The protests had occurred earlier and been effectively silenced by Lara’s implacable threat to cut him out of Cal’s life entirely if he didn’t agree to the adoption. Bryce figured Richmond had sized up the situation and realized the potential benefits not only for Cal, but for himself, in this deal. Bryce’s family connections might not be well known in this part of the country, but Derrick knew the name and all it represented…and the significance of having a Braddock accompany Lara on each of two trips to rescue her nephew could not have been lost on the man. If he’d known that Bryce meant to marry Lara and adopt Cal, himself, Derrick might have thought his own future had taken on a rosy cast.
He’d have been wrong, but Bryce saw no reason to spoil the man’s current good humor at this point.
“There,” Derrick said, spreading a smile around the table. Then, as if recalling that he’d just signed his son away, he narrowed his eyes on his sister. “You’ll still let me see him, though,” he said with a certain flair for drama. “You promised I can still see my son.”
Lara, cool as a tray of ice cubes, responded politely, “You can see him, Derrick, just as long as you remember that if you ever so much as take him across the street without my express permission, you’ll be charged with kidnaping and will most likely spend the rest of your life in prison.”
Derrick’s good humor faded noticeably. “There’s no need to get hostile, Sissy. I love the little guy, too, you know.”
“Good,” Bryce cut in before Lara could fly across the table and pound her worthless brother to a pulp. “No one ever gets too much love, and Cal’s a lucky boy to have so many people who love him, who are all committed to making sure he has the best life possible.”
“I believe that concludes our business here today.” Joseph Barney rose, bringing the meeting to a relatively painless conclusion all around. He offered his handshake to Bryce and then to Lara. “Have a safe flight home. I’ll be in touch with your attorney regarding the adoption. And may I add my sincere congratulations on your upcoming wedding.”
“Wedding?” Lara repeated.
“Wedding?” Derrick echoed, but no one was listening to him.
“Wedding,” Bryce confirmed smoothly. “We’ll send you an invitation, Mr. Barney.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
“Wedding?” Lara narrowed her eyes suspiciously on Bryce and he, being the kind of guy who didn’t want to be rejected in public, took her arm and walked her swiftly out of the offices of Barney, Blake and Wilson.
LARA WAITED until they were alone in the back seat of the limousine before she rounded on him. “You told that man we were having a wedding?”
“I told him I meant to marry you, yes.”
Happiness twirled through her like a rainbow of pretty ribbons, but she didn’t want him to see that reaction…just yet. “That was very high-handed of you, Bryce.”
“That’s the kind of guy I am, Lara,” he said with a shrug. “You may as well get used to it.”
“That sounds like a challenge.”
“It is. And I’m not taking it back or letting you off the hook for as long as we both shall live.”
Her heart danced with the deepest joy she’d ever known. “Wow,” she said mimicking Cal. “A lifetime lease with no buy-out option? That’s quite a risk to take, Mr. Braddock, especially with no guarantee of success.”
He gave an easy shrug. “I think you’re ready for that kind of commitment. And face it, Lara, you’re going to need my help with Cal. How else are you going to manage motherhood and a challenging career?”
She allowed her gaze to turn serious for a moment. “I don’t know how I’ll manage, even with your help,” she said. “But I realized even before I got the call about Calvin that I needed you. You know this is not easy for me to admit, Bryce, but I love you and I need you in my life. I needed you long before I knew it.”
“And fell in love with me before…?” He circled his arm around her shoulder and drew her encouragingly close.
“Even, I think, before you fell in love with me.”
“Impossible,” he said and smiled lovingly into her eyes. “I feel as if I’ve been in love with you since before time began and I fall more and more in love with you with every beat of my heart. And one day soon, Lara, you will marry me.”
God help her, she was crazy sick in love with this man. “Do I get to say anything about it?”
“No.” Then he turned to her and her breath caught at the tender uncertainty in his eyes. “You can say anything you want, as long as you understand I will not take no for an answer.”
“In that case, I believe I’ll say yes now and save myself a good deal of useless argument.”
He smiled. “See? You’re getting used to me, already.”
As he leaned in to seal their deal with a kiss, she put her hand against his chest and stopped him. “You do realize I’m now a package deal? You won’t mind if Cal learns to call you…Daddy?”
There was a sudden shine in his true-blue eyes, as though he was the kind of guy who might cry at the tenderest of moments. “I won’t mind that at all,” he said.
She let all the love inside her well up and spill out over them both. “In that case, let’s go get our son.”
He pulled her into his arms. “Lara,” he whispered in the moment before his lips claimed her heart for a lifetime. “You do take my breath away.”
ISBN: 978-1-4603-6825-1
THE PLAYBOY’S OFFICE ROMANCE
Copyright © 2002 by Karen Toller Crane.
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and TM are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
Visit us at www.eHarlequin.com
*The Magic Wedding Dress
†Billion-Dollar Braddocks
The Playboy's Office Romance Page 18