Somewhere in the recesses of his mind he asked himself what the hell he thought he was doing. He needed to hold back, keep some space between them. But all he seemed to want to do was bring her closer, hold her closer, let her in on the secrets he’d held dear for a lifetime.

He drew back to look at her. Her blue eyes were midnight dark. Her cheeks were flushed and dewy, her wispy hair damp from the steam. He stroked his thumb across her swollen red lips. Then he kissed her, kissed her harder, wrapped his arms fully around her and eased his body into hers.

He breathed her name, his body arching, his heart contracting.

“Lucas,” she whispered back. “Oh, Lucas.”

She wrapped her lithe body around him, and he swore he was never going to let her go.


Devin knew she was being influenced by Lucas. But she couldn’t seem to help herself. From her vantage point on the cushy deck furniture on Byron’s wide front porch, she was watching him roll a big colored ball for Amelia across the expanse of emerald lawn, while Amelia squealed in delight and toddled after it.

“I know he seems brash and cocky when you talk to him,” Lexi was saying. “But he’s really very gentle and respectful.”

Her laptop in front of her, Devin had been trying to compose her letter to the judge for a good half hour. But she kept getting distracted. Lexi was the latest distraction, plunking herself down on a chair across from Devin, a glass of diet cola in her hand, hair in a messy ponytail.

“Are you talking about last night?” Devin couldn’t help but ask. Like Devin and Lucas, Lexi and Byron had spent the night at the Gulf Port Grand Hotel.

“Last night, yesterday, this morning.” Lexi took a sip of her drink. “I don’t know what to think.”

Devin glanced around to make sure they were alone. “So, uh, did you two…”

If Lexi’s bright eyes and flushed face at breakfast this morning hadn’t confirmed what Devin suspected, her smile did now.

Lexi leaned forward. “I slept with Byron.” She compressed her lips on what was obviously trying to be an enormous grin. “And I wasn’t even nervous. I wasn’t uncomfortable. I wasn’t even embarrassed.” She sat back again. “I tell you, Devin, if you’d asked me a month ago if we’d be having this conversation, I’d have laughed in your face.”

“That’s so great.” Devin was thrilled for her friend.

“It is, isn’t it?” She gazed off into space for a moment. “I have no idea where it goes from here. I mean, he’s talking about coming back to Seattle for a while. But, you know, we really just met.”

Devin nodded to Lexi’s wrist. “Let me see that watch.”

Lexi glanced down at the diamond face and the delicate gold-and-emerald band. “I don’t think this is a big deal for him.”

“I do,” said Devin. “I think taking you to the party was a big deal. I think bringing you here was a big deal. Lucas says that Byron’s barely dated since Lucas’s mother died.”

“He talked about her,” said Lexi. “He misses her. Like I miss Rick.”

“That’s sweet,” said Devin.

Lexi gestured to Lucas and Amelia with her glass. “Now that’s sweet.”

“That’s surprising,” said Devin. Though, even as she said the words, she acknowledged that it didn’t seem at all strange now to see Lucas playing with Amelia. It had been a rocky start, but the two of them had obviously grown very fond of each other.

“So, how was your night?” Lexi gave a meaningful waggle of her brows.

“Are you kidding? We were in a luxury hotel suite. Champagne, strawberries, a tub the size of a backyard pool and a view of the city that stretched for fifty miles.”

“That’s not what I’m asking.”

“It was strange,” Devin admitted.

Lexi gathered herself up on the chair and leaned in closer, eyes alight. “Strange how?”

Devin tossed a pillow at her. “Not that kind of strange.”

“I’m not judging.”

“There’s nothing to judge. We-” Devin stopped herself. Lexi didn’t need to know they’d made love in the tub. “What was strange, was that it seemed so normal to be with Lucas.”

It truly had.

Making love with Lucas, talking with Lucas, sleeping in his arms, even waking up to shower and join Lexi and Byron for breakfast had, for some reason, seemed completely normal. Which didn’t make sense. Since they were still most definitely at odds over Amelia’s future.

She glanced down at the half-composed letter on her laptop. Well, they would still be at odds. But later, once they’d put Steve in his place.

“What are you writing?” asked Lexi.

“It’s a letter to the judge. I’m trying to get the words just right. Obviously, I want to undermine Steve. But I don’t want to set Lucas up for later.” She drummed her fingertips on the arms of the chair.

Lexi glanced to where the two were playing on the lawn. “You don’t think he’ll still go after Amelia.”

“Oh, I know he’ll still go after Amelia. He thinks it’s the right thing to do.” And in a strange way, Devin had to admire that. “He thinks he’s the only one who can protect her in the long term. He says Steve isn’t the only threat. If I’m guardian, the jackals will constantly be circling.”

“Even if he did win guardianship, do you really think he would take her away from you?”

“Are you arguing Lucas’s side?”

“I’m just saying.” Lexi swirled the ice cubes in her drink. “He’s not as bad as I expected. And I think he likes you. And you might just be able to trust him.”

Devin glared at Lexi for a long moment. Then she moved her attention to Lucas, who caught her gaze and gave her a wave, his familiar expression open and direct. Then he said something to Amelia and motioned for her to wave. She did. And Devin’s heart squeezed tight.

Did she dare put her trust in Lucas?


“That kind of betrayal ought to be criminal.” Byron smacked down the copy of the Seattle newspaper that had arrived at the ranch by courier.

“No argument from me,” said Lucas from his armchair in front of Byron’s stone fireplace, tumbler of single malt in his hand.

Steve had given an interview and laid out a series of false accusations about Konrad, naming Lucas as an accomplice and painting Monica as a naive victim and Amelia as a usurper. There was a picture with the article of Steve and his lovely new fiancée. They were at a charity event, handing over a big check.

Lucas was going to have to head back to Seattle soon, if only to salvage his reputation.

“You have to move fast on this,” said Byron.

Lucas agreed. “Devin is writing me a letter for the judge.”

“That’s a coup.”

“Tell me about it.” Lucas took a sip of the Scotch.

“What did she say?”

Lucas shrugged. “She was working on it today. I’m not expecting miracles.”

“Not even after last night?”

Lucas gave Byron a “back off” glare. He wasn’t discussing his personal relationship with Devin. Though, last night had been nothing short of spectacular.

But it wasn’t the lovemaking.

When he thought back, what he remembered was her sense of humor, the emotion in her eyes when she talked about Monica and her mother, the joy she obviously got from raising Amelia. And he remembered feeling jealous. It was the strangest sensation. He wanted to be part of Devin’s inner circle, and simply making love to her wasn’t enough to get him there.

“You know how I felt about your mother.” Byron’s voice had gone contemplative, and Lucas looked up.

“I know,” Lucas acknowledged.

“We had our ups and downs. An uncouth cowboy from Texas daring to court one of the richest women in the Pacific Northwest. A woman ten years older than him.”

“You’re not uncouth.”

“I’m not urbane.”

That was true enough.

“My point is,” Byron continued, “we both knew it was worth it. All the heartache and pain, the snide remarks, the criticism…though, trust me-” he gestured with his tumbler “-I’d have protected her from it if I could.”

“I know you would have.”

“But it doesn’t come along very often.”

What was Byron saying? Did he think Lucas should grab hold of Devin? Maybe never let her go?

Lucas turned the idea over in his mind.

“A love like that,” Byron mused, gazing at the amber liquid while he turned his glass against the lamplight. “You don’t want to let it go.”

Love?

Lucas stilled.

Did Byron think Lucas had fallen in love with Devin?

Was Lucas in love with Devin?

How would he know? How could he tell?

“I don’t know for sure with Lexi,” said Byron.

Lucas gave his head a little shake at the unexpected turn of the conversation.

“But I know the signs.” Byron downed the remainder of his drink. “And I’m following her back to Seattle. And I’m pursuing her until she tells me to stop.”

“Lexi?” asked Lucas. “But, you’ve only just-”

“Met her?” Byron asked. “Like I said, Lucas. I’ve been through this before. It’s rare as hens’ teeth. So is Lexi. I can’t believe somebody hasn’t snapped her up already.”

“You’re serious.”

“You bet your boots I’m serious. I’m a serious man. Now. Back to Steve. He’s really starting to worry me.”

“He’s worrying me, too,” Lucas admitted. He’d gone over worst-case scenarios in his mind, and any one of them could conceivably come true.

A judge might disinherit Amelia. Steve might get married and have a baby. The balance of power could potentially shift to him. And then Lucas would have to do something drastic, like sell his shares in Pacific Robotics and start over again.

When he thought about starting over again, he pictured Devin and Amelia as a permanent part of in his life. He stretched the image out in his mind. Amelia at five, ten, in high school and driving a car. She was going to be drop-dead beautiful. He knew that already.