“No,” he barked. “I need you to stop convincing yourself Konrad was dishonest. Quit looking for evidence that doesn’t exist. He loved Amelia, and he loved Monica, and she broke his heart when she left him.”

Was Devin simply supposed to ignore reality? “What about the corporate shares?” she demanded. “What about that conversation? What about Konrad telling you that he’d thwarted Steve by having Amelia?”

“Monica misunderstood.”

“That’s your story?”

“Did Monica love Konrad?”

The question took Devin by surprise.

Lucas spoke again, his voice staccato. “Don’t lie to me, Devin. Did Monica love Konrad?”

“Yes,” Devin admitted. She believed her sister had loved Konrad with all her heart. That’s what made his betrayal so reprehensible.

Lucas’s voice softened. “And how do you know that?”

“Because I know my sister. I lived with her through the whole thing. I saw what he did to her.”

“And I know my brother. And I watched what it did to him. But that’s a moot point. You need to write that Monica loved Konrad. Tell the judge they had a baby because they wanted to become parents. And tell him you have absolutely no evidence-”

Devin opened her mouth to rebut, but Lucas spoke overtop of her. “No concrete evidence whatsoever, that Konrad ever had any intention of duping Monica.”

“What about the conversation?”

“Hearsay. You didn’t hear it yourself, and Monica heard it out of context.”

“That’s a stretch.”

“That’s the truth. When she overheard our conversation, Konrad was being ironic. He told me marrying Monica to get her pregnant would have been the perfect plan. Not that it had been the perfect plan. We were laughing at Steve, not at Monica. Write that down.”

“And then you’ll have it on record.”

Lucas’s exasperated sigh was his answer.

“And when I fight you for Amelia, you use my letter against me?” It was a rhetorical question, and she didn’t expect an answer.

“I can only solve one problem at a time,” he stated, tossing a rock into the duck pond.

“Seems to me you’re solving both of your problems in one fell swoop.”

Lucas’s gaze went to Amelia, who was now seated on the lawn, picking the heads off plump purple clover. “When she turns twenty-one, do you want to explain to her how we lost her inheritance?”

“No. But I also don’t want to have to introduce myself to her.”

Lucas rolled to his feet, jerking his hand in a gesture of frustration. “That is never going to happen. I won’t keep you away from her.”

Devin also came to her feet, straightening her skirt and brushing her backside. She wanted to believe him. She truly did. Her decision would be so much easier if she could trust Lucas.

“I’m supposed to believe you?” she challenged.

He took two paces toward her. “I’m not the one breaking into bedrooms and email accounts.”

“You’re also not the one taking a chance on my ethics. I’m taking a chance on yours.”

“Well, thank goodness for that. Your track record so far is dismal.”

Devin couldn’t defend herself. He was right on that score.

The fight went out of her body, and the power went out of her voice. “I don’t even know why I’m arguing with you.”

Lucas drew back. His brows knit together in obvious confusion.

“I didn’t come out here to fight,” she told him. “I know who the real bad guy is.” She pressed a hand against her forehead. “I came out here to ask you to annihilate Steve.”


“Are you actually falling for Byron?” Devin stared at Lexi’s sparkling eyes and flushed cheeks where she sat on the end of the bed in her ranch-house room. Lexi was fresh from a shower, wrapped in a thick white robe, drying her blond hair with a towel.

“It’s a party,” Lexi retorted. “He didn’t invite me to a wild weekend in St. Kitts.” Though her expression told Devin she’d probably consider a wild weekend in St. Kitts.

“You’re flying all the way to Houston for a party?”

Lexi grinned. “We’re flying all the way to Houston for a party. Byron wants all four of us to go.”

“I can’t go to Houston.” Devin straightened on her perch at the other end of the bed. She was here to take care of Amelia, not to go gallivanting around the state of Texas.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Lexi gave her a playful swat on the knee. “Teresa will take good care of Amelia. You need to do some research for your rich people book, and I need to take advantage of a date who owns his own jet plane.”

“You are a mercenary,” Devin playfully accused.

“He helped me get on my horse,” said Lexi, biting down for a second on her bottom lip. “Then he helped me get off. And his hands lingered on my hips. I don’t know why that seemed so incredibly sexy, but it did.” She pressed the small towel into her lap, squeezing it between her palms. “I haven’t kissed a man since Rick died. And we dated from the time I was fifteen, so I’ve never really kissed another man at all. I’ve certainly never made love to anyone else.”

Devin blinked. “You’re thinking about making love with Byron?”

Lexi’s cheeks flushed brighter. “Maybe.” She tossed the towel on the bed and finger-combed her long hair. “I don’t know. I’m thinking about kissing him, anyway. Maybe tomorrow night at the party.” She leaned forward, a pleading look in her eyes. “You have to come, Devin.”

Devin wasn’t crazy about the idea of flying to Houston. And she definitely wasn’t wild about attending a party with Lucas.

She made an excuse to Lexi. “I don’t have anything to wear.”

Lexi grinned. “We’ll go shopping.”

“But-”

Lexi waved off Devin’s protest. “Byron already told me I should go wild. We can stop in Dallas on the way, or we can make sure we get to Houston early. Come on, Devin. Designer dresses. Somebody else’s credit card.”

“Mercenary,” Devin repeated.

“It’ll be a blast.”

Devin found she didn’t have it in her to let Lexi down. It was the happiest she’d seen her friend since Rick had died. She’d buy a dress, make a little small talk and tough it out in Lucas’s company.

It wasn’t as though his opinion of her could get any worse. She groaned.

“What?” Lexi’s voice betrayed her concern.

“Nothing.” Devin shook her head. This was about Lexi. “I’ll come to Houston.”

“Is it Lucas?”

Devin’s throat thickened for a split second, but she swallowed it away. “Of course it’s Lucas. Everything is Lucas. My nemesis is Lucas.”

“Because you hate him?”

“I don’t hate him.” She didn’t. She hated the situation and the circumstances.

“Is it because you want him again, and you can’t have him?”

Devin coughed on a exclamation of denial. “I don’t want him.”

Lexi lapped the robe over her thigh. “Uh-huh,” she agreed sarcastically.

“And if I did,” Devin declared, “I could have him any old time I wanted.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. In fact, I already-” Devin stopped herself.

Lexi scooted eagerly up on her knees. “In fact, you already what?”

“Oh, hell.” What was the point of pretending. “I did it again.”

“Slept with Lucas?”

“Yes,” Devin admitted.

“And you didn’t tell me? When? Why? How?”

“How?”

“You know what I mean.” Lexi wriggled closer.

“He caught me. Well, almost caught me. Snooping in his emails. I was looking for messages from Konrad.”

Lexi gave an admiring nod. “Gutsy. I like it.”

“I was in his bedroom.” Devin couldn’t help thinking back. “I heard him coming down the hall. So I hopped on his bed and acted like I was there to proposition him.” She cringed at the memory.

“And he said yes?”

“Oh, yeah.” A touch of pride crept into Devin’s voice as she remembered Lucas’s enthusiasm.

Lexi gave a throaty chuckle.

“But then, later, I guess the next day. I’m not sure. He found the emails, and now he thinks… Well, he thinks I’m the kind of person who’d use sex as a tool for covert operations.”

“I think it’s admirable.”

Devin frowned. “That I’d use sex that way?”

“That you’d break into Lucas’s email account.”

Devin plucked at the quilt on the bed. “I couldn’t do it. I mean, I know I did it. But I realized I’d gone way over the line. I was about to shut it down when he showed up.”

She remembered the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach when she’d realized how badly she’d invaded Lucas’s privacy. She was mortified by her own behavior, and she could certainly understand Lucas’s disgust.

“I bet he would have done exactly the same thing,” Lexi staunchly defended.

“You think?” Not that it gave her an excuse, but Devin would prefer to think she wasn’t the only one whose ethics could be questionable.

“Don’t let him paint himself as an angel. You’re not perfect. Then again, neither am I. I’m thinking about sleeping with a man I only just met.”

“Kind of like I did?”

Lexi reached out and squeezed Devin’s hands. “We’re human. It’s not a flaw to be human.” She paused. “So, what do you say about Houston?”


Lucas realized he was unlikely to ever see any of these people again. But he couldn’t get past his discomfort at sitting in a pink armchair next to the lingerie section of Desmonde in downtown Houston, sipping a glass of white wine and pretending he cared about the fashion magazine the clerk had left open on his lap.

He tipped his body toward Byron and hissed. “We’re shopping for dresses.”

Byron leaned back in obvious self-satisfaction. “Do I know how to keep a little filly happy or what?”

“Can’t we leave? And come back later?” Maybe they could find a sporting goods store or a cigar bar, somewhere Lucas could regenerate his testosterone.

“You’ve never been married, have you, Lucas?” Byron knew that perfectly well. “Trust me on this, I know what I’m doing.”