by Kay Lyons
“What’s to say? We wanted to keep things private. I got married on Saturday.” And left on Sunday afternoon. That had been the hardest thing to do. After a shower he and Shelby had made love again that night, slept late the next morning, then he’d scrambled to grab his computer and bag to make the airport on time. He was going to have to buy more clothes, that way he wouldn’t have to pack anything.
“Why? Who is she? Why haven’t I once heard you mention dating someone recently?”
He resigned himself to a long day. “She’s no one you know.”
“Do you know her?”
“Yeah. Shelby’s a longtime family friend.”
Anne-Marie stared at him, her expression one of incredulity and upset. “But now suddenly you’re married?”
“It’s okay. Everything is fine. I’m fine,” he said, borrowing one of Shelby’s favorite lines.
“Were you drunk?”
He sighed. “No.”
“Well? What were you thinking? You know how it is when we go before the purchasing and marketing teams. The long hours, the weekends. Does your new little wifey-poo know you’ll practically be living here? This project is due in less than a month. You can’t be in newlywed land right now.”
But she could come on to and flirt with everything in pants? That wasn’t distracting? “It’ll be ready. The project is on schedule.”
“Was on schedule. Production ran into a glitch this weekend while you weren’t here. I, um, gave them the programming changes I wanted made.”
“What? All program—”
“Is supposed to be okayed by you, I know. But you weren’t here.”
He ran a hand over his head. “I’ll go down there now.”
“Not until we’re finished,” she said in her best employer tone. “Luke, talk to me. Obviously you didn’t think this through. You couldn’t have. If you had, you would’ve waited until this deal was done.” Anne-Marie straightened and planted her hands on her hips, her forehead furrowed in a tight frown. “Why marry her now unless—” She exhaled in a rush. “She’s pregnant?”
Luke continued unpacking his computer and searched for the jump drive he carried with him everywhere.
“She is, isn’t she?” Anne-Marie wet her lips and shook her head, dazed. “Wow. Do you even know for sure if it’s yours?”
“It’s mine.” He growled the words, sick of being questioned about it. Not everyone had the morals of an alley cat.
“Because she told you? Please, that’s the oldest trick in the book. She probably slept with some guy who dropped her like a hot rock.”
He counted to ten before he lifted his head and glared at her, trying hard to remember Anne-Marie had had a rough marriage and been treated like a hot rock herself. “Don’t talk about my wife that way.”
Anne-Marie glared right back. “Then don’t be a fool.”
“Shelby doesn’t play games like that.”
“Oh, Luke…” Her tone softened to one of pity. She speared her fingers through her hair and raked it back from her face. “There isn’t a woman out there who hasn’t played a game with a guy at some point in time. It’s the Eve-factor. You’re a handsome guy. And brains? Give you a computer and you’re great. But let’s be blunt. You’re the kind of guy who sits and watches the party, you’re not the guy on the dance floor with the hot girl.”
Like his brothers. The comparison was stupid and utterly juvenile, but he’d always compared himself to them. And while Nick had lacked the ability to make good grades, his bad boy image had taken on a life of its own, leaving Luke to feel like the ultimate geek because he’d been tongue-tied around the opposite sex for so many years. He knew he gained female attention but Anne-Marie was right.
He set the messenger bag aside and opened the lid of his laptop. A press of the button had the screen lighting up. She wasn’t saying anything he hadn’t figured out in puberty.
She sighed again, shaking her head slowly back and forth and regarding him with yet another expression he couldn’t decipher. “Luke, I need you here, okay? I’m being totally selfish but you’ve got to realize why I’m so concerned. As your friend, I’m trying to help you understand this isn’t a good thing for you.”
“I’m not in kindergarten. I know who I am and what I’m doing.”
“Okay, stop. Luke, stop.” She put a hand on his arm. “Let me be a friend, and say what needs said. Let’s say the baby is yours. Okay, mistakes happen. But no one marries because of a pregnancy anymore. And this woman? You probably told her about this deal with Sony, didn’t you? I’ll bet she has big plans for that cash. Did you at least make her sign a prenup?”
He didn’t answer.
“You didn’t, did you? How could you do this? You know what your portion stands to be if this goes big.” She dropped her hand and paced away from him, back again. “I know what we can do. You can call my attorney and arrange for some kind of settlement or give her some money for an abortion. At least you’d be done with it before this goes any further.”
His hand fisted over the tiny jump drive. Friend or not, employer or not, that was hitting below the belt. Anne-Marie meant well and she’d been burned by marriage. He knew that, but she was talking about his baby. “My child isn’t something to be thrown in the trash because it wasn’t expected.”
Why was Anne-Marie so upset? Was she that afraid he’d move back to Tennessee?
“My point is there’s no reason to be tied to this woman. How long were you together? I’m going to take a wild guess and say it had something to do with the first wedding a few months back. Love was in the air, you’d had a few drinks, and she probably took one look at you and decided you were her ticket out of Hooterville. She’s probably already redecorating your condo and—What?”
Something in his expression must have given him away. “Nothing.” Luke tossed the drive onto his desk.
“No, I hit a nerve with that,” she murmured shrewdly. “I know you. We’ve worked together too long for us not to know each other’s triggers. What was that look about?”
Luke rounded his desk and shut his office door, wishing he’d noticed sooner that it was wide open. “Anne-Marie, I appreciate your concern and your friendship, but my private life is none of your business.”
Her mouth flattened and she drew back, looking thoroughly insulted. “I’m only looking out for you.”
“And I appreciate that, but I don’t need you to look out for me. The project will be fine. I’m not moving back to Tennessee, or leaving the company. When I fly there on the weekends, I’ll still be accessible and—”
“She’s still there? You married her and she stayed there?”
Luke released the doorknob before he broke it. “With the baby coming and me working the hours I do, we thought it best.”
“Who decided?”
He scrubbed his hands over his face. “Why bring her here if I’m never home?”
“Why fly to Tennessee when she could fly here?” she countered.
A flicker of something he couldn’t identify flashed in her eyes. Hurt? Betrayal? It looked like more, way more than the friendship she claimed—but that had to be wrong. Then in a split second he saw the truth. The early morning coffee chats, the teasing…Anne-Marie had been looking for more from him. “I’m sorry.” He was embarrassed that he hadn’t realized she’d been serious. Really observant there, Luke. “Anne-Marie—”
“You’re not interested. I know.” A brief smile flirted at her full lips. “I thought we were getting closer, you and me.”
“That’s why you stopped by last weekend?”
She exhaled in a rush. “Look,” she said, her tone firming, “I was mistaken. Surprise, surprise. Story of my life lately. Let’s move on, shall we? I pay you and everyone else here very well to work weekends when it’s necessary. And right now? It’s necessary, Luke. I need you here. You can’t disappear then pop back in at your convenience during the most critical time in this project. Newlywed or not, we need you.”
&n
bsp; The company? Or her? The jump between subjects made his brain hurt. He’d never understand women. “I can pick up a phone and read e-mail in Tennessee, just like I can here. We’re in the final stages. Mostly making tweaks which means I can work remotely. The project will be fine, if you let me do my job. You made me Lead Creative Director for a reason. You shouldn’t have given those changes to programming without getting my input first.”
“They were in regard to issues that needed to be addressed. You weren’t here to address them, so I did.”
Luke stared at Anne-Marie and wondered how much of her meddling in the project was out of boredom. Lately she’d gotten in the bad habit of sticking her nose in areas of development she wasn’t qualified to take on. “You’re getting a hundred percent from me.”
“I need a hundred-fifty. How many times have we talked about this game being our big break? The preliminaries are out of the way and Sony is hooked, but we can’t present this as a showstopper if you’re obsessed or worried about that woman.”
Back to Shelby. His instincts were screaming again. Anne-Marie was jealous. And this guilt trip was all about her feelings and the two of them. Of course, there wasn’t anything between them. Sure, he’d flirted his share with her, but he’d never crossed the line. He’d learned to not make the same mistake that his predecessor, Anne-Marie’s ex-husband, Saul, had made. He’d never get involved with his boss, never endanger his job and reputation.
“This company is small and personal. We’ve all grown close, right? Especially us.”
He nodded once. Everyone at Galaxy Games knew everyone else’s spouses’ names. They knew their kids, pet peeves. Played practical jokes and shared the ups and downs of life. It was a close-knit group.
“Luke, I wish you had come to me.” Anne-Marie’s voice dropped and she moved close. “I know you’ve been lonely. It isn’t easy spending so many hours on a computer instead of with people. But we could’ve turned to each other instead of you winding up in this mess.” She lifted a hand and stroked it up his arm, petting him. “How can your marriage work when she doesn’t respect you or care for you enough to move here to be with you?”
Luke didn’t answer. Anne-Marie’s words struck home, struck deep. He’d thought of little else since taking his vows. How could they make it work when Shelby was so determined to fight him? Keep half the country between them?
Shelby’s image flashed in his mind, the way she’d looked when they’d made love. But she’d held a part of herself back. She didn’t trust or believe in him, in them, and she didn’t plan on trying. Could he change her mind? Was it possible? The distance between Tennessee and California was nothing compared to the emotional distance separating them at the moment. What would the future bring? More of the same?
“I don’t mean to hurt you, Luke.” Anne-Marie curled her hand around his arm. “Talk to an attorney. Get some options. And remember that I’m here for you.”
Luke stiffened and pulled away from her, reminding himself that Anne-Marie wasn’t a bad person. She was reeling from a nasty divorce, and not in a mind-set to see most marriages weren’t made in Hollywood where vows were made to be broken.
Anne-Marie followed, trying to get into his personal space. “You’re such a great guy, Luke. Don’t let yourself be—”
“I’m not calling the attorney.” Luke moved to establish some distance. “Shelby and I will make our marriage work for our baby’s sake.”
That wasn’t what Anne-Marie wanted to hear. Like a shift in the wind, her eyes hardened and anger filled every line and muscle of her body. She drew herself up to her full height and plastered a smile on her face, showcasing her too-white teeth and too-red lips, but her eyes remained cold and angry.
It’s all in the details.
“I wish you well, then. But we need to be clear on something.”
He matched her tone. “What’s that?”
“Your work is my livelihood, and if you can’t get your head in the game, if I feel you’re ruining our chance because you’re pulling a disappearing act when we need you here, I’ll find someone who can play with the big boys.”
A threat? “Mystic Magi is my game. I’ve overseen every aspect of it from the beginning.”
Apparently satisfied that she’d gotten through to him, Anne-Marie smirked. “Your contract states that anything created while under my employ is a product of Galaxy Games, including your precious Mystic Magi. If I think for a second you’re not giving this company your absolute best, I’ll have to take action. It’s what anyone in my position would do.”
He’d met plenty of playground bullies as a kid, but he’d never come up against a female version before. All because he hadn’t accepted her offer? Seriously? “You can’t afford to lose me.”
Anne-Marie arched an eyebrow and shook her head, releasing a caustic laugh on her way to the door. “Oh, Luke. Sweetheart,” she drawled, copying his Southern twang, “I’ve always liked you and I wouldn’t want to lose you. Never. No, I have no intention of ever firing you. But I will replace you as Lead Creative Director so fast your chair won’t have time to spin. Use that genius brain of yours and think about that before you waste my time flying home to your pregnant little hick.”
Chapter 15
LUKE WAS COMING HOME today. Shelby smoothed her hand over her hair and knew she needed a trim. The problem was her stylist was her mother and things were still…awkward.
You can’t be angry forever. She is your mother.
True. And despite the lies and the stunts, she still loved her mother. Knowing Zacharias hadn’t wanted to acknowledge her existence, could she blame her mother for lying to protect her?
She lied to protect herself. You were an added bonus.
Sighing, Shelby rubbed her forehead. She’d call later. Make an appointment for next week and deal with it then. Time was supposed to heal wounds, right?
Shelby pulled into her driveway, the flash of her headlights sending a rabbit scurrying for cover. She saw Luke’s rented sedan and the nerves she’d fought all day returned.
Don’t be stupid. You’ve talked to him every day this week, sometimes two or three times a day.
Their conversations had covered what she’d eaten and how many times she’d been sick, their favorite television shows, stupid stuff that happened at the country club, the game Luke worked so hard to perfect and everything in between.
She liked his nighttime calls the best. In the dark of the bedroom, she snuggled beneath her cool sheets and pictured Luke in his lonely office, the computer light glaring, his desk overloaded and a mess, those goofy, black-rimmed glasses he wore to read perched on his nose. She realized with a sick twist in her stomach that in a freakishly short amount of time she’d begun looking forward to hearing his husky voice, counting on those calls and on him the way she’d promised herself she wouldn’t.
But it was so easy to lie in the dark and talk to him.
Shelby parked beside Luke’s car, her heart pounding in her ears when she saw his tall form step from her back porch. Just the thought of him being there had her heart racing. A deep-rooted quivering began inside her, because she knew what they’d do and she didn’t want to want him that much.
But you do.
Her car door opened with a squeak of the hinge. “Hey, sweetheart. Welcome home.”
She inhaled and grabbed her purse and the restaurant supply catalogs she’d taken to work with her. The moment she stepped out of the car, Luke pulled her to him and buried his nose in her hair.
“Mmm, you smell good. I’ve missed you.”
He was warm and solid, lean but strong. She closed her eyes, not happy to feel some of her tension drain away, just like that night in June.
“Come on. It’s getting chilly. Let’s go inside.”
Shelby glanced up at him, caught her breath at the heat and desire she saw in his gaze. Would it always be this way?
Luke dipped his head and brushed a kiss over her mouth, lingering, pressing for more when her
lips parted and he could slide inside. Within seconds they were both breathing heavily and Luke hustled her toward the back door.
“Where’s your key?”
She gave it to him, hoping he didn’t notice the way her hand shook. The moment the door shut behind them, Luke lifted her up until her toes barely touched the floor.
“I’ve missed you so much, Shelby.”
His expression backed up his words. The tired lines around his eyes and the corner of his mouth told of a long week, and his muscles were hard and taut.
A surge of emotion she dared not name sparked to life and shook her to her core. Luke was smart, kind, handsome and actually moral. He wanted her, the baby, mistake or not. She could so easily fall for him.
But how did she know he wouldn’t change his mind?
“I want you. I need you, Shelby.”
The rasping quality of his words barely registered. She was lost in a haze, focusing on the feel of his roaming hands, but the way he looked at her, the way he watched her between kisses. He saw too much.
“All you have to do is trust me.” He growled the words into her skin. “You like this. Us. But you don’t want to like it, do you?”
Was she so transparent?
“We’re going to be okay, sweetheart. You, me and the bab—”
“Shut up.” She couldn’t think. Couldn’t focus when he touched her.
“Ah, honey, you’re going to have to learn what it means to trust me because trust and love go hand in hand.”
Shelby gasped. Luke … loved her? But that was crazy. People didn’t fall in love that fast.
Alex was right, though. You’ve always had a connection with Luke. Maybe he’s telling the truth?
Friendship, her mind argued, not love. Trust, yes, but not love.
She didn’t return it. Didn’t feel it, didn’t believe in it.
But you want it.
And that, she decided, was the most frightening thing of all. “Just kiss me.”