Page 23 of Second Time Around

“Maybe it’s both.” Farr bit into his crostini with gusto. “I prefer some good red meat myself.”

Kyra was about to take another bite for analysis when a woman walked up behind Will. She had dark-blonde hair pulled back in a low bun, sunglasses that concealed her eyes, and a strong resemblance to Betsy Chase.

“Schuyler!” Farr popped up from his chair to embrace the newcomer, her multihued plaid sundress clashing with his vivid trousers.

Will rose, too, and hugged his sister. “I thought you might have shown more guts than I have and refused to come.”

Schuyler laughed without a trace of humor. “Dad’s my boss so I might get fired if I didn’t show up.”

“Would that be so terrible?” Will asked, making Schuyler laugh. He turned to Kyra. “Kyra, my sister, Schuyler. Kyra’s an old friend from Brunell whom I just reconnected with.”

“And he brought you here for a date?” Schuyler took Kyra’s proffered hand in a grip that verged on painfully firm. “I wouldn’t blame you if you refused to ever go out with my brother again.”

“I think it helps not to be related,” Kyra said.

This time Schuyler’s chuckle was genuine. “No doubt about it. I see you came by helicopter. Can I hitch a ride home with you?”

Will nodded. “Get some food and join us.”

“I ate already,” Schuyler said. She hesitated a moment before looking her brother in the eye. “Petra’s here.”

“Farr warned me.”

“She’s had too much to drink.”

Will’s lips flattened into a straight line. “It just gets better.”

Kyra’s curiosity was at fever pitch now.

“I’ll be at the stables later if you want to escape,” Schuyler said before she strode off in the direction of the bar and they all seated themselves again. Will chewed through a half-dozen canapés in silence while Farr entertained Kyra with stories of their escapades from boarding school.

As Kyra applauded their ingenuity in having gotten a large sow into the headmaster’s office, Will turned to her. “Forgive my rudeness. You should know that Petra announced the end of our engagement very publicly at this event two years ago. She doesn’t handle alcohol well, so it was an ugly scene. That’s why the news that she’s here and drinking has made me an appallingly bad companion.”

“Hear! Hear!” Farr said, raising his martini glass. “Honesty at last.”

If Will was talking about it, Kyra wanted to know one thing very badly. “Who broke it off?”

Will cleared his throat. After a moment’s silence, he said, “I did.”

That explained why Petra still wanted to be engaged to him. But what would make the ever-chivalrous, morally upright Will Chase dump his fiancée? It had to be pretty awful. Maybe Petra had pulled a Babette on him. That made her heart squeeze. He didn’t deserve to be cheated on twice by women he was in love with. On the other hand, she could understand Petra’s refusal to give him up. To win Will’s love only to lose it would be like going from sunlight to fog.

“We were going to make each other miserable,” Will said. “My mistake for proposing to her, so my responsibility to make it right.”

“And Will still feels responsible,” Farr said, an odd edge to his voice.