“Is that so? I’ve heard nearly nothing about you.”

Samantha stiffened beside him and Blake quickly stepped between the two women. “We’re here to fix that,” he told his mother. “You didn’t have to meet us here. You know how long the flight is from the States.”

Linda patted Blake’s shoulder. “I’m sure you’ve had plenty of time to rest in flight.”

“We’ve been very busy up until our trip, as I’m sure you can imagine. We’re looking forward to a few hours sleep.”

His mother glanced at the driver holding the umbrella over her head and then to the car. “Then we should get you home to do so.”

Blake felt his control starting to snap. The worse part was that Samantha said absolutely nothing. She simply stared between the two of them, lips sealed. “I’ve arranged a room at The Plaza.”

“That’s silly—“

“Mother!” He’d had enough.

“Linda? You don’t mind if I call you Linda, do you?” Samantha had found her voice.

“Of course not, dear.”

“Good. As you can see, I’m in desperate need of a shower, and some sleep. I hope you’ll be so kind as to wait our departure to Albany once Blake and I have had the opportunity to put some of that nasty jet-lag behind us.” Samantha’s tone and words were more formal than Blake had ever heard uttered previously from her lips.

“I suppose you’re right.”

Samantha grasped onto Blake’s arm and leaned into him. “It really is nice of you to greet me here. You’ve no idea what that means to me.”

Again, Blake was at a loss for words. He led his wife and mother into the back of the car and joined them.

The second the car door closed, Samantha snuggled closer to Blake’s side. “That is a lovely coat,” Sam told his mother.

“T-Thank you.”

“I hope you’ll tell me where you got it. I’m afraid I’ve nothing like it and from the looks of the sky, I’ll need something like it for my trip.”

“Of course. We’ll have plenty of time to shop.”

Blake’s worry over his mother’s untimely arrival started to fade. “My wife and my mother shopping. Should I be worried?” he teased.

“That depends,” Samantha said.

“On?”

“If your sister joins us. Three women with an open credit card are positively dangerous.”

They laughed. And despite the obvious differences between his mother and his wife, he wasn’t worried about them getting along. Samantha had listened to his description about his mother’s spending habits, about her love of fashion, and used it to gain her affection. By the time they reached The Plaza, Blake was certain that his mother didn’t even notice Samantha’s department store jeans and non-designer shoes. Blake was equally sure that Samantha would burn the clothes on her back the minute she had a chance.

Thankfully, his mother waved them off at the door and didn’t join them inside the hotel. The early dawn hours graced them with a deserted lobby. The bellhop quickly shuffled them to their suite. Blake tipped the young man and closed the door behind him.

Alone, Sam toed off her shoes and flung herself in the sofa. “I might actually like your mom after I get over the fact she ambushed us at the airport.”

“I asked her to wait for us in Albany.”

“She’s a mom. She’s curious.”

“Still, she should have waited.” And he’d have a private word with her at the first opportunity.

“She needed to see that I wasn’t five months pregnant with her own eyes.”

Blake had started to place his suitcase on the bed when Samantha’s words registered. “Pregnant?”

“Oh, please, you didn’t see her eyes drifting to my waist?”

No, the thought had never entered his mind. “You’re not serious.”

“Very. She was on a recon mission. First to see if an heir is on the way, second to make sure I wasn’t a complete wash in the class department.”

Blake leaned against the frame of the bed, his mind buzzing with the possibility that Samantha was right. “How can you be sure?”

“Women are emotional creatures. Everything is in their eyes. Once your mom took off her sunglasses, I could read every glance, every twitch.”

He shrugged. “I think I need to have you come into my next management meeting. You seem to have the spy thing down.”

“When I was in college, I minored in psychology.”

“You could have had a career in criminal justice.”

“Not likely. Sins of the father and all that.”

Samantha pushed off the couch, ending their conversation. There was hurt there, in her stance as she unpacked a few things and headed for the bathroom. Her father had done a number on her. Sadly, Blake wasn’t sure how deep her wounds were. He made a mental note to find out.

****

Samantha’s head no sooner met the pillow than Blake was waking her. After a long hot shower and a small meal, because face it, eating simply made her nauseous at this point, the honeymooners were on their way to Albany. The thought of Blake’s family watching her every move spread shivers up her spine. Samantha knew she’d dodged Blake’s mother’s initial inquisition. There was no telling if Linda would be as easily put off once Sam was on the woman’s home turf.

Dressed in a rust colored skirt and dress jacket, she prepared herself to meet the family.

Blake didn’t even question why she’d shoved her jeans and shirt into the garbage can at the hotel. He simply noticed the outfit there and offered a laugh.