by Nora Roberts
"Let her go." Caine grabbed Diana's hand as Laura stormed out. "He deserves it."
"Lord, how did I ever get tangled up in such a family?"
"You wanted my body," Caine reminded her. "Couldn't keep your hands off me." He kissed her fingers. "Still can't."
"I'm going to give it more effort."
"Diana." He turned her hand over, pressing his lips to the palm in a way that both of them knew undid her. "I was just looking out for our little girl."
"She's grown up on us, Caine. It happened too fast." She lowered her head to his. "It's so hard to keep up."
"I just don't want her rushing into anything with some… Cameron Dad's picked out."
"Laura chooses her own," Diana said quietly. "She always has. What did you think of him?"
"I don't know." He rubbed his wife's knuckles over his cheek. "It was hard to tell. I had this red haze in front of my eyes." Then he sighed. "I liked him."
"So did I."
"That doesn't mean he can… right here in the office, Diana. For God's sake."
"Oh, you mean the way we did." She tucked her tongue in her cheek. "Disgraceful."
"That was different." His brows drew together when she continued to smile at him. "All right, all right. Maybe it isn't so different." He slid a hand up her legs. "So, you want to try the desk? See if it still works?"
"I think we've given the staff enough to gossip about for one day." She leaned closer until her lips brushed his. "We'll wait until everyone's gone for the day."
"I love you, Diana." He cupped his hand at the back of her neck to linger over the kiss. "A thousand times more than I did the day you walked into my life."
"We're lucky. All I want is for our children to be as lucky." She brushed her hands through his hair, adoring the way silver threaded through gold. "Caine, she's going to skin Daniel alive."
"I know." His grin was quick and wolfish. "I'm really sorry I'm going to miss it."
Chapter 6
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There was nothing, Daniel MacGregor thought as he leaned back in his massive leather chair in the tower office of his personal fortress, like a good cigar.
And since his wife was out of the house for a few hours, he could sneak a smoke without the worry of being caught. Ah, she had his best interests at heart, bless her. But a woman just didn't 'understand that a man needed a good cigar in his hand, the roll of it between his fingers, to help him think, to plan.
Which reminded him, he had to bribe one of the children to smuggle in another box. He was running low. Content, master of his castle, he eased back in the well-worn leather of his favored chair and blew smoke at the ceiling. His life was as it should be, he decided, and he was nearly old enough now to relax and just enjoy it. As soon as he got the grandchildren settled, saw them happily tending to their duties to provide new blood to the MacGregor line, he would be content to while away his days just as he was doing this morning.
With happy thoughts and a good Cuban.
His plans for Laura were working out right on schedule. If the tidbits of information he'd managed to shoehorn out of her cousins were anything to go by. And he'd crowbarred a bit more from Royce Cameron himself.
"Boy thinks he's cagey," Daniel said to himself, and passed some time blowing smoke rings. "Can't outcagey the MacGregor." Oh, Royce hadn't said a great deal. Yes, he'd met Laura and her cousins. Indeed she was an attractive woman. He'd agreed it was a wonder that some smart man hadn't snatched her up.
Played it close to the vest, had Royce Cameron, Daniel thought now. But he'd read between the lines, he'd watched the boy's eyes. Smitten, that was what he was, Daniel thought with a chuckle. Hooked good and proper.
He thought a spring wedding would be suitable, unless he could push them into a winter one. Best not to waste time making babies, after all. He missed having babies about.
Laura would make a lovely bride, he mused. She had the look of her mother, and Diana had been radiant when Caine finally talked her into that walk down the aisle. Of course, the boy had taken twice as long to do it than he should have, but it had all worked out in the end.
Now, the next generation needed a bit of a push. He'd give the grandsons a bit more time to season, but it was time to nudge those oldest girls along. Daniel considered himself a wily nudger.
Thinking of Laura, wearing the MacGregor wedding veil and walking on Caine's arm down the aisle, brought a mist to Daniel's eyes. Such a beautiful girl, he thought. Such a sweet-natured child. Such a loving—
"MacGregor!"
The voice boomed out and nearly had Daniel snapping his cigar in two when he jolted. He choked on the smoke he'd just inhaled and frantically waved his hand to clear the haze of it out of the room. With great regret, he stubbed the best part of the Cuban out while his name reverberated through the house.
"I know you're here. I've come to kill you dead."
Grimacing, and moving with surprising speed for a man just past ninety years of age, Daniel shoved the ashtray and stub in the bottom drawer of his desk, flicked the lock, then yanked open the window, still waving at smoke.
"You!" Looking glorious in full fury, Laura strode through the doorway, her finger jabbing. "The nerve of you!"
"Laurie, sweetheart, what a nice surprise." He stood by the open window as freezing air rushed in, a bull of a man whose red hair had gone snow-white, whose beard was full and lush, whose blue eyes had never faded. And who was shaking in his boots.
"Don't you 'Laurie, sweetheart' me." She slapped both hands on his desk. "Pick a stud out for me, will you? What am I, a broodmare?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. You've driven all the way from Boston." He beamed at her while his mind calculated at the speed of light. "We'll go down and have some tea."
"You won't be able to swallow it after I strangle you. Did you think I wouldn't catch on to what you were doing?"
"Doing? I was just sitting here." He waved a huge hand toward the desk, and was careful to keep it between them. "Doing some paperwork."
"I can get my own man when I want one."
"Of course you can, darling girl. Why, you'd have to beat them off with a stick, looking the way you do. Why, when you were no more than minutes old and I held you in my hands the first time, I said to your father, " This is the most beautiful baby ever born in this world.'
So long ago."
He heaved a long, deep sigh, and braced a hand on the back of the chair, as if he needed the support getting into it. "It makes me feel old. I'm an old man, Laura."
"Don't pull that on me. You're only old when you want to be old. Schemer, scoundrel." He blinked, tried his best to pale as he patted a hand to his wide chest. "My heart. My heart's palpitating." She only narrowed her eyes. "I can fix that. Why don't I just stop it for you?"
"Maybe it's just breaking." He hung his head. "Breaking in two because my favorite granddaughter would speak to me so. Disrespect," he said weakly. "Nothing carves an old man like the sharp tongue of his favored grandchild."
"You're lucky I'm speaking to you at all. And don't think for a minute you can wiggle out of this by playing that old tune. You're healthy as a horse, and at the moment I think you have less sense than one."
Now his head came up, and his eyes glittered with temper. "Mind that tongue of yours, lass. I'll only take so much, even from you."
"And I'll only take so much, even from you. How could you embarrass me this way? For God's sake, Grandpa, you hired him for me."
"You needed security." His voice wasn't weak now, it boomed out like thunderclaps. "You and my other girls, living there in that city on your own. I protect what I love, and I wasn't having your grandmother fretting herself sick over you. That's that," he said, and thumped his hand on the desk.
"If that was that, it would be a different matter." She shifted to a new tack, walked around the desk and fisted her hands on her hips.
"Daniel Duncan MacGregor, you are under oath. Do you swear that everything
you say is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"
"I don't lie, little girl. Now, if you'd—"
"I'm not finished with my examination of the accused."
"Accused, is it? Accused!" He roared up so that he could tower over her. "Not a year past the bar, and you think you can interrogate me."
"Yes, sit down. Please. And answer the questions. Did you or did you not hire Royce Cameron?"
"I said I did. His company has a good reputation."
"And for this service, you paid him a fee."
"I'd hardly expect a decent businessman to provide his services for free."
"And did you or did you not encourage him to… socialize with your eldest granddaughter, one Laura MacGregor."
"Well, this is nonsense. I never—"
"I'll remind you you're under oath."
"I never said a bloody word about socializing. I might have mentioned that my eldest granddaughter was a beautiful young woman of single status." He sat, sulking a bit. "It's not a crime."
"I say you threw me at him."
"I certainly did not." His smile spread, craftily. "I threw him at you. And if you didn't like the look of him, you were free to throw him back, weren't you?"
"That's—"
"But you didn't throw him back, did you, Laurie?"
She scowled, ground her teeth. "That has nothing to do with it."
"Oh, it does and you know it, or else you wouldn't be here blowing steam in my face. You'd have had a good laugh and pushed it aside." He took her hand before she could snatch it aside, gave it a playful squeeze. "He's smitten with you."
"He is not smitten."
"That he is. A man can see these things in another man. And I had him here for nearly two full days." She did snatch her hand away. "Bribing him."
Two could play the interrogation game, Daniel thought. "Did he or did he not do satisfactory work at your house?"
"How would I know? And I don't—"
"He did the work, and a fine job, so that your grandmother and I can rest our minds. Now, if I've a mind to want my own home made safer, more secure, why wouldn't I call on a man who's proven himself?"
How had the argument gotten off track? Laura wondered as she rubbed a hand over her temple. She'd had control of it at the beginning. And lost the grip somewhere along the line. "You know very well it's all a plot."
"Well, of course it's a plot. All of life is." Daniel grinned at her. "He's a handsome lad, that Royce Cameron. Comes from good stock, has made something of himself. His grandfather was a fine man."
That succeeded in distracting her. "You knew his grandfather?"
"Oh, in passing only. A policeman, with a strong sense of duty and a good head for Scotch. And his grandmother was a Fitzwilliams, a strong line. Her I knew a bit better." His brows wiggled. "But that was before your grandmother swept me off my feet. So maybe when I was looking into some small, privately owned companies in the Boston area that a businessman might want to pay heed to, and I saw the name of Royce Cameron—which was his grandfather's name, and took me back a few years—I thought, would that be Millie Fitzwilliams's grandson? And what's he done with himself?"
Defeated, Laura tugged the open window closed before the two of them froze to death. "So you made it your business to find out."
"To satisfy my curiosity, to see about the grandson of old friends. And if, when I discovered he was a strong man with a good mind and a decent head for business, I tossed a bit of work his way…"
"And your granddaughter along with it."
"As I said, I tossed him your way. Nobody held a gun to your head to make you go out dancing with him." She set her teeth. "How do you know I went out dancing with him?"
Daniel smiled blandly. "I have my ways, little girl."
"I want to choke you."
"Kiss me instead." He took her hand again. "I've missed you, Laurie."
"Ha," she said, and made his heart swell with pride. "You never miss anything, you old schemer." But she kissed him just the same, and it only took the slightest tug on her hand to have her sitting on his lap. "Does he know you tossed him my way?"
"Come now, little girl, I'm better than that. Just what are you going to do about him?"
"I'm going to have a mad, torrid affair."
"Laura!"
The shock and horror in his voice was almost payment enough for the embarrassment "You reap what you sow, Grandpa. And since you've put such a fine specimen of man at my disposal, I'll use him as I choose, until I'm done with him." He jerked her back, stared hard into her eyes. "Ah, you're joking."
"Maybe I am." She smiled slowly. "And maybe I'm not. So you just think about that the next time you play laird with me, MacGregor."
"Now then, Laurie—" He broke off when he heard his wife's voice.
"Laura? Daniel, is that Laura's car outside?"
"Up here, Grandma."
"Ssh!" He gave Laura a quick shake to dislodge her. "Don't call her up here. The woman's got a nose like a hound. I only had a few puffs, damn it."
"I'll be right down, Grandma." Laura angled her head. "You owe me, Grandpa. And if you don't remember it, I might just let it slip that I saw a couple of Cubans taped to the back of your file drawer. Under S for Sneak."
Now he did pale. "You wouldn't."
She kept that smug smile on her face as she strolled to the door. "Don't bet on it." But because she adored him, Laura hurried down the stairs before her grandmother could come up. They met on the landing with a long, tight hug.
"I wish you'd told us you were driving up. I never would have gone out."
Laura eyed the small mountain of shopping bags. "Busy morning?"
"I'm determined to have my Christmas shopping done by Thanksgiving this year." She slipped her arm around Laura's waist and led her to the parlor. "Let's sit down. I'll ring for some tea."
"I'd love some tea." Laura sat, watched as Anna called for the housekeeper to brew a pot. So lovely, Laura thought, as she always did. So sturdy. She thought of her grandmother as a trail-blazer, a woman who had pursued her dream of practicing medicine when such careers for women were either laughed at or frowned upon. She'd not only made the dream reality, she had triumphed, become one of the top thoracic surgeons on the East Coast, while raising a family, making a home.
"How do you do it, Grandma?"
"Do it?" Anna sat, sighing a little as she set her feet on a hassock. "Do what?"
"All. How do you do it all?"
"One step at a time. Oh, I swear, there was a time a morning of shopping wouldn't wear me out." She smiled. "I'm so glad you're here. Now I can sit here and be lazy for a while."
Instantly concerned, Laura sprang up. "Maybe you should lie down. You shouldn't do so much."
"Laura." Her voice was serene, warm as sunlight. "My feet hurt, that's all. Now sit. Tell me, did you drive all the way up here to shout at your grandfather?"
"I…" Laura huffed out a breath. "You know everything."
"I know he's been meddling, and expected you a week ago. Royce Cameron must have had quite some effect on you, for it to have taken you this long to figure it out"
"He's gorgeous."
"I've seen that for myself."
"I just told Grandpa I'm going to have a mad, torrid affair with him."
"Oh." Anna sighed and wiggled her toes. "I supposed he deserved that."
"But I am." Laura wondered how many women could say such a thing to their grandmothers. "I am going to have an affair with him." Anna said nothing, grateful that the rattle signaled the tea trolley being wheeled down the hall. She waited until the housekeeper left them alone, and poured two cups of tea herself. "I don't have to tell you to be careful. You're a bright, self-aware young woman." Then she sighed. "I'll tell you to be careful anyway."
"I will. Please don't worry. I'm… powerfully attracted to him. I've never been so attracted to anyone. And I like him. I didn't think I would. In fact, I was sure I wouldn't, but I like him a lot."
> "And obviously he feels the same way."
"Yeah." She sipped at her tea, then set it aside. "You know, men drive me crazy. I really had no intention of—I've got so much I want to do, and I just don't have time for this kind of complication. Then Grandpa hires him. Hires him, for heaven's sake. You laugh."
"I'm sorry, darling. I shouldn't."
"It might be funny ten or twenty years from now," Laura muttered. "Right now it's just humiliating. And then Ian decides he needs to play chaperon and won't give me five minutes' peace. And you'd think Royce was his best pal ever since he punched him."
"Ian punched Royce?"
"Other way, but it was a misunderstanding."
"Naturally," Anna said calmly, and drank her tea.
"And then Dad barges into my office this morning. My office, and bares his fangs just because Royce was kissing me."
"Oh." Anna's smile warmed. "Poor Caine. His baby girl."
"I'm not—"
"You're his baby girl and always will be," Anna said gently, interrupting her. "I suppose you argued."
"We shouted at each other for a while. Mama smoothed it out, mostly. But when he said that Grandpa had… Well, the light dawned on how the whole business got rolling, so I had to come up and yell at Grandpa."
"Naturally." The MacGregors never failed to make their point at top volume, Anna mused, and brushed her hand back to tidy a wave of her sable-colored hair. "But you've made up now."
"You can't stay mad at Grandpa. He wheedles it out of you."
"No one knows that better than I. And no one loves more than Daniel."
"I know." She bit her lip. She was about to say what she hadn't allowed herself to say before. "Grandma… I think I could fall in love with Royce. If I let myself."
"Laura." Anna reached out, took the hand Laura held out to her. "The thing about falling is that you have absolutely no choice. It just happens. Here comes Daniel." She gave Laura's hand a squeeze when she heard Daniel's heavy tread on the stairs. "I wouldn't mention that last part to him just yet."
"I wouldn't give him the satisfaction," Laura said primly, and picked up her tea as Daniel strode in.
"Well, well." He smiled broadly. "Two beautiful women. And they're all mine."
Chapter 7
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Laura didn't go home. She drove back to Boston, stopped and ate dinner alone to give herself time to think. As she saw it, she had two choices. She could be stubborn, attempt to teach her meddling grandfather a lesson and never see Royce Cameron again. That idea didn't make the hot-fudge sundae she had treated herself to go down pleasantly. On the other hand, she could simply allow her relationship—if it was a relationship—with Royce to progress naturally, over time. She could consider that this blip, this interruption in the forward rush of things, was a sign to slow down, to consider carefully. To look before she leaped.
But MacGregors were leapers, not lookers.
And that was why, at one-fifteen in the morning, she was standing outside Royce's apartment, banging her fist on the door. The door across the hall opened