Seducing the Lost Heir--A wrong brother romance

by Yvonne Lindsay

  “I can. I have to. We both have to. I don’t think you quite understand what I have at risk here. When I discovered who I was my sense of self was completely yanked out from under me. Have you got any idea what that was like?”

  She looked at him, her eyes never leaving his face for a second. He saw the compassion there. But he didn’t want compassion from Honor Gould. No, he wanted everything he couldn’t have with her, but if he could begin anew with some form of understanding between them, then maybe they could get through this.

  He continued. “She’d kept all the newspaper clippings about my abduction. Can you imagine that? Now that I’ve uncovered the truth about who I am, I don’t want to destroy my only chance with the family I’ve just discovered. So, in answer to your question, yes, I can do that. I can forget, or at least pretend to, that our night together ever happened.”

  “I’m so sorry, Logan.” She shook her head and lowered her gaze, but not before he saw the abject shame that filled her eyes. “I’ve honestly only been thinking about what this whole awful situation means to me. I never stopped to think how it impacted you as well.”

  “Then we’re agreed?”

  She got up from her chair and walked over to him. “Yes, we are. Care to shake on it?”

  He accepted the hand she offered but was unprepared for the instant physical awareness that tingled through him at her touch. This was going to be so much harder than anything he’d ever done before. But he had to succeed, because if he didn’t, he stood to lose everything he’d ever wanted his whole life. He let go of her hand quickly, before he could do something stupid like tug her forward into his arms and kiss her again like his body was urging him to do.

  Douglas Richmond breezed into their office, and Logan fought to keep his expression calm when, right now, he felt like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He glanced at Honor, who looked similarly afflicted, and they moved apart as if they’d been caught doing so much more than innocently shaking hands.

  “Ah, good to see the two of you getting along. Sorry I didn’t get to discuss the new office setup with you before you got in this morning, Honor. But since I want the two of you to work closely together, it made sense. Any objections?” Douglas stared at her as if challenging her to argue.

  To Logan’s surprise, she held her own.

  “Actually, I would have preferred notice, but I’m prepared to accommodate Mr. Parker for as long as he’s here.”

  Douglas laughed. “As long as he’s here? We’ve waited thirty-four years for our family to be complete. If Logan’s claim is validated, the last thing Nancy and I would want is for him to go racing back to the far reaches of the Southern Hemisphere again. I hope I can rely on you to make him feel welcome, Honor. You know how important family is to us.”

  Logan observed how she stiffened. This was likely her worst nightmare. Not only having to face up to her mistake, but having to work closely with him every day would put them both under a great deal of strain.

  And temptation.

  “Of course you can rely on me, Douglas. You know that. I’d do anything for this family.”

  “Our family,” Douglas corrected gently. “You’re a part of us, too, Honor. Logan has some very exciting ideas for Richmond Developments going forward. I want you to include him in your day-to-day activities so he can get a feel for how we operate. And, now, I suggest that the two of you come with me to the waterfront site so Logan can take a look at the buildings and layout there.”

  Logan nodded. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to stop by my hotel room and get my camera so I can get some high-resolution images.”

  “Of course. Honor? You’re free?”

  Logan had the distinct impression that even if she wasn’t, Douglas expected her to drop everything and join them.

  “Let me check my calendar,” she said and went through the motions of checking on her computer before nodding. “I can make myself available now, but I need to be back here by midday for another meeting.”

  “Good, good,” Douglas said, clasping his hands and rubbing his palms together. “I’ll meet you down in the parking garage in ten.”

  And without waiting another moment, he was gone.

  Logan turned to Honor. “Is he always like that?”

  “Always expecting everyone to fall in line? Yeah, pretty much.”

  “It’s an imposition having me in here, isn’t it?”

  “It’s not my place to say. I’m merely on the staff here.”

  “But you’re engaged to my brother,” he couldn’t help adding. “Douglas said you’re family.”

  “Yes, I am. And I’d be grateful if you’d continue to be mindful of that. I know you don’t want to lose your new family, but I, too, have a lot at stake here.”

  “Noted,” Logan said abruptly.

  They left the office together and headed for the elevators. On the ride down, Honor looked as though she was mulling something over. After a few seconds, she spat it out.

  “Did Douglas talk to Keaton about this new direction for Richmond Developments?”

  “Not last night. As you’ll recall, you two had a prior engagement. So, too, did Kristin.”

  Honor shifted a little on her feet. “Don’t you think he should be apprised of this new development? After all, he is the vice president of the company. You might be the bright, shiny new toy for Douglas and Nancy, but Keaton’s been here doing the heavy lifting since he graduated from college.”

  “I came to Seattle with a business idea and the hope that I could find acceptance within a family I had the right to know all my life but was cheated of.” Logan defended himself, surprised by her sudden onslaught. “I’m not here to step on anybody’s toes.”

  “It may pay to remind Douglas of that. He tends to get an idea in his head and run with it, at the expense of everything and everyone else.”

  “Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll raise it with him as soon as I get the opportunity.”

  The elevator doors slid open and they walked out together, their footsteps synchronized as if they did this every day. Was Honor this in tune with his brother, Logan wondered before slamming the door on that line of thought.

  “We wait here,” she directed him when she came to a halt. “The limousine will be here shortly.”

  “Limousine? Douglas doesn’t drive?”

  “Douglas doesn’t do anything himself that he can pay someone else to do for him,” she said.

  “I’ve always preferred to do things myself where I can. I find it keeps me sharper.”

  She looked at him with a surprised expression. “We have that in common.”

  “I suspect we have a great deal more than that in common,” he commented.

  And just like that, the heat level between them rose dangerously.

  Six

  “Don’t. Just don’t go there,” she admonished. The elevator doors pinged open behind them just as a long black vehicle drove into the underground parking lot. “Ah, here’s the car and here’s Douglas, right on cue.”

  Logan had the distinct impression she was about to add the words thank goodness. He stepped forward and opened the door for Honor and his father and slid onto the wide bench seat next to her after they’d settled in the car. Honor shifted just a little farther away from him, making her point perfectly clear. Douglas, thankfully, appeared to be oblivious.

  After stopping briefly at Logan’s hotel so he could retrieve his camera, they drove about half an hour to an old waterfront development surrounded by a combination of low-rise business and apartment blocks. Logan alighted from the car and began taking random shots of the surroundings before focusing on the actual development site. Caged by temporary fencing, the collection of brick buildings looked derelict and unloved, but he could already see the warmth in the bricks and the shapes of the window openings that with new frames and glass would b
e like windows into the buildings’ souls.

  Oblivious to Honor and Douglas, he began to walk around the site, taking hundreds of photos. When he paused a moment, he saw his father watching him with a smile on his face.

  “You’re passionate about your work, aren’t you, Logan? I can see it on your face and how you lose yourself in what you’re doing.”

  Logan nodded. “Places like this need to be preserved wherever possible—that’s what I’m passionate about. Finding the most cost-effective way to hold on to the past, while making sure the buildings can withstand the demands of the future in the most ecologically friendly way, is the challenge. Tell me more about the site. When was it built, and what was its main purpose?”

  Douglas went into a detailed history about how the site had primarily consisted of warehouses for the past century and a half. Logan found himself nodding and making mental notes as they walked through the ground floor of one of the buildings. His hands itched to make drawings and concept designs. First, he’d do it all on paper, old-school. Then he’d load the necessary specs into his computer and use his design software. Obviously the architectural design team back at the office would need to consult on his suggestions, to make sure everything fit in with all planning requirements, but his mind was spinning in a million different directions with an expanding dream for the space. And if he could present his dream to Douglas and see him take Richmond Developments on a new trajectory, well, that would make everything all the sweeter.

  He knew he’d taken a big risk in coming here, both from a professional and personal point of view, but when he’d looked at the big picture, he’d known that finding his birth family was more important than anything he’d ever done. Back home, he had an incredible team of managers and staff running his company. He was in the position where he could have as little or as much input as he wanted, which had made this the perfect time to step away and pursue his new goal of discovering his blood kin.

  As they spent some time in each of the buildings, Logan sensed Honor’s impatience to return to the office. He could have spent the entire day here; in fact, he probably would sometime in the next week or so, but for now he needed to ensure he stayed on the right side of Honor Gould.

  “I think I have everything I need for now. Thanks for taking the time out of your day, both of you, and for bringing me out here,” Logan said as he put his camera back in its case and slung the strap over his shoulder.

  “It’s interesting watching you work,” Douglas commented as they walked back to the car. “You approach everything with an artist’s eye, I think, rather than from a practical point of view.”

  “I like to think I come at it from both angles, but I guess you’re right. If you can’t see the beauty in a thing before you start, why would you continue with it?”

  Douglas barked a laugh. “A bit like when you meet the woman of your dreams, right?”

  Logan’s mouth twisted into a smile. “Something like that. Say, Honor, were you already working up color palettes for the new buildings Richmond Developments had planned to build here?”

  “Of course. I’ve had a team on this project full-time for a month. The apartment specs were established even before that.”

  She sounded ticked off. As if her team’s hard work may all have been for nothing.

  “I’d like to see them if you’re free this afternoon.”

  “I’m not.”

  The sharpness of her tone earned her an odd look from her future father-in-law.

  “Perhaps tomorrow morning, then,” Logan suggested.

  “I’ll have my assistant show you the concepts when we get back to the office.”

  Ah, so she was going to be like that. He’d obviously encroached on her work territory and maybe she also needed to reduce her contact with him. He watched her as she walked toward the limousine, ahead of him and Douglas. She ducked into the back of the car, and he saw she’d chosen the seat with her back to the driver.

  “She’s a fine-looking woman, Honor,” Douglas commented as they neared the car. “But sometimes I think she and Keaton are too similar for theirs to be a truly happy marriage.”

  Logan was surprised at his father’s observation. “How so?”

  “They’re each so intent on climbing the corporate ladder at Richmond Developments, I think they’ve forgotten to take time to let their relationship grow. I feel like they’re still stuck in that dating phase and that they haven’t moved past it. Nancy keeps telling me not to worry, but I can’t help feeling those two are just going through the motions. Life, happiness—they’re worth more than that.”

  Logan didn’t know how to respond, but he didn’t have to as Douglas was now occupied with climbing into the car. He took the seat Honor had occupied on the way to the site, while Logan now sat directly opposite Honor. He could see from the moment their knees brushed—the barest touch, but one he perversely engineered before he slid back farther into his seat—that she regretted being forced to stare at him, or past him, for the duration of the journey back to the office.

  * * *

  Honor couldn’t wait to get to her meeting and away from the all-too-tempting presence of Logan Parker. Honestly, watching him at the project site should have been an exercise in complete and utter boredom. Instead, she found herself studying the expression on his face as he eyed the buildings and took photos and wondering what on earth was going through his mind. Sometimes his thoughts were as clear as glass, as excitement lit his pale gray eyes and animated his expression. Other times he was more pensive. And then there were the times he’d looked at her—whether by accident or design.

  Each time their gazes had locked, she’d felt it like a physical touch and her body had responded in kind. Now, back at the office, she couldn’t wait to put some distance between them. He was altogether too unnerving—and, she reminded herself, he was not Keaton.

  She’d been unable to sleep last night after Keaton had left, tied up in knots at refusing him, yet at the same time still craving his twin in ways that shocked her. She’d never thought herself to be particularly motivated by sex, but after the night at the hotel... No! She had to put that out of her mind. What she’d done was reprehensible and, deep down, she knew she couldn’t be intimate with Keaton while this awful secret stood between them.

  Logan had agreed to keep things quiet, but could she trust him with what was inarguably the biggest and most destructive secret of her entire life? This went way past the occasional childhood shoplifting at the grocery store when her mom hadn’t had enough money to buy a loaf of bread or a carton of milk. And, besides, she’d always suspected the store owner had turned a blind eye when hunger had forced her to steal. A compassionate man, he’d known that her mom was oftentimes incapable of looking after her daughter.

  Honor blinked and had to drag her thoughts back to the present when she realized Douglas was talking to her as they entered the elevator from the parking garage at Richmond Tower.

  “I’m sorry, my mind was already at my next meeting,” she lied.

  “That’s what I like about you, Honor. Always thinking ahead,” Douglas said with a smug smile. “What I was saying is that you need to include Logan in your meeting. It’s with the new eco–wall covering company, isn’t it?”

  “It is, but I was going to get Steve to go through color palettes with Logan this afternoon.”

  Douglas made a dismissive gesture with his hand. “Logan has more important things to do than study color palettes. I want him up to speed with everything as quickly as possible, and the only way to do that is to be on the ground with eyes and ears open.”

  Honor gritted her teeth. “Logan did request to see the color concepts this afternoon,” she reminded Douglas.

  “Yes, I did and, to be honest, I’m still a bit slammed with jet lag so I’d appreciate the opportunity to spend some time in the office and keep absorbing ideas for the new projec
t. I can spend all day tomorrow with Honor instead.”

  All day tomorrow? She shuddered at the thought. It was going to be impossible for her to get through her work with him shadowing her every move and thought.

  “Fine,” she said in a tone that left no one in any doubt that it was anything but. “Now, if you gentlemen will excuse me, I have a meeting to get to.”

  She left the two of them behind her as she made a sharp turn and headed to the conference room she’d booked for the afternoon. She was so annoyed and distracted that she was almost at the door before she realized she’d left her notes and her computer behind in her office. No, she corrected herself, not her office anymore—hers and Logan’s. Honor’s hands clenched into tight fists at her sides as she did an about-face and strode swiftly to retrieve the materials she needed. When she got there, she didn’t immediately see Logan until she was almost on top of him, and they both moved to the same side in a failed attempt to avoid a full-on crash.

  She flung up her hands as their bodies connected, her palms pressed hard against the firmness of his chest. Instant awareness coursed through her as she remembered what it had felt like to touch him, skin to skin. Logan caught her upper arms to steady her and she instantly took a step back, breaking the unwanted contact as quickly as she could.

  “I’m sorry,” she said a little too breathlessly. “I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

  “It’s okay. Steve mentioned you’d need these for your meeting, so I was bringing them along for you.”

  “Thank you,” she said stiffly, taking her laptop case from him. She quickly checked that all the papers were tucked in with her laptop, which of course they were, because Steve was nothing if not efficient. “Right, well, this will take me the balance of the day, so I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Without waiting for him to respond, she turned on her heel and stalked away. Damn him for being here. Damn him for even existing, she thought fiercely. Despite all her best intentions, she appeared to be incapable of being in the same space as Logan Parker without her entire body going up in metaphorical flames. What the heck was wrong with her? She had a fiancé already. A man who in every way resembled the one she was walking away from as if her life depended on it.