Page 42 of Moonshine and Magnolias (Just Add Peaches #1)

Rob’s frustration of trying to straighten the twisted knot of his tie couldn’t stop the dorky grin that spread over his face.

His reflection in the bathroom mirror had the same blissful expression as he undid the mangled mess and started over.

Last night had been amazing. After he kissed Wendy and told her he’d stay, they’d gone up to her room and spent the night in each other’s arms. And other body parts.

“You haven’t had enough coffee to be that happy.” Hal took a sip from his own cup and inspected his brother’s attire. “Dressing up isn’t going to help.”

“Help what?”

“Find the Angels Eyes. Get Mom and Dad back together. We haven’t uncovered anything new in the past few days. What we have instead is all this extraneous information that won’t do us any good.”

“You don’t think ‘Hearing the low murmurs of the criminals echo through the woods, making it impossible to get a fix on them’ is useful?

” Rob asked. The information wasn’t helpful for their search, true.

But it would be more than useful for a book.

The one Wendy had suggested with an offhand comment and Hal had mocked him for.

Rob straightened the fabric under his chin.

If Wendy could know the truth about why he was at the Hall and still want to be with him, that was enough proof the curse never existed. “You’re looking at it wrong.”

“Only a few men in our family have had a successful long-term relationship since the 1920s. What other way is there to look at it? We’re lucky Mom stayed with Dad as long as she did before taking off.”

“Ever think Mom left because Dad spent more time worrying about the future than paying attention to the present?” Rob confiscated his brother’s coffee as he left the bathroom and took a sip.

It was a dark roast Hal was fond of, and on the verge of being too bitter.

“Dad’s more concerned with stealing something that doesn’t exist than investing in their relationship. ”

“Recovering,” Hal corrected. He folded his arms. “What about me? I never had a relationship that lasted beyond three weeks.”

“You’re a self-fulfilling prophecy.” Rob took another swallow and handed back the cup.

His brother placed it on the table, carefully avoiding any papers. “And you?”

“Look.” He pulled on his shoe. “I have a real chance with Wendy. I’m not going to let someone’s over-active imagination taint it.

” There was something personally satisfying in his work, whether bringing closure to families or seeing a book he researched skyrocket on the bestsellers list. But being with Wendy had him looking beyond.

They deserved a chance to explore why life threw them together.

He wanted to uncover her secrets and idiosyncrasies. He wanted her to discover his.

“What do you think is going to happen when she finds out?”

“Finds out what?” The more pressing question in Rob’s mind was what going to happen when he told his brother he was staying in Claremont.

A flash of panic crossed Hal’s face and he picked up his drink. “Nothing.”

“Hal.” Rob forced down the sense of dread and waited until his brother gulped a few swallows and finally look up. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Nothing. Wow, look at the time.” Hal glanced at his naked wrist. “I better go get food before your brunch people scarf it all down.”

He strode toward the door, but Rob blocked him at the foot of his bed. No way was his brother getting off this easily.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be? Like, really soon?”

Rob held his ground.

“You know how I get when I don’t have my morning coffee. Are you going to move?”

He gave a pointed stare at the paper cup in his brother’s hand. “Are you going to tell me what you don’t want to tell me?”

“No.” Hal’s lips set in a stubborn line.

“Same goes.”

Hal’s eyes darted to the bed as if calculating how hard he’d have to shove to get Rob out of the way.

“Don’t even try it,” Rob said. “I know where you sleep.”

“Fine.” His brother downed the rest of the drink and leaned against the desk. “Just remember I did it for your own good.”

Like Rob believed that. Hal never did anything for Rob’s own good. A streak of dread chilled his body. “My own good? Or for the good of the curse?”

“They’re the same thing, Rob. You won’t be able to find true happiness or everlasting love until the curse is broken.”

This wasn’t going to end well. Rob moved his hand in a circular motion to indicate his brother should continue.

“Fine.” Hal picked up the tablet and rotated it in his hands. “Remember when I told you Wendy knows why we’re here?”

Rob closed his eyes. He had been proud of his brother for putting his needs above the needs of the family. Perhaps that pride had come too soon. “Yes.”

“I may have left out one or two important details. Like, that our uncle stayed here and we were the ones cursed. Or that we were going to recover his lost treasure.”

“Then what the hell did you tell her?” He pinched the bridge of his nose, relieving the sudden tension.

“That you had trouble keeping it up and were taking medication for your problem.” Hal pitched the tablet to Rob. He fumbled with the device as his brother hurdled over the bed in a move worthy of an Olympic track star.

“Don’t be late!” Hal bolted for the grand staircase.

A vein pulsed in Rob’s temple and he rubbed at it.

While he’d love to chase after his lying brother, Hal was right.

Rob went into the small bathroom and plucked an antacid from the roll on the counter.

His first one in some time. He hadn’t needed to calm his sour stomach in a while.

This day, the start of his new life, would not be ruined.

Once his irritation subsided, he managed to get the noose looking presentable and buttoned the cuffs of his dark blue shirt before heading to the dining room.

Jordan and Sebastien stood at the bottom of the staircase, chatting with an older, dark-haired woman dressed in black pants and a green shirt proclaiming she was part of last year’s class.

Jordan linked one of her arms through Rob’s and the other through Sebastien’s. “To brunch, gentlemen!”

The scent of sausage and the hum of conversation reached them before they entered the ballroom and Jordan guided them through the crowd.

The space had been turned into a proper presentation hall, with a podium for speakers and seating for other presenters.

Black cloth covered the round tables, and each one was set with a small vase filled with bright yellow flowers.

There were about one hundred people milling about and eating.

Brandi had done a great job transforming the large area.

Rob scanned the people gathered, but Wendy wasn’t downstairs yet. His skin didn’t get the prickle of her nearness and though he could smell the ever-present peach scent of Fountenoy Hall, it lacked her feminine undertone.

Brandi waved at them, but Sebastien and Jordan peeled off before they reached her. She opened her arms to invite him to sit. “Wendy didn’t want to share you.” She beamed with happiness. Wendy must have told her of their plans. “You’ve been good for her, Dr. Robert Upshaw.”

Hopefully she’d still feel that way after Rob confessed the sins of his family. He forced a smile, ignoring the sick twist in his stomach. “Thanks, Brandi. There’s no place I’d rather be than right here.”

Within a minute, a woman in an orange Leadership Claremont shirt appeared to fill his water glass and take his drink order, and a man placed a basket of bread and a small cup of peach butter on the table.

No sooner had he been left alone when Wendy entered the room. His body tightened at the sight of her.

Her glorious brown hair was down and set in soft waves around her face. The simple flowered sundress plunged into a deep vee, accentuating the soft swells of her breasts. But it was the expression of love on her face that socked his gut. Natural. Real. And for him.

Damn this curse.

He rose and pulled out her chair when she approached the table. “You are stunning.”

Instead of sitting down, she pressed her lithe body into his and kissed him.

Pleasure thrummed through him from the heated touch of her lips.

The display was a good a declaration as any from the woman who shied away from public affection.

The clamor of conversation around them dimmed, then came back louder.

“I think they’re talking about us.” Her lips curved into a naughty grin.

The primal roar in his blood wanted nothing more than to hoist her over his shoulder and carry her to her room where their muscles would strain and scream until an explosion of fire consumed them both.

But first he had to deal with that little nagging problem called the truth.

There could be no intimacy with this lie between them.

“They’re talking about how lucky I am to have you all to myself,” he said. The wait staff came to their table with his drink, shattering the illusion of privacy. “Minus a few tens of people.”

He’d take her for a walk around the grounds, he decided, to the same tree where she brought him.

Away from the orchard, in case she felt the need to throw peaches at him.

Confess everything. And then ask—beg, if necessary—to stay and explore the heat between them without their ancestors’ past looming over their future.

Wendy snapped the cloth napkin onto her lap. Soon plates of eggs, grits, and sausage steamed in front of them. The smell was tempting, but Rob’s appetite had abandoned him with his brother’s revelation.

“Did you tell Hal?” Wendy’s eyes lit with happiness as she reached for her juice. “Is he upset?”

“There wasn’t time this morning. He hadn’t yet had enough coffee.” To forestall other questions, he kept talking. “I’m guessing you told Brandi.”