Surprised by Family: a Contemporary Romance Duet Read Online Free Page A

asked. She’d asked him the same thing back in her office, but she obviously wasn’t content with the answer she’d received.
    He gave a half-shrug. “I’ve made an offer on the property.”
    “What? Really? You’re not planning to tear it down, are you?”
    “Why would you assume that?”
    “I’m just surprised you’re interested in it at all, and I know the property could be valuable to developers. Why would you spend money on the church if you’re not planning to tear it down?”
    He didn’t answer her question. He hadn’t told anyone why he wanted to the church—as a sentimental gesture in memory of his father. Leila felt familiar to him, like they had a long history, but he really didn’t know who she was anymore. He wasn’t about to tell her the truth.
    Instead, he asked, “Why is it so important to you ? I don’t remember you being religious.”
    “I’m not religious. It’s not about that. It’s about the history the building represents.”
    “What history is that?”
    She paused and peered at him, as if checking if he was really interested. Then she said, “The moment of the first Great Awakening in history shaped New England. It shaped the entire United States. If you look through the course of history, it’s when people really believe in something—when they’re moved by that belief—that we make real progress. That’s when we create beauty, when we discover the unknown, when we make the world better. What happened in churches like West Church changed the world. I wrote a dissertation on all the ways that happened. It doesn’t matter that whether we believe the same things they believed. What matters is that it shaped who we are."
    She wasn’t playing an angle here. She wasn’t trying to charm him or out-maneuver him or hide her real agenda. The words were obviously what she genuinely believed, and she wanted him to believe it too.
    Baron had no idea how to respond.
    “That’s amazing,” the heart surgeon said. “I’ve never thought about it before, but that’s why colleges exist in the first place. Maybe we should rebuild the church after all.”
    Baron was suddenly worried she’d unintentionally blown apart his whole plans for the purchase by convincing these board members not to sell the property.
    He couldn’t lose the church. It had meant too much to his father. “I’m planning to rebuild the church, preserving all of its historic character,” he said. “And I have the money to invest to make that happen, without any sacrifice on Benton’s part. It seems like a win-win situation.”
    He was relieved when he saw this reality register on the heart surgeon’s face.
    Leila’s face, on the other hand, looked confused, with just an edge of distrust. She was probably wondering why a man with his long-standing reputation for taking nothing seriously was bothering with the church at all.
    She used to look at him with adoration. He’d never thought much about her when she was a kid, but he hadn’t failed to recognize all the soulful looks she’d aimed at him. It had made him laugh back then—all in good-humor, since he’d been attached to her entire family. Dave had been his best friend, but spending time with the rest of the family had filled a different sort of need in him.
    There was no trace of infatuation—or even admiration—on Leila’s face now.
    He was good with women, though. He always had been.
    He was sure he could remove the distance in her eyes and convince her to indulge in an evening with him.
    He’d have to go back into the office tomorrow. The work didn’t stop just because it was Saturday. But for one night he could feel like Baron again.
    So when the conversation broke up, he managed to maneuver Leila away from the others and then out onto the patio where the background noises faded into a murmur and the moonlight was soft.
    She stared at him blankly, as if she wasn’t sure what had just happened. Her lips parted slightly in an expression that