The Heiress Effect (Brothers Sinister #2)

Oliver shrugged. “I had seen her in action. I knew what she could do. But come. Enough of that. There’s a man I’d like to introduce you to.”


Introductions were made; hands were shaken. Oliver chalked that one up to a job well done, and set his glass on a nearby table. Then he crossed the room. Nobody could tell—nobody but Oliver—but underneath her gown of striped silk, Jane’s belly was growing. In a few months, it would be obvious that she was increasing with their second child. For now…

He stalked toward her. God, she was lovely. Her back was to him, leaving a view of the nape of her neck, adorned tonight by gold and diamonds. The curve of her waist begged for his touch. She was talking with great animation to the people next to her.

“There need to be some repercussions to all this fine theory,” Jane was saying. “It’s all well and good to say that doctors should act in the best interests of their patients, but what if they do not? Who determines what happens next? This is what I need you to consider. Then, we’ll talk to Parliament.”

“Speak of the devil,” the doctor next to her said.

Jane turned. “Oh. It’s you.” But she glowed at him—the smile of a woman completely in her element—and she took his hand, entwining it in hers. “Did you bring Bertie Pages? I wanted to introduce him to Anjan.” She leaned in. “Emily says that Anjan is considering joining you in Parliament.”

“I know. I talked to him earlier. It’s already done.” Oliver gestured across the room, where his colleague was talking to his brother-in-law. Emily stood next to her husband, smiling.

“You are efficient,” she said.

“Sometimes.” He smiled.

Jane was framed in the window. Everyone else might think the décor in the salon a bit odd. There was, after all, a small collection of plants on the table by the window: six of them so far. One cactus for every anniversary they’d celebrated together, plus the one Jane had brought to their marriage. For their tenth anniversary, Oliver was going to try to get her a saguaro—but that was going to take some doing. For now…

“I came to see if you were tired,” Oliver said. “After all this work, I’m sure that when you finish up, you’ll need a rest.”

For the first few months of the pregnancy, she had been exhausted. She’d needed naps and back rubs, and he’d been happy to oblige.

“I haven’t been tired in a while,” she told him. “But yes, after we’re done, I’ll be…” She trailed off slowly.

She met his eyes, saw his smile. Her hand, tangled with his, went still for a moment. Very deliberately, Oliver drew his thumb over her fingers.

She answered his smile with one of her own.

“Now that you mention it,” she said, “I will be particularly tired after this. I might need a little help getting upstairs.”

Her forefinger traced an answering line down the side of his hand.

“Yes,” Oliver said. “I can manage that.” He leaned in and brushed a kiss against her forehead. “Until then.”