Angels and Elves

Автор

Joan Elliott Pickart

Прочтений

18,9K

Глав

Автор

Joan Elliott Pickart

Прочтений

18,9K

Глав

Harlequin

Prologue

Forrest MacAllister stopped in the doorway to the living room and looked at the woman stretched out on the sofa with pillows propped behind her back to allow her to sit up. She was deeply engrossed in the novel she was reading, and was unaware of Forrest’s presence.

Andrea, he mused. His baby sister was a beautiful woman. Her auburn curls were in fetching disarray, and her dark brown eyes were clear and sparkling. The best part, though, was the pure joy, the happiness-to-the-maximum that he could actually feel emanating from her.

She also had, he decided, the largest, roundest stomach he’d ever seen. Twins definitely took up a lot of space in a pregnant lady. Yep, his baby sister was definitely awaiting the arrival of her own babies. Big time.

“So what’s new, kid?” he asked, breaking the serene silence in the room.

Andrea’s head snapped up and a smile instantly appeared on her face.

“Forrest! Oh, my gosh, you’re really home. Give me a million hugs. I didn’t hear you come into the house.”

“John let me in as he was leaving,” Forrest said, crossing the room. “Your husband is looking like a proper and prosperous Yuppie.” He leaned over and hugged her, then straightened again to meet her gaze. “This is very efficient. I can hug three people at once.”

Andrea laughed. “Aren’t I awful? I’m impersonating a beached whale. And now I’m confined to either bed, sofa or chair, so these little darlings don’t arrive too soon.”

“You look fantastic.”

“Fat. The word is fat. Sit, sit. I want to look at you until I’m cross-eyed. Oh, Forrest, I’m so glad you’re back from Japan in time to be here when the babies are born. A year is much too long for you to be away. We all missed you terribly.”

“I missed you, too, but it was quite an experience, and one I’ll always remember. Japan is beautiful, Andrea, it really is. And it was a tremendous challenge to design a house that would blend in, yet have all the features the client wanted.”

“Your letters were super, even if you still can’t spell worth a darn,” she said.

Forrest chuckled. “Spelling is a hopeless endeavor for me.” He yawned. “I have jet lag so bad I don’t even know what day it is. I came straight here from the airport, but Mom and Dad are going to have to settle for a phone call until after I get some sleep.”

“And our brothers. You’d better call them, too. Michael and Ryan are so glad you’re coming home for good.”

“That’s enough travel for me for a while. Listen, I really do need to get some sleep. I just wanted to stop by and make sure you were doing all right. You’re staying put like the doctor said, aren’t you?”

“Oh, yes. I’m grumpy and bored, and my darling John has the patience of a saint. But I’m following orders so that the twins have every chance to be healthy.

“Forrest, before you go I’d like to talk to you about something. It won’t take long.”

“Fire away.”

“Well, you know that my favorite author is Jillian Jones-Jenkins, and that I met her several years ago at Deedee Hamilton’s store, Books and Books. We’ve all become good friends since then.”

Forrest nodded. “Jillian writes those gooey romance novels you read.”

“Don’t start. It’s extremely bad form to hassle expectant mothers. Anyway, Jillian is arriving home tomorrow from a lengthy autographing tour and is doing a signing at Deedee’s store as a special favor. Forrest, please, would you go to the store, buy Jillian’s new book, and have her autograph it for me?” Andrea begged.

“Why? Deedee will be right there. Can’t she do it? As far as that goes, Jillian could bring you a copy. Since you’re friends, and you can’t go out, surely she’ll come visit you.”

“Well—” Andrea smiled brightly “—there’s a little more to it than that.”

“Uh-oh. Not good,” Forrest said. “You have that look in your eyes that says you’re up to something. Ever since we were kids, that gleam got me in trouble.”

“Forrest, Forrest, this is me, Andrea, your adorable, sweet little sister. I’m simply asking you to do me a teeny-tiny favor.”

“Spare me,” he said, rolling his eyes heavenward. “I’ve fallen for your innocent routine so many times, it’s a crime.”

“Keep an open mind,” she said. “You’re not going back to work for a bit. Right?”

“Right,” he said, eyeing her warily. “I’m planning to take a couple of weeks off. I usually worked seven days a week in Japan.”

“Perfect. You see, Deedee and I are very worried about Jillian. She’s been on this exhausting tour and she was tired even before she left. Why was she tired? I’m glad you asked.”

“I didn’t.”

“Hush. Jillian seems to have forgotten how to relax, have fun, have a proper balance of work and play in her life. She’s gotten so caught up in deadlines and her writing schedule, that we hardly see her. We can’t pry her out of the office in her house.”

“And?”

“Remember when the four of us were kids and Mom would periodically say it was time for her Angels and Elves to get busy?”

“Yeah, I remember. We’d mow the lawn for an elderly couple, run errands for a shut-in, you’d baby-sit for free for a new mother, stuff like that. Every few months we did Angels and Elves assignments.”

“Exactly. Forrest, Deedee and I are asking you to make Jillian Jones-Jenkins your Angels and Elves assignment. Take her out, have fun, get her to relax and enjoy life again. Hopefully she’ll realize how narrow her existence has become.”

“Oh, man,” Forrest said, frowning, “are you kidding? That’s nuts, Andrea. I don’t even know this woman. You expect me to convince her to get her priorities back in order? That’s the dumbest Angels and Elves assignment I’ve ever heard.”

“It is not. It’s custom-made for you. You have some free time right now. You’re handsome, charming, intelligent, all that jazz. And you know how to show a woman a good time. Heaven knows, you’ve got women chasing after you like bees to honey.”

“Flattery will get you nothing.”

“Don’t say no. At least promise me you’ll think about it.”

“Andrea...”

“Please?”

“Okay, okay,” he said, raising both hands. “I’ll think about it.”

“Good.”

“For about five seconds. Then I’ll say no.”

“Darn it, Forrest, don’t be so difficult. Look, go to Books and Books tomorrow and buy Jillian’s new novel for me. You can meet her at the same time.”

“Then I’ll say no. Andrea, has it ever occurred to you that Jillian might not appreciate the sneaky little program you and Deedee are putting together here?”

“It’s for her own good. Deedee and I really are concerned about her. She won’t know you’re on an Angels and Elves assignment. This is a very humanitarian mission I’m asking you to undertake, Forrest.”

He got to his feet.

“I’ll go buy the book,” he said, “and meet Jillian. Beyond that? I’m not promising anything. I’m thirty-two years old. A person would think that I’d have learned by now that your schemes always spell trouble for me in big, bold letters. I shouldn’t be going anywhere near Deedee Hamilton’s store.”

“But you will, and you’re wonderful, and I adore you, and I’m so glad you’re home.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, laughing, “and you’ve been able to wrap me around your little finger since the day you were born.” He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. “Bye for now, brat. Take good care of the dynamic duo you’re toting around in there.”

“Bye, Forrest. And thank you.”

* * *

Andrea waited until she heard the front door click shut behind Forrest, then snatched up the receiver of the telephone that had been placed on the coffee table within her reach. She pushed buttons in rapid succession.

“Deedee? Forrest was just here. He wouldn’t give me a definite yes, but I talked him out of a definite no. Here’s the setup. Forrest will come to your store tomorrow to buy Jillian’s new book for me and...”