Eli, Therese and Aria took their seats at the table. Five seats remained—three for his parents and Victoria. His parents’ lawyer Dave and his wife Christine claimed the remaining two.

“Elijah, Therese,” his mother greeted them as they got settled. “You remember Dave and Christine?” She directed the question to Eli, who nodded. “And of course you know Victoria.”

He tilted his head to acknowledge the statuesque blonde. “Good evening, Victoria.”

“Oh, come now, Elijah.” She spoke in dulcet tones, reaching out to take his hand, the movement jangling the bracelets on her wrist and pulling the sleek black dress she was wearing tighter across her midriff. She had always been elegant, and tonight she’d pulled out all the stops. What sort of ideas had his mother planted in her head? “No need to be so formal. We have history, after all. Why don’t you introduce me to your delightful friend?”

He’d rather chew on nails, but it didn’t seem as if he had much choice.

“This is Aria Simons,” he said reluctantly. “Aria, this is Victoria Burns.”

“Daughter of William Burns, the founder of Burns Technologies,” Frances added. “Victoria is their Director of Marketing.”

“Nice to meet you,” Aria said politely, but her hand gripped Eli’s knee under the table, and he thought he saw a shadow pass across her face.

“Delighted,” Victoria replied, her expression indicating that she was anything but. Her eyes narrowed further when Eli took Aria’s hand from his knee and laid it on the table, his fingers intertwined with hers. “I hear you live in the little town where Elijah is working at the moment.”

A waiter appeared at her elbow and began filling drinks.

“Yes,” Aria replied. “I grew up in Itirangi and moved back about a year ago.”

Eli wondered what had prompted her to move back. She had the skills and the drive to do better than write community interest articles in a provincial newspaper. Was it related to the rumors that she’d slept with her boss? He didn’t believe it of her, no matter what Mark Talbot’s opinion might be, but the thought of her with anyone else—let alone a man who might have taken advantage of her—made his chest ache. He rubbed it absently with his free hand.

“I don’t imagine there’s much in Itirangi except for sheep and grass,” Victoria remarked snidely.

“And cows,” Aria replied, seemingly unbothered by the comment. “We have a lot of cows. Don’t forget about them.”

Eli snorted into his wine, earning reproachful looks from both his mother and Victoria, but Aria smiled, and his heart thumped erratically in response. His gut told him it would be all downhill from there.

CHAPTER 22