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“It’s okay to take a break here. We can easily restart the fight again tomorrow.” Cradling the back of her neck, he gently laid her head against his shoulder. For the moment, he just wanted to hold her close. He wasn’t ready to let go.
“Are you declaring a truce?” she asked, voice muffled.
“A truce is better than a stalemate,” he sighed, settling her in the circle of his arms, burrowing his face into the crook of her neck and inhaling her fresh scent.
She relaxed against him, her lips brushing his hairline as she spoke. “Just until breakfast, okay?”
He kissed her neck, then he kissed her ear, then he drew back and kissed her swollen lips, once, then twice, then a third, long time. “Until breakfast,” he agreed, feeling arousal pulse through his body all over again.
In the breakfast alcove off the Demarcos’ big kitchen, Devin kept her attention studiously on Amelia in the high chair, spooning rice pablum into the baby’s mouth, while various staff members worked in the kitchen.
Across the table, Lucas had long since finished an omelet and was sipping his second cup of coffee.
“Is that enough, sweetheart?” Devin asked as Amelia pursed her mouth against a spoonful of pablum.
Amelia kicked her feet in response and reached her hand out for the small bottle of apple juice sitting on the table. Devin swiftly wiped Amelia’s mouth and handed her the colorful juice bottle.
“Is that the plan?” asked Lucas, voice flat. Devin glanced around and realized the kitchen had emptied of staff.
“What plan?” she asked cheerfully, without meeting his eyes. Instead she mopped up the splashes of pablum from the high-chair tray before taking a bite of her toasted blueberry bagel that had long since gone cold.
“We pretend it never happened?”
“I like it.” Devin nodded and wiped the high-chair tray with the damp cloth. “It’s a pretty good plan.”
In the cold light of day, she couldn’t believe she’d had sex with Lucas, in the pool house, with bohemian abandon.
She’d yelled.
She wasn’t a yeller.
What had gotten into her? What must Lucas think? “Look at me,” he told her. She didn’t. “Why?” “Are you embarrassed?”
“No.” Not exactly. Okay, yeah, embarrassed would be a good word. She made sure the corners of the high-chair tray were spotless.
“Because there’s nothing—”
“Lucas.” At the end of her rope, she set down the cloth and glared at him. “Can we not talk about this?”
He paused, looking uncertain. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I’m fine. I’m great. I’ve got a lot to do today.”
Amelia was running low on diapers and applesauce, and Devin was determined to get some writing done at nap time.
Lucas cleared his throat. “We still need to talk about Steve. We still need to talk about the nanny.”
“I do have a life, you know.”
He went silent for another moment. “I never said you didn’t.”
“It can’t all be about your agenda.” “My agenda is to take care of Amelia.” “Well, so is mine.” “Good. Then we agree.”
Amelia dropped her bottle on the hardwood floor, and Devin bent to retrieve it.
She sat upright again. “I doubt very much we agree on anything.”
His eyes flared with determination. “We agreed last night.”
Devin brought her hands down on the tabletop. “Are you going to throw last night up in my face forever.”
“I meant we agreed to face the truth last night. And eight hours isn’t forever?”
Amelia had grown tired of sitting in the high chair and started to squirm.
Devin reached over and untied her bib, folding the damp fabric and placing it on the table. She squeezed the latch on the high chair tray and slid it forward, reaching under Amelia’s arms to lift her out.
Lucas stood up. “You are completely rattled.”
“No, I’m not.” But she knew he was right. Last night had seemed like a good idea at the time. Okay, it had seemed like a great idea at the time, but now she realized that by sleeping with Lucas she had given him the advantage.
Because, while he seemed perfectly capable of casual sex, Devin found her feelings for him hopelessly confused. On the one hand, she wanted to fight him. She needed to keep fighting him for Amelia’s sake. On the other hand, she found herself wanting to continue the truce.
Maybe she just wanted to sleep with him again. Or maybe she needed to convince herself that it was more than just lust last night. How could she enjoy sex so much with a man she didn’t respect and admire? It didn’t make sense.
Nothing made sense this morning.
A staff member entered the kitchen and began clearing up the coffee service from the breakfast bar.
Lucas dropped his voice. “We need to talk.”
“We just did.”
“We need to be together on this, Devin.”
She tucked Amelia against her shoulder. “We need to forget it ever happened.”
“I’m not talking about sex,” he hissed, and the staff member faltered in her cleanup.
Devin frowned.
Lucas leaned closer. “Steve. We need to be together against Steve.”
“Not now,” said Devin with a shake of her head. She needed time to herself. She needed to get her head on straight about, well, everything.
“Then when?” he persisted.
“I don’t know.” She paused. “Tomorrow. Okay? Tomorrow.”
“Devin.” His exasperation was clear. She moved toward the door to the main hallway. “Back off, Lucas. I need a little time.”
Seven (#ulink_0cb488be-755a-5ec7-a834-10ef7df3e3a1)
Lucas tracked Steve down to his executive office on the fifteenth floor of the Pacific Robotics building. It was nearly noon, and sunshine streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the ultramodern, European-styled office.
The desk was stark white, plastic with rounded edges, no drawers and a Plexiglas top that reminded Lucas of a kid’s toy. The chair matched, molded plastic with white vinyl cushions. While the white shelf unit behind Steve held numerous impressionist glass objects for which he’d likely paid a fortune.
His computer was a bright white flat screen with a sleek matching keyboard, there wasn’t a single piece of paper in the office. The only splash of color was a metallic abstract painting, in aqua and silver on the side wall. Lucas was forced to squint against the glare.
“Lucas,” Steve greeted with a smug, half smile as he swiveled his chair back and forth a few degrees. His suit was steel-gray, his dark hair stark against the white background.
The door firmly shut behind him, Lucas advanced on the desk. He folded his arms over his chest. “Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“At the moment, I’m composing a memo.”
“You think you can intimidate Devin?”
Steve stopped swiveling and sat up straight. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You don’t think I’ll protect her?”
Steve scoffed out a cold laugh. “I think you’ll protect your investment.”
“I can’t believe you’d target a defenseless woman.” “Unlike you?” Steve sneered.
Lucas pointed sharply with his index finger. “I have never—”
“Never what? Never fought Devin Hartley for control of Amelia? Never conspired with Konrad to manipulate Granddad’s will?”
“You know that’s a lie.”
“I know nothing of the sort.”
“You better back the hell off on this one, Steve. I am not letting you anywhere near Devin and Amelia.”
Steve laughed at that. “What are you, saddling up the white charger now? Galloping on over to the moral high ground? You’d have kicked Devin to the curb months ago if you’d been able to get away with it.”
Lucas stilled, because Steve was right. If Lucas had found a way to get sole guardianship of Amelia, he wouldn’t have given Devin another thought. But that was then. This was now. All he could seem to think about was Devin’s welfare. And he was not going to let Steve hurt her.
Steve obviously sensed his advantage, because he came to his feet and his voice got louder. “You want Amelia because she gives you control of the company. So don’t stand there and pretend this has anything to do with Devin.”
Lucas leaned in. “You’d have her disinherited? You’d have Konrad’s only child disinherited for your own selfish ends?”
“Like you wouldn’t if it was my child.”
“I wouldn’t,” Lucas answered honestly. Much as he’d hate Steve having control over Pacific Robotics, he would respect his grandfather’s wishes.
“You lie almost as well as I do,” Steve returned.
“I’m not going to let you do this,” Lucas warned.
“You have absolutely no way to stop me,” said Steve. Then he lifted his chin, a reptilian smile coming over his face. “The high-and-mighty Lucas Demarco, sidelined in his own company. I hope you weren’t too fond of the corner office.”
“You think that’s what I’m fighting for? Status?” Lucas was fighting for the financial health of the company, the security of their employees, the interests of the Washington State high-tech sector and the future of his brother’s baby girl.
“You are staid, complacent and unimaginative. If you had the capacity to even consider enlightened business practices, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“Depriving a child of her inheritance is neither imaginative nor enlightened. It’s criminal.”
“What’s criminal, Lucas, is having a baby for the sole purpose of financial benefit. You expect any judge to believe Konrad met his soul mate and fell in love forty-eight hours after we read Granddad’s will? Or that normal people plan a five-hundred-guest wedding in less than a month? Or that, in this day and age of birth control, people get pregnant on their wedding night?”
Lucas didn’t particularly want to present the facts that way to a judge. But, yes, he believed all of those things happened with Konrad and Monica. He watched his brother fall apart after she left. He watched Konrad try anything and everything to win her back.
There wasn’t a single doubt in his mind that Konrad had loved both Monica and Amelia.
Steve plunked back down in his chair. “She left him, Lucas. She knew she’d been used. Her sister knows the truth. You’re the only one persisting in this fairy tale.”
“I don’t want you anywhere near the mansion,” Lucas intoned. “I don’t want you anywhere near Devin. And I especially don’t want you anywhere near Amelia.”
“I don’t have to go anywhere near them,” Steve returned. “The facts will speak for themselves. I honestly don’t know why I didn’t think of this earlier.” His eyes narrowed. “I’m going to win this, Lucas. I’m going to win this because you have never been able to see the potential in any circumstance. You’re not Konrad. You’ll plod along the safe road, following the rules, keeping everything inside the lines.” He paused, curving the corners of his mouth into a slick smile. “Did I tell you I’m engaged? Wonderful little woman I’ve been seeing for nearly six months. Expect a wedding invitation. We’re planning a big family.”
Lucas swore out loud.
“Yeah,” Steve said, grinning. “It is, isn’t it?”
“It wasn’t exactly the worst mistake in the world,” Lexi offered from where she’d stretched out on her stomach on the blanket they’d spread on the rolling lawn in the backyard of the Demarco estate. They were up the hill from the mansion, close to an oriental garden where one of the young housekeepers named Teresa was helping Amelia feed the koi fish.
Amelia was delighted by the fish. She especially loved standing on the small stone bridge, clinging to the rail and staring down at their flashing colors. Teresa seemed endlessly patient with her, and delighted to be asked to help out. Today Devin was inclined to take advantage of the young woman’s assistance.
“So, it’s the second-worst mistake?” asked Devin, plucking a blade of grass from the lush lawn. She sat cross-legged on the bright blue blanket, gazing past the gardens to Puget Sound and the ships gliding past. If sleeping with Lucas came second, she’d hate to think about what was first.
“Do you think it was part of his grand scheme?” asked Lexi.
“I was the one who was supposed to use sex to learn his secrets.” Devin shook her head now when she thought back to that ridiculous plan.
“You told him secrets?” Lexi’s interest perked up a notch.
“I don’t have any secrets.”
“Does he?”
“I don’t know.” Devin tore the blade of grass lengthwise. “I think he does. He knows perfectly well that Konrad used Monica for his own financial ends. I’m sure Lucas was part of the plot.”
Devin hadn’t yet decided what to do about Lucas’s request that she postpone the hearing. It could be another scam. Then again, she could easily believe that Steve was up to no good.
“I thought you were only going to dress up and give him a few ‘come hither’ looks?” Lexi reminded her.
Devin felt her face heat with embarrassment. Could she have done a worse job with it? “I was in jogging shorts. Well, okay, my underwear.”
