[The Sons of Lily Moreau 03] - Capturing the Millionaire

by Marie Ferrarella

  But it couldn’t be him. He was supposed to be at work. Wasn’t he?

  It was him, she realized, drawing closer. Her pulse was racing. Why was he here? Had he missed her, or— And then her heart sank again. His car. He was probably in town to pick it up. But if that was the case, how had he gotten to her house? And where was the vehicle, anyway?

  Sliding out of the front seat, she had to brace her wobbly knees. Kayla held on to the door a second before she finally slammed it shut. She never took her eyes off Alain, afraid that he might disappear if she did.

  “Hi.” “Hi,” he echoed, getting up. He’d been sitting there for almost an hour, waiting for her to come back, wrestling with his thoughts. Was he being an idiot waiting for her, or was this the smartest thing he’d ever done?

  When he saw her get out of her car, he had his answer.

  As he crossed to her, she asked, “Come about your car?” His car. He’d completely forgotten about the vehicle that was languishing at the mechanic’s shop. More proof that he was in love. Thoughts of this woman had taken center stage in his life, completely pushing everything else into the background.

  But in order not to look like a complete fool, he lied. “Among other things.”

  Her heart leaped up again. Stop hoping, idiot. If he cared, he would have been here way before this. “What other things?”

  And then, suddenly, he was blocking out the sun, blocking out everything as he looked into her eyes. “You. We have some unfinished business.” Be strong, damn it. You know this isn’t going to work. She squared her shoulders. “No, we don’t,” she informed him quietly. “I told you I’d give you my answer in the morning.” Kayla raised her chin. “And I did.”

  “When? How?”

  “I left you a note.”

  “I never found a note.” Although he hadn’t been looking for a note, he’d been looking for her. Paper had never entered into it.

  “Typical male,” she murmured. She was stalling, he thought. “So, will you repeat what you wrote, so I can hear it with my ‘typical male’ ears?”

  It was going to be a lot harder to say this face-to-face, which was why she’d written it in the first place. She felt her courage flagging. “I don’t remember exactly what I wrote—but for the record, I said something to the effect that I wouldn’t hold you to a proposal that was given while you were drunk.”

  “I wasn’t drunk,” he insisted. “I had a pleasant buzz on.”

  Semantics, she thought. “Well, you were buzzing in my ear and—” He wasn’t about to get waylaid by rhetoric. He had to hear her say this. Maybe then he’d back away. But until he did, he was going to nurse this hope—just as his mother did each time she entered a new relationship, he realized. “You don’t want to marry me?”

  How could Kayla make him understand, when she didn’t fully comprehend this herself? “It’s not that I don’t want to marry you. I can’t marry you.”

  He was doing his best to understand, but it was like trying to read words through a layer of mud. “Are you already married?”

  “No.”

  “Engaged?”

  She looked away, her voice growing smaller, more distant. “No.”

  Then she was free, he thought. Anticipation moved to the front of the line. “Betrothed at birth to the prince of some tiny country?”

  She laughed despite herself. “No.” Alain took hold of her shoulders, afraid she was going to bolt on him. “What, then?”

  “I can’t marry you because you weren’t serious when you asked me.”

  That made no sense whatsoever, he thought. “Would you like me to write it in blood?”

  “No, I just wanted you to mean it.” But she’d learned that there was no such thing as forever. And she was afraid that the hurt would be too much for her. He looked at her, his face completely serious. “I have a cousin who works for the FBI. He could score a lie detector machine for me for about an hour. You could hook me up.”

  “I—” He took her hand in his, knowing he had to show her what was in his heart if he was ever going to win her over. He was going to have to be vulnerable in order to be strong. It made no sense to him, but he knew it was true.

  “Look, I admit that I’m scared. I probably look like a deer caught in the headlights—”

  She followed the unflattering metaphor to its conclusion. “And I’m the truck about to run you down?”

  “Don’t interrupt,” he chided. “You get to make your closing argument later.”

  With a laugh, she shook her head. “Ever the lawyer.”

  “Shh.” He got back to his main point. “I’m scared because I never made a commitment before. You know what I’m more scared of?”

  “Oh, you’re asking a question.” A smile played on her lips. “Do I get to answer?” He went on, never more serious in his life. “I’m more scared of living without you. I tried it and I don’t like it. You’ve made an impression on my life, Kayla. You’ve placed your imprint everywhere, and nothing is the same anymore. I want you in my life. I want you right there in the morning when I wake up.”

  She was a realist when she had to be. And she knew she had no choice right now. Her roots were here. His were not. “And you’re willing to give up your work, everything you know, to be with me? Because I can’t leave here, Alain. Everyone’s dependent on me. We’re a small community and everyone is necessary here.”

  She couldn’t read the look in his eyes. “Did I say you could talk yet?” he asked her. When Kayla shook her head, he continued. “I’m not going to give up everything.”

  Which meant that he wanted her to pick up everything and relocate in his world. She couldn’t. As lovely as it was, she couldn’t. “Well, then—” “Still no talking,” he reminded her. “The firm has a helicopter. I’ve made inquiries, and because I just put them on the map with this settlement dealing with Ethan Halliday’s will—I’ll tell you about that later—they’re willing to let me use the copter to fly up here at night and back to the firm’s landing pad every morning. That way I won’t be stuck in two hours of traffic each way, and you get to stay here.”

  A helicopter. “You can fly a helicopter?”

  “Yes.” She was impressed. “You have an argument for everything.” For the first time since he’d begun pleading his case, Alain grinned. “I’m a lawyer, I have to. And this is the most important argument of my career.” He took her into his arms. “I’m in love with you, Kayla, and I can truly say I’ve never been in love before. So, what about it?”

  The corners of her mouth curved. “I get to talk now?”

  Alain nodded. “You get to talk now—but only if you say the right thing.”

  She batted her eyes at him innocently. “Which would be?”

  “‘Yes,’” he told her.

  “Then it’s yes, since you’re not accepting any other answers. Now let’s go pick up your car.” But he wasn’t about to release her just yet. There was all this unbridled desire ricocheting in his chest. Just before he lowered his mouth to hers, he assured her, “The car can wait.”

  And it did.