Billionaire Baby Dilemma

Four

Devin had escaped the Demarco mansion first thing the next morning, taking Amelia in her car and heading to Lake Westmire, well away from any possibility of a chance encounter with Lucas. She decided she would check on her plants, pack a few more of Amelia’s clothes, listen to any messages on her answering machine and double-check the fridge for anything that might spoil during the few weeks she’d be away.

Lexi stopped by the house during Amelia’s afternoon nap. She convinced Devin to join her for a catamaran ride across the bay once the baby woke up. Devin was happy with the excuse to extend her visit. She decided that after the sail, she’d give Amelia her dinner, freshen her up in a bath and then let her fall asleep on the way back to the Demarco mansion.

Out on the lake, in her little swimsuit and a cotton cover-up, Amelia sat happily between Devin’s legs, bouncing on the catamaran’s trampoline deck. When the cool water splashed up through the springy, open-knit fabric, she grabbed at it with her hands, giggling when it disappeared from her little fingers.

“Define kiss,” said Lexi, adjusting the main sail with practiced maneuvers as she changed their direction and they skimmed out across the rippling water.

“A regular kiss,” said Devin.

“On the lips.”

“Yes.” Devin wasn’t sure anything else would have been noteworthy. Though she supposed Lucas kissing her on the cheek or forehead would have been pretty weird, too.

“Full frontal hugging?” asked Lexi.

“Yes,” Devin admitted. And, wow, that had been one great hug.

“Groping?”

“No,” she quickly denied.

“But the kiss was good?” Lexi persisted.

“The kiss was great,” Devin confirmed on a huge sigh of frustration. It would probably go down in the record books as one of her all-time favorite kisses. Whatever his ethics, whatever his conduct, Lucas Demarco knew how to kiss a woman.

She compulsively rolled one of the webbing straps on Amelia’s life jacket into a tight spiral, then she let it spring back open in her hand. “But I don’t get why he did it.” The question had plagued her all night long.

“Sometimes guys don’t have a reason,” Lexi offered, swooping some loose strands of hair back from her face as the wind grew stronger. “They take random action. And, when it comes to sex, they’re ruled by their primal brains.”

“Number one, it wasn’t sex. And number two, Lucas is not a random guy.” And Devin doubted his primal brain ruled any of his actions. “He’s logical, organized and compulsively goal-oriented. When he does something, it’s for a reason.”

“Do you really think you need to add paranoia to this situation?” Lexi pushed hard on the tiller.

The boat canted to one side, and Devin braced herself with a rope handle, holding tight to Amelia. “It doesn’t count as paranoia, when they truly are out to get you.”

Lexi rocked her head back and forth, obviously considering the merits of Devin’s point.

“I’ve been thinking,” Devin added, completely convinced that Lucas’s kiss was part of some well thought out, detailed plan to gain an advantage over her. “I’m not going to just sit back and wait for his next move.”

She anchored her white baseball cap on her head. “If all I do is react to his maneuvers, then I’m going to lose. That’s what happened in the temporary guardianship hearing. He had a plan. I didn’t. And it cost me.”

Lexi loosened the sail. “So, what are you going to do?”

“Make a plan,” Devin answered logically.

“No kidding, Sherlock. What kind of a plan?”

“I’m going to need your help with that.”

It needed to be devious, brilliant, but the simpler the better. It needed to paint Lucas into a corner, but he couldn’t see it coming.

“You could kiss him again,” Lexi offered.

“That’s the best you can do?”

“You’d turn the tables on him. You’re a gorgeous woman, you know.”

Devin could see where Lexi was going with this. But is wasn’t something she’d be able to pull off. “I’m not exactly a vamp.”

Lexi’s voice was laced with laughter. “But you could be. You glam up good. I’ll lend you a dress. We’ll do your makeup, get you some sleep-with-me heels, mess around with your hair.”

Devin chuckled in return. “And then what?”

“And then he’s putty in your hands.”

“And…?”

“A little pillow talk. You learn his secrets.”

Devin splashed some water at Lexi. “I’m not going to sleep with him.”

“Of course not. Just, you know, put on some sexy clothes, give him a couple of come-hither looks. If you can learn something useful about Konrad-or about Lucas for that matter-you can take it to court.”

Lexi leaned far back to balance the boat in a freshening wind. Devin tightened her hold on Amelia and shifted her weight to help out. The sail rippled loudly in the wind.

“It might work,” Devin called to Lexi. “I find concrete proof that Lucas and Konrad plotted Amelia’s birth for their own financial ends, and I’m home free.”

Lexi slowed the boat down as they neared her beach. “And if he’s already playing you on the sexual front?”

“Then I’ll lull him into a false sense of security.” Devin wasn’t scared. Okay, she was a little intimidated at the thought of playing sexual politics with Lucas. But it was for a good cause, and she’d simply have to make sure she kept her wits about her.

Lexi turned the boat for home. “You should also snoop through his house.”

“I’ve been thinking about talking to the staff,” said Devin. “Just idle chitchat. I’m not going to grill them or anything. And, hey, if there’s something interesting lying out there in plain sight…”

Lexi shot her a conspiratorial grin.

“I refuse to sit back and do nothing,” Devin defended.

“You have my complete support,” said Lexi. “Besides, he’s the one who forced you to stay there in the first place.”

Devin gave a vigorous nod of agreement. “If he’s not smart enough to hide the evidence, then he deserves to get caught.”

“What do you think you’ll find?”

“I have no idea.”

“Looks like we’ve got company.” Lexi nodded to the beach in front of their houses.

“Not Lucas.” Despite her bold words, Devin wasn’t anywhere near ready to put her plan into action. She certainly wasn’t ready to face him yet.

After their kiss last night, she’d escaped directly from the library to her room. Then she’d deliberately waited until his sports car pulled out of the driveway this morning before venturing down from the nursery to feed Amelia breakfast. They’d made a clean break. And, if she was lucky, it would last until tomorrow morning.

“It’s Steve,” said Lexi, adjusting the angle of the catamaran so that it pointed directly at the beach.

As they approached the shore, Devin prepared to jump off. She settled Amelia firmly against one hip, then she turned her body, feet dangling just above the water line.

She jumped and hit the sandy bottom. It slipped away beneath her heels, but she maintained her balance, trotting the last few feet alongside the boat.

She grasped the bow line with one hand, holding Amelia fast with the other. She needn’t have worried. Lexi had put the boat expertly up on the beach and quickly jumped off herself.

Steve stood at the water’s edge, and he stepped forward and smoothly relieved Devin of Amelia.

“Looked like fun out there,” he commented. He held Amelia aloft for a minute, grinning at her and babbling nonsense.

The baby smiled back, cooing a few sounds of her own and reaching for his nose. Steve propped her, bulky life jacket and all, against his shoulder, and Devin couldn’t help contrasting his easy manner with the baby against Lucas’s awkwardness.

Lexi stripped off her life jacket and started work on the ropes.

“I thought you might need some help,” Steve explained to Devin.

Devin stripped off her own life jacket then took Amelia from Steve’s arms and unzipped hers. “Help with what?”

“I assumed you were picking up a few more things from the house. For the baby. Maybe for you.”

“How did you know I was here?” It was disconcerting to have him show up out of nowhere.

“He pumped the staff for information,” came Lucas’s unexpected voice.

Devin looked up in surprise to see Lucas striding across the beach, his shoes off, slacks rolled up a few turns and his suit jacket slung over his arm. “He’s been spying on you,” Lucas told Devin.

“What about you?” Steve challenged.

“They’re my staff,” Lucas returned.

“Did you two come together?” asked Devin. She wasn’t crazy about having any of the Demarco family invading her home turf. It wouldn’t be much of a sanctuary if her problems kept following her out here.

“No,” they both answered simultaneously.

“Well, I don’t need help moving,” she said, finishing the exchange with Steve.

Then she turned on Lucas. “And you. There’s no reason for you to be here, either.”

“I wanted to make sure you were coming back.” There was a wealth of awareness in his flat, frank stare. He knew the kiss had disconcerted her. And he’d obviously guessed that’s why she had fled.

Well, he was in for a surprise now. She was over the kiss, and she was going to ignore any lingering attraction she might have for him. From now on, he was the target of her investigation, nothing more.

“Of course I’m coming back,” she told him breezily, switching her attention on Amelia, fixing her little sun cap and smoothing her wispy hair.

Despite her concentration, she could feel Lucas’s gaze. But she assured herself that he didn’t know what was going on inside her head. As far as he was concerned, their kiss had meant nothing.

“You should have told me where you were going.” There was a rebuke in his voice.

“I’m a prisoner now?” she couldn’t help but ask.

“You’re under a court order.”

She turned to peer at his expression, an unsettling thought taking hold. Would he somehow use this against her? Had he reported her for taking Amelia out of the Demarco mansion?

She advanced on him, voice going low. “What did you do?”

“Damn it!” Lexi shouted from behind her, and Lucas instantly sprang to action.

Devin whirled to see him drop his suit jacket and race into the lake after the catamaran. The wind had picked up, and the craft had slipped from the sand. The breeze caught the mainsail, and the boat was heading out into the middle of the water.

Lexi was chasing it, too, but Lucas was faster. As the water reached his waist, he dove in, swimming powerfully across the waves, only just managing to grab a stern line and hang on tight.

Lexi was chest deep in the water. Steve was still on shore. And all three of them held their breath while Lucas made his way, hand over hand, along the rope. He grasped a handle on the pontoon and hauled himself, dripping wet, onto the accelerating boat.

“I can’t believe he caught it,” Lexi breathed. “That was just plain stupid,” she cursed herself, her expression telling Devin she’d been needlessly distracted.

“Must have been a sudden gust,” Devin offered in consolation, shading her eyes to watch as Lucas took control of the catamaran, ducking under the boom while he tacked to turn.

“Does he know how to sail?” Lexi asked Steve.

Steve nodded, but his lips were drawn in a grim line. There was a chill in his brown eyes that Devin hadn’t seen before.

She shifted Amelia and focused on Lucas as he maneuvered in a big arc against the setting sun. Once turned, he lined up, pointing the craft toward them, coming in at a fast clip as he ran the boat back up on the soft sand. Lexi quickly grabbed one of the pontoons. Lucas hopped off and grabbed the other. Together they dragged it a safe distance onto the beach.

Lexi immediately started taking down the sail.

“Thanks,” she called to Lucas while she worked.

Lucas glanced down at his dripping clothes, then over to the jacket that was halfway in the water, its fabric being ground against the sand by the lapping waves.

It occurred to Devin that she probably should have thought to pick it up for him. Whoops.

He paced over to retrieve it. “I cannot keep a suit clean around you people.”

She couldn’t tell if he was angry or joking.

Lexi had offered to lend Lucas a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt left at her house by her oldest son. So, he stood in Devin’s tiny shower rinsing off the lake water and sand, the plastic curtain brushing up against his skin every time he moved, while he struggled to keep his shins from hitting the steep sides of the narrow antique tub. The water temperature was erratic, the pressure pathetic, the taps whistled and a wire soap dish stuck out at a dangerous angle from the worn, tiled wall.

How did Devin put up with this every day of her life?

Rinsed clean, he cranked off the creaky taps and drew back the plastic curtain, scraping it noisily against the curved metal rod as he stepped from the deep tub onto a turquoise mat. The towels were small, with a pink floral pattern and a fringe at either end. He caught a glimpse of himself drying his hair in the steamy mirror, and he couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of roses topping his head.

He supposed a shave was out of the question. It was probably just as well. Given the lilac-scented soap he’d just used to wash, he needed the macho factor provided by a five-o’clock shadow. Fortunately, the sweatpants were black and the T-shirt was steel-gray.

It proved tricky getting dressed in the compact room. He knocked over a bottle of hand lotion with his elbow and banged his head on a low-lying lamp while he struggled into the slightly tight T-shirt. Then, having learned his lesson about waking up Amelia last time he was here, he carefully opened the aging bathroom door and padded silently out into the hall.

The house was quiet, but Devin’s footfalls could be heard outside on the deck. As he rounded the corner into the living room, his nose picked up the scents of charcoal and grilling burgers through the screen of the patio door.

The sun had set while he showered. The lake was black now, except for the light from the few houses along the shoreline. A three-quarter moon hung low in the sky, while plastic patio lanterns glowed red, blue and green where they were strung on a wire around the perimeter of the deck.

Lucas started to smile at the classic backyard scene, but then he spotted Devin and instantly sobered. She stood at the barbecue, spatula in hand, watching the flames sear the burgers in front of her. Her feet were bare, legs long and tanned, and she wore a pair of lemon-yellow shorts paired with a white tank top that showed off her smooth golden shoulders.

She was in profile. Her hair was wispy short, waving softly over her ears and along the nape of her neck. She was delicately beautiful in any setting, and his mind jumped swiftly back to those moments when he’d held her tight in his arms and kissed her luscious lips.

He didn’t know why he’d let it happen. It was reckless and self-indulgent. But from that moment he’d brushed her shoulder in the dining room, kissing her had been all he could think about. Kissing her was still all he could think about.

She turned and spotted him standing there.

“All dry?” she called.

He moved to the screen door before answering, keeping his voice low, assuming Amelia must be asleep. “All dry,” he confirmed.

She looked him up and down. “Who needs a six-thousand-dollar suit, anyway?”

He jokingly spread his arms. “Is it me?”

“It’s you.” She paused. “Surprisingly.”

“Hey, I can hobnob with the common folk.” Not that he could remember having done it recently. In fact, his last hamburger was probably at summer camp when he was in grade school. He was more a rib-eye kind of guy.

“Sure.” She nodded sarcastically. “I bet you hobnob all the time.”

He didn’t answer, and instead slid open the screen door to join her.

“Would you like some wine?” she asked.

“Sounds great.”

She pointed with the spatula. “On the counter next to the fridge. Bring me a glass, would you?”

“You got it,” he answered easily, liking this laid-back side of Devin.

In the kitchen, after a few minutes of hunting for a bottle, Lucas realized she’d been referring to the cardboard box with the plastic spigot, sitting there on the kitchen counter. Wine in a box. Now that was a first.

He located a couple of stemmed glasses, then figured out how the spigot worked and filled them up.

He sniffed the bouquet, swirled it to check the legs and finally took an experimental sip of the deep burgundy liquid identified on the box as “Red Wine.” It was a bit sharp, but not horribly objectionable. Probably not a lot of time for the tannins to mellow prior to the boxing process.

He gave a shrug as he lifted both glasses and headed back to the deck. When in Rome.

He set the wineglasses down on Devin’s round table. It had a glass top and was surrounded by four thickly padded chairs.

“Can you grab the condiments?” she asked without turning from the grill.

“Sure.”

“I’m toasting the buns,” she called from behind him. “They were frozen. I hope you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind,” he assured her. “Anything else you need from the kitchen?”

“Not that I can think of.”

Lucas returned to the small kitchen and located mustard, ketchup and relish in the refrigerator.

He balanced them in his hands and ambled back to the deck once more, finding Devin setting toasted buns and burger patties on plastic plates on the round table.

“We’ll need a knife,” she told him.

He shot her a look of impatience. Had he not just asked if there was anything else?

“What?” she challenged.

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“How did you expect to spread it on your bun? Oh, and grab the mayo, will you?”

He gave his head a shake.

“What’s the matter, Lucas. You miss the serving staff?”

He kind of did. But he wasn’t about to answer that. So instead, he retrieved a couple of knives and a jar of mayonnaise.

When he got back, Devin was folding her body into one of the padded chairs.

The wind had died down, leaving the air crystal clear above the water, accenting the view across the darkened lake.

“Thanks,” she told him briskly, snagging one of the knives and starting to prepare her bun.

Lucas checked out the array of condiments and decided…what the heck? He loaded up his bun, adding a slice of cheese to boot.

The burger patty itself looked a little crisp on the outside, blackened in spots and shriveled rather small in comparison to the bun.

Devin took a big bite. “Mmm,” she murmured in appreciation. “I’m starving.”

“Busy day?” he asked. He’d followed Steve’s LoJack beacon out here the minute he’d realized where the man was going. He had no intention of giving him time alone with Devin to indoctrinate her into the Steve Foster view of Pacific Robotics.

“Long time since lunch,” she responded.

Lucas took a bite of his own burger. No meat in that section, but all in all, not bad.

“You sent Steve packing,” she observed, biting down on a quarter-cut pickle.

Lucas swallowed, deciding to put his cards on the table. “Absolutely. He’s trying to co-opt you to his side.”

“And you?” she asked. “Are you trying to get me on your side?”

“Mine’s the side of truth and justice,” he responded.

Co-opting Devin was not his preferred plan. He needed a decisive win when it came to Amelia. He couldn’t take the chance that Devin might support him now, and then later change her mind because someone had convinced her of the merits of a particular lame-assed project.

“Not from where I’m sitting,” she told him.

“Yeah?” He was curious to hear how she’d couch his side versus Steve’s.

“So far, of the two of you, Steve looks like the good guy.”

Lucas set down his burger. “And you wonder why I have to fight you?”

The woman had absolutely no frame of reference. She was a babe in the woods, vulnerable to whomever might sell her a bill of goods.

“We can compromise,” she offered.

“You want me to compromise? You’re so confused, you think Steve is the good guy.” Lucas took a swallow of the wine. It really was pretty bad.

“If I made an agreement with you up front, I’d stick to it.”

He didn’t believe that. Not for one moment. “Until some point in the future when you disagreed with me.”

Devin took another contemplative bite of her pickle. “I suppose that’s true. I mean if you were really wrong about something.”

She was everything he feared-erratic, unreliable and illogical.

Lucas pushed back his chair. “You are impossible.”

“No. It’s the situation that’s impossible.”

Lucas hated to admit it, but he could see her point. “I don’t have an answer that’s going to satisfy you,” he admitted out loud. “All I know for sure is that I can trust me.”

She gave a small, rueful smile. “And I can trust me.”

They both stared at each other for a long moment of silence.

“Stalemate,” he stated fatalistically.

“New topic,” she told him, lifting her glass. “Nice rescue on the catamaran. Lexi asked me to thank you again.”

“I haven’t been sailing in a while,” he answered, itching to continue the debate until she capitulated, but knowing the time wasn’t right. “That part was fun.”

“Sorry about the suit,” Devin offered.

“Funny how I keep losing my clothes around you.”

She glanced away, and he realized his double entendre had embarrassed her. Hell, he hadn’t meant it that way. Not that he hadn’t thought about it. Truth was, he had.

Damn it. Not good.

He took another sip of the wine. The taste seemed to be growing on him.

“Do you like sailing?” he asked, trying to bring the conversation onto some neutral ground.

She picked up the conversation thread, obviously relieved to move on. “Yes, I do. And Amelia seems to love it. She’s a water baby.”

“You’ll have to come out on the Sound someday.”

“You have a sailboat?”

“A little bigger than the catamaran,” he said. “We’d probably have to bring a crew.”

“A crew?”

“Three or four guys.”

“Just how big is this sailboat?”

“Forty-six feet.”

She chuckled. “Yeah, I’d say it’s a little bigger than the catamaran.”

“We could do dinner,” he offered, knowing it sounded like a date, but not particularly caring. He found himself liking the idea of an evening sailing with Devin. And Steve certainly wouldn’t be able to get his hands on her if they were on the water.

“With a boat that size, we could sail all the way to Vancouver.”

“Sure,” he said, shrugging. They could go wherever she liked.

She sat back in her chair, twirling her wineglass between her fingers. “It’s some life you’re living, Lucas Demarco.”

Lucas glanced around the deck, realizing the homey atmosphere was growing on him. “It’s a nice life you’re living here, too.”

“Not at the moment,” she returned tartly.

He sighed. “You want to fight with me or accept my compliment on your house?”

“My house can’t possibly impress you.”

Lucas leaned forward, bracing his elbows on the table. “You, Devin Hartley, are an extraordinarily difficult person with whom to carry on a pleasant conversation.”

She set down her glass and leaned forward to match his posture. “And you, Lucas Demarco, are extraordinarily bad at hiding your condescension.”

“I like your house,” he protested. “Well, not the bathroom.” He glanced up. “And these patio lanterns? Well, let’s just say it’s a good thing you’re-”

He stopped himself.

Had he been about to tell her she was beautiful? What the hell was going on in his mind? “You have a great view.” He gave a mock toast to the moon and the darkened lake.

She tipped her head back to look. “What’s wrong with the lanterns?”

He checked out the faded plastic blobs, some of them warped, and the sagging wire where they hung. “They look like a fire hazard,” he pointed out.

“My mother bought those lanterns.”

Lucas didn’t now how to respond to that.

Devin’s voice rose. “My mother loved those lanterns.”

“I’m uh…sorry?”

“Sorry that you insulted my home, or sorry that my mother has bad taste?”

There was something in her incredulous tone that didn’t quite ring true, and Lucas realized she was fighting not to laugh.

“You’re messing with me, aren’t you?”

She grinned and shrugged her shoulders. “They came with the house,” she admitted. “But I like them. They make it, I don’t know, festive out here. It feels like we’re having a party every night.”

“Is that how you see life?” Lucas was genuinely curious. “One big party.”

“This, from the playboy of the Pacific Northwest?”

“Playboy?” He raised his brows.

“I’ve seen the pictures. I’ve read the articles. Your party schedule is a lot fuller than mine.” She waggled her finger at him. “You have had a very long list of girlfriends.”

“Most of them were just dates.”

“You mean one-night stands?”

“Like I’m going to tell you about my sex life.”

She lowered her voice to a whisper, glancing dramatically from side to side. “Too embarrassing?”

He leaned closer. “Too boring.”

A burst of laughter jumped out of her, and she rocked back in her chair. He noticed her wineglass was empty. So was his.

“That was not what I was expecting you to say,” she admitted.

“More wine?” he asked, reaching for her glass.

She contemplated the question for a second. “Sure.”

He rose to head back to the kitchen.

“Is this your way out of an embarrassing conversation?” she called after him.

He set the glasses down on her counter and refilled them, not about to shout back to her and wake Amelia.

But when he stepped back on the patio, she was clearly waiting to see how he’d respond.

“What’s embarrassing about dating beautiful women?” He set both glasses down on the table.

“I was talking about your boring sex life.”

“You going to tell me about yours?” he challenged.

“Nothing to tell.”

“And that’s not boring?” Truth was, he was more than intrigued by her answer. Nothing to tell? What did she mean by that?

“I’m taking care of a baby,” she told him. “Not a lot of time left over for dating.”

“And before that?” Amelia had only been Devin’s responsibility for three months.

“Before that, my sister was going through a rough time. Your brother’s fault, as you well know. The last thing she needed was to see me dressing up all bright and glittery, and prancing out the door to dance the night away with some random guy.”

“All bright and glittery?” He kept it light, but he was intrigued by her decision to skip dating for months on end because of her sister. It had definitely not occurred to Lucas to give up dating because Konrad’s marriage was in trouble.

“Jewelry,” she explained. “Makeup, a dress, and I have this cute little pair of high-heeled, rhinestone sandals.” She lifted one of her bare feet, twisting it back and forth in the lantern light. “Perfect for dancing.”

“You dress up?” So far, Lucas hadn’t seen her in anything but casual cotton. Well, that and the bikini. Devin in that pale blue bikini was seared indelibly into his brain.

“I dress up damn good,” she told him, wrinkling her nose and sipping her wine.

“Then we should get you a date.”

She rolled her eyes. “Sure. Because that’s exactly what’s missing in my life right now.”

“You wouldn’t like to go out for dinner, a little dancing, maybe a play or a concert?”

“And leave Amelia?”

“We’re getting a nanny, remember?”

Devin waved her glass for emphasis. “We are not hiring some Eastern European prison matron to run roughshod over poor little Amelia.”

Lucas shook his head. He pushed the empty chair opposite Devin out to the side and propped his bare feet, lounging back. “You have a gift for hyperbole.”

“I have veto power over the nanny.”

“So do I.”

“This ought to be interesting.” She selected another quarter-slice of pickle and took a bite.

Lucas cringed at the taste combination of wine and pickles. Then again, the wine was nearly vinegar anyway. It was hard to believe he was on his second glass.

Devin propped one heel up on her chair, wrapping an arm around her upraised knee. “Dueling nannies,” she joked.

“I’ve been invited to a charity ball Saturday night.”

“Bully for you. Another gorgeous supermodel on your arm? You’d better give generously to make for your decadent behavior.”

“It’s for the children’s hospital.”

She crunched down on another bite of the pickle. “Then give more than generously.”

“It’s at the Saturna Club. A very hot ticket.”

“Quit bragging.”

“I’m not bragging.”

“Yes, you are.”

“I’m inviting you.”

She drew back, swallowing, her expression registering stupefaction. “What?”

It was an excellent question. What the heck was he doing? Was he asking Devin on a date? Was he crazy? Was he so beguiled by the thought of seeing her dance in high-heeled, rhinestone sandals that he’d lost his mind?

“A girl needs to get out once in a while,” he explained, carefully keeping his face impassive.

It was official. He’d lost his mind.

“I’m not going to date you.”

“It’s not a date. It’s a charity ball. We’ll be there to give away my money.”

“Forget it.” She rose from her chair, picking up her plate and her near empty glass.

He jumped up, putting a hand on her arm to stop her. Surely inviting her to a charity ball couldn’t have made her that angry. “What’s wrong?”

All the humor was gone from her sapphire eyes. “You’re up to something,” she accused.

“I’m not.” He shook his head in denial, but that only made her eyes narrow in suspicion.

“There’s not a single reason for you to invite me out.”

“Then tell me what I’m up to.” He knew he should take his hand off her arm now, but he really didn’t want to. “What could I possibly gain by inviting you to a dance?”

She hesitated, and he could see her mind working over that one.

“Nothing.” He answered his own question.

“Then why do it?”

Fair point. “Impulse,” he answered honestly. “I was moved by your commitment to celibacy for the benefit of your sister. I found it sweet and self-sacrificing.” Why didn’t he shut up?

“You’re not ending my celibacy, Lucas. No way, no how.”

Lucas felt his jaw drop open. He’d had no intention… He hadn’t even thought about… Okay, he’d thought about it, but that was only last night after their kiss, it had nothing to do with his invitation to the dance. Nothing.

“Your celibacy is safe with me,” he told her, forcing himself to keep eyes front. If he gave in to temptation and let his gaze dip, she’d probably deck him. And she’d be justified.

She seemed to relax a bit. “Then you might want to stop salivating.”

“Dream on.”

She tilted her head. “You can’t kiss me.”

“I’m not going to kiss you.” Did she mean right now, or at the dance?

“It’s not a date,” she warned.

“It’s not a date,” he agreed.

He could see her hesitating. “How many months since your last one?” he dared to ask.

Her blue eyes flared. “Don’t rub it in.”

“I’m trying to convince you to get out and have some fun.” He forced himself to remove his hand from her arm and took a step back, giving her some space. “You’re the one who thinks life should be a perpetual party.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Trust me, the Saturna Club will be way better than faded patio lanterns, wine in a box and burnt hamburger.”

“The burgers weren’t burnt.”

He shot her a skeptical look.

She stuck her nose in the air. “They were well done, that’s all.”

He couldn’t help but grin.

And she socked him in the arm. “Fine. I’ll come to your stupid ball.”

He chuckled. “Aren’t you just the little charm school graduate?”

She stared to walk away. “I’m doing the dishes now.”

He gathered up a load and followed her. “I’ll do the dishes for you.”

She called back over her shoulder, “Do you even know how?”

He did. Sort of. It had been a while. Probably quite a few years, now that he thought about it.

“You go sit down,” he told her.

She looked tired. And he’d been reminded of how tough the last few months must have been for her. He didn’t exactly feel guilty about her troubles, but he was willing to do the dishes for her.

To his surprise, she was finished fighting. She plopped herself down on the couch, pulled a pattered blanket over her bare legs and let him tackle the cleanup himself.

By the time he was finished, she’d fallen asleep right there on the worn striped sofa. It was nearly ten o’clock, and it was a long drive back for the three of them. They needed to get going.

He whispered her name, but she didn’t stir.

He reached out to shake her, but he didn’t have the heart.

Instead, he bundled her up with the blanket and carried her into her bedroom. Her feet were bare, and he caught himself gazing at her legs, the curve of her hip and her rounded breasts beneath the white tank top before he could bring himself to pull the quilt over her.

He could have easily left her there and headed home. He was certain she’d bring Amelia back to his place in the morning. But as he headed back down the hall, he found a small guest room, with a hard narrow bed, a white painted dresser and the ugliest gauzy curtains he’d ever seen. The blankets were scratchy, and the sheets were worn, but for some reason he couldn’t think of anywhere else he wanted to be.