also interested in taking her to bed.
    Gifford Ravenscroft would be outraged. Catherine Ravenscroft would be livid. And as for Drake, well, Drake was a little less predictable, but Emily was almost certain he wouldn't approve. He was as protective of Emily as everyone else in the family.
    Emily knew her family well enough to guess that although they might be willing to use Jacob Stone's peculiar talents when it suited them, they were not likely to view him as any more suitable as a son-in-law than they had Brad Carlton or Damon Morrell.
    The Ravenscrofts were not above trying to arrange a marriage for their one and only daughter. As with most other things in life, Emily's family tended to view marriage as a business matter. Emily had been introduced to enough "suitable" men by her parents to know exactly what type they had in mind for her. Someone established and successful in his own right, with good family and social connections. Someone who would be willing to sign a contract guaranteeing he would keep his hands off Emily's shares in Ravenscroft International.
    Emily grinned as she thought of the shares she owned. They definitely constituted a thorn in the side of the rest of the Ravenscrofts. But Grandmother Emelina Ravenscroft had always been good at irritating the other Ravenscrofts. She had always considered herself their conscience. It had been her money that had originally started Ravenscroft International, although she freely admitted it had been her husband's natural predatory qualities that had made the firm so successful. It had been the perfect marriage combining money and business talent and RI had prospered.
    Emily's grandfather had left his shares of the firm to his son, Gifford, and his grandson,