Billionaire Baby Dilemma (12 page)

Her sister's veil hung next to the white silk dress. The shoes on a bottom shelf. And above the shoes…

Devin crouched down. She stared intently before running her fingertips over the smooth white cover of their wedding photo album.

It had been a year since she'd seen any of the wedding pictures. After only a moment's hesitation, she slipped the album from the shelf and sat fully down on the thick carpet. With a deep breath, she opened the cover.

Monica was on the first page, standing alone in her wedding dress, silhouetted against the arched oak door of the stone church building. The dress was a masterpiece, several thousand seed pearls sewn into a strapless bodice with a sweetheart neckline and a full skirt, all accented with antique lace. They'd ordered it from a famous designer in Italy. Monica had balked at the price, but Konrad had insisted.

A tear slipped from Devin's eye as she turned the page. There,
she saw Konrad, looking sharp in his tux. She struggled to work up some anger toward him, but all she could remember was how she and Monica laughed over a groom who owned not one, but half a dozen tuxedos. What kind of a man required half a dozen tuxes?

The next page showed Monica, Devin and the other bridesmaids—two of Monica's college roommates. They were laughing as they displayed their bouquets of irises and white roses. The photo had been taken moments before they moved from the anteroom to the foyer of the church. On the way down the narrow hallway, Monica had nearly caused a disaster, tripping on the hem of her elaborate dress and stumbling into Devin.

Fortunately, Devin caught Monica, the bouquets survived and the wedding guests hadn't heard their burst of laughter.

Devin swiped another tear from her cheek.

Next, she came to a picture of the wedding cake. It was a decadently rich, lemon-butter pound cake, six round tiers with white Belgian chocolate ganache. A pale gold luster adorned the icing, while a colorful waterfall of fresh flowers swirled diagonally down from a top bouquet. Devin got hungry just looking at it.

She flipped another page and came to Lucas.

“
What
are you doing in here?” his voice demanded.

Devin nearly dropped the album in shock. Her gaze flew to the closet entrance to see him looming over her, dressed in a business suit instead of a tux, frowning and furious instead of smiling for the camera.

“Don't
do
that,” she cried. “You scared me half to death.”

“What are you doing in here?” he repeated, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Guilt and alarm invaded her system. “I…uh…” She swallowed over a sandpaper throat. What could she say? How could she possibly explain the fact that she was sitting on the floor of Konrad's closet?

“I got lost,” she told him in a small voice, sticking to the only story she'd crafted. Then she glanced at the album, holding it up
as if it proved something. “I happened to spot this, and then…well, I started looking, and remembering.” She made a show of swiping her cheek with the back of her hand, hoping for the sympathy vote she supposed, since her excuse was transparently lame.

Lucas took a couple of steps into the closet.

“You got lost?” he challenged, the skepticism all but dripping from his tone.

“I, uh, took a wrong turn.” She couldn't quite meet his eyes. “Out there in the hall. This is a really big house.”

She told herself to shut up.

His answering silence was unnerving.

After a long moment, he crouched down beside her. He cocked his head to peer at the picture on the open page.

“You looked very handsome at the wedding,” she offered, pointing to his image. Truth was, he'd looked amazing that night and every other time she'd seen him, including now.

She'd tried, but she hadn't come close to banishing her memories of last night in the pool house. He'd looked amazing then, too.

“Are you trying to distract me?” he asked.

“Of course not,” she lied.

He reached out and tucked her hair behind one ear, letting his hand rest there. “Then you're saying you find me attractive?”

“Yeess,” she offered slowly, beginning to worry where he thought this might be leading.

He ran the pad of his thumb from her cheekbone to the shell of her ear, and along her jawbone.

Her pulse jumped at the intimacy of the touch. But she forced herself to keep still, torn between trepidation and arousal, with only one tiny, sane part of her brain reminding her she had to put a stop to this.

She reached up and grasped his wrist, attempting to tug his hand away.

She failed.

A lazy smile grew on his face, and his breath puffed sweetly against her cheek, even as his thumb meandered to the curve
of her neck. “I can't help wondering.” He paused. “Just how far you'd be willing to go to keep me distracted.”

She swallowed again, her heart thudding deep in her tightening chest. “Why…” Her voice was a rasp. “Why would I need to keep you distracted?”

He leaned closer. “Because you're up to no good.”

She bristled. “I told you. I got lost.” But the lie sounded even worse this time around.

“And you accidentally wandered into Konrad's closet?”

“That's right.” It could have happened.

“You're damn lucky I have a forgiving nature.”

“Ha,” she managed to scoff.

He sat down on the carpet beside her and lifted the album from her hands. “I've already forgiven you.”

“I didn't do anything.”

“Then why is your neck going all red and splotchy?”

Devin's hand automatically rose to cover it up, and Lucas grinned at the telltale action.

Then he shook his head. “I just hope I never need you to lie for me.”

“That seems unlikely,” she sniffed.

Instead of pressing further, he turned a page of the album. “You were very beautiful,” he told her.

Devin turned her attention to a photo of her and Monica. “We threw out our pictures,” she admitted. “Yeah?”

She nodded. “We chucked my bridesmaid dress, too.”

“She must have been pretty mad.” He turned to a page that showed the bride and groom cutting the cake. Their smiles seemed so sincere.

“Can you blame her?” Devin asked.

“She made a terrible mistake.”

“By marrying Konrad.”

Lucas butted Devin with his shoulder. “Yeah, that's what I meant.”

Devin gave a shrug. “You might have decided to finally be honest.”

He shook his head in disbelief, folding the album shut and replacing it on the shelf.

Then, to her surprise, his hand slipped around to the back of her neck. His palm was warm, his gaze intent, and his voice sent a predictable quiver through the pit of her stomach. “You have got to be the most exasperating woman on the planet.”

She struggled to hold on to her equilibrium, keeping her tone tart. “What? The women you know don't usually talk back?”

His lips relaxed to a half smile, and he leaned meaningfully toward her. “At this point, they usually stop talking altogether.”

“Is that how you like it?”

“It makes the kissing easier.”

“Don't you dare.”

He grinned. “Why not?”

“Because you promised.”

“I didn't promise a thing.”

She ordered herself to stay strong. “Have a little respect.”

“For what?”

“For this—” she gestured around them, hushing her voice in reverence “—for where we are.”

“We're in my brother's closet.”

“Exactly.”

“You've never made love in a closet?” He was moving closer.

Of course she hadn't. She put her palm flat against his chest to hold him off. “Have
you?
”

“Not that I recall.”

“You're joking, right?” How could a person not recall something like that?

“It's a pretty roomy closet,” he pointed out, ignoring her question and making a show of testing the softness of the carpet.

“The truce is over,” she reminded him, eyeing the closet door. She was sure she could make an escape. And she was positive it was the right thing to do.

“I'm willing to renegotiate,” he told her.

“Lucas, be serious.”

“What makes you think I'm joking?”

“I'm saying no.”

He clamped his jaw. But he let his hand fall away. And he rose to his feet, holding out a hand. “Then, let's go.”

She was glad he'd back off. She really was.

She stuck her hand in his and let him pull her to her feet. He kept hold of it, tugging her out of the closet and across Konrad's bedroom, through the open door to the hallway.

“Just so you know,” he warned her as he pulled it shut behind them, “this room will have a lock on it from now on.”

D
evin couldn't pick locks, so Konrad's room was out of the question. But, she figured there were two people involved in this conspiracy. And if Lucas felt it necessary to lock Konrad's door, that meant there was something for Devin to find. If there was something to find in Konrad's room, there might also be something to find in Lucas's room the next day. So, the next day she set another plan in motion.

There were only a couple of weeks until the custody hearing, and she hadn't found anything in the rest of the house. Staff were either loyal to Konrad, or they had genuinely loved the man. Nobody had a bad word to say, and they all seemed to think Monica had been happy back then.

Devin waited until Lucas had left the mansion, and until Lexi, her stalwart partner in crime, had Byron's attention again at the pool. He'd put on a bathing suit today and joined her in the water. Devin was sure she'd get an earful about that from Lexi later tonight.

But, for now, she had Lucas's room in her crosshairs. Teresa turned out to be a godsend. She'd offered to take Amelia out in her stroller, up to the stable area where they could watch the horses. Amelia seemed fascinated by anything that moved.

The hallway was quiet outside Lucas's room.

Devin gingerly grasped the door handle, holding her breath
as she gave it a turn. But the mechanism clicked, and the latch gave way. The wide door swung open in front of her.

She gazed inside his inner sanctum, squelching the surge of guilt that washed through her stomach. This was even harder than it had been yesterday in Konrad's room. But there might be evidence in here that could help Amelia.

She forced herself to take a giant step inside. She pushed the door firmly shut, hearing the latch click back into place. Then she leaned back against the cool, solid wood while she gazed around the room.

It was rectangular. The ceiling was high, and the windows numerous, giving the room a light, airy feel. Leafy, dark green plants bracketed a set of glass doors that led to a balcony. A cream-colored sofa provided a centerpiece to a sitting area. The floor was polished maple, while the curtains and bedding shimmered with gold and emerald-green threads.

Devin was surprised to find the pale green wall panels lined with family portraits. For a few minutes, her attention was distracted as she peered at an old photo of a couple who were obviously Lucas and Konrad's parents. There were photos of Lucas and Konrad as young boys, and one of an older man that she strongly suspected was the grandfather who'd willed Amelia his shares in the company.

There was a portrait of Konrad and Monica that Devin had never seen. Monica was sitting in an elegant chair, wearing a low-cut, frosted pink, satin evening gown. Konrad stood behind her, a hand on her shoulder. He wore a tux with a pocket kerchief that matched the dress. It took a confident man to pull off pink satin.

Devin couldn't help wondering why they'd dressed up. Was it a party? One of the charity balls? Had Konrad written a large check that night to a worthy cause? Monica would have liked that about the Demarco family.

Devin found her fingertips going to the picture. They did look happy in this. It occurred to her for the first time that Konrad might have fooled Lucas along with everyone else.

But then she remembered the conversation her sister had
overheard. There'd been no doubt that Lucas was aware of Konrad's plot to get Monica pregnant. He'd called it brilliant, laughed at how they'd thwarted their cousin Steve. Not that Devin blamed them for wanting to thwart cousin Steve. But they didn't get to do it at the expense of Monica or any other unsuspecting woman.

Her gaze caught a photo of Konrad and Amelia. He was dressed casually, in jeans and T-shirt and, unlike the posed pictures, he was obviously unaware of the camera. Baby Amelia was asleep in her father's arms, her little hand wrapped around his index finger, mouth pursed and eyes closed. The expression of reverence on Konrad's face told Devin that he'd loved Amelia. Dearly.

Devin armed herself against the unexpected onslaught of emotion. Konrad loving Amelia didn't change the current circumstances.

Next to the picture, in a bay-windowed alcove, she spotted a computer sitting on a small desk and immediately she realized the potential. The brothers could easily have communicated by email. And, here in his bedroom, Lucas might not have protected his computer with a password.

If the messages went back far enough, she might find exactly what she was looking for.

She quickly sat down at the desk, swiveled the chair and pressed a key.

The screen came to life, and it was already on Lucas's email account.

Devin's heart thudded in excitement, and she rubbed her hands together. She scrolled down his folder list, easily finding a directory called Konrad. She clicked it and found hundreds of messages. It was a gold mine.

All she had to do was find the right date range, the time when Konrad first met Monica. Once there, she found a message labeled “date.” It seemed promising, so she double-clicked to open it.

Remember that girl? the text read. I'll be late tonight. You're going to love her.

Devin sat back.

The girl was likely Monica. And Lucas was going to love her because she was the perfect patsy.

Devin opened the response from Lucas.

Go for it, this one read. Remember, I'm counting on you.

That was it. The smoking gun. Lucas was counting on Konrad to con Monica into marrying him and having his baby.

Devin opened the next message in the thread.

Start without me, Konrad had written. I'm staying until she kicks me out.

Start without him? What did that mean?

Devin glanced around for a printer, knowing she needed to print a copy of these. There it was. On top of a wooden file cabinet. She left the computer to turn it on.

Then she returned, clicking the final message in the thread that was labeled “date.”

The Legion called about the estate was Lucas's response. They're thrilled to help with the scholarship. God, I miss him already.

Devin blinked. Scholarship? Legion? Lucas had to be talking about his grandfather's estate. They'd obviously set up—

A sick feeling hit Devin square in the pit of her stomach, and she staggered to her feet, backing away from the computer.

What was the matter with her? She was sitting here reading Lucas's private mail. No matter what the justification, her behavior was appalling. She couldn't do this. She couldn't use this information.

“—ready to head back in ten minutes,” Lucas's voice sounded from the hallway.

Pure panic engulfed Devin.

She was about to be caught. Again. By Lucas.

She glanced wildly around the big room, searching for somewhere to hide.

“I'll meet you out front,” Lucas continued, his voice closer now.

Devin's ears rang, her heart contracted and sweat burst out on
her palms. Seconds from now he was going to walk in and catch her invading his privacy. She had no explanation, no defense. He'd be furious, and he'd be right.

The big four-poster bed had her trapped. It blocked her path to the closet, to the bathroom, even to where she could duck behind the couch.

In a split-second decision, she leaped to the bed, laid back on the pillows and crossed her bare legs in front of her.

Lucas opened the door and froze.

“Hi, there,” she breathed. She batted her lashes in what she hoped was a come hither expression.

“What the…”

“I heard you come in,” she bluffed, hoping against hope that it wouldn't twig on him she was dressed in a cotton tank top and shorts, hardly an outfit designed for seduction.

“Devin?” His gaze darted curiously around the room.

“Amelia's with Teresa,” she continued. “And, I thought…” She let her voice trail off meaningfully, patting the bed beside her, hoping she didn't look like a complete idiot.

She'd never done anything remotely like this before in her life. And she was mortified to be doing it now. She smoothed back her hair and moistened her lips.

Lucas shut the door behind himself, taking a few steps forward. “I don't understand.”

“I missed you,” she lied.

“I've only been gone an hour.”

“I mean, I
missed
you.” She slid one bare leg up against the other, pointing her toe.

“Are you all right?”

Okay, she was starting to get insulted here. “Am I not doing this right?”

“Depends on what you're doing.”

She held her palms out to the sides. “Grab a clue.”

He moved closer still, cocking his head while he considered her. “Let me see. You're in my bedroom. You're lying on my bed. You're telling me the baby is otherwise occupied.”

“Gold star so far.”

He stopped at the edge of the bed. “Devin, are you trying to seduce me?”

“I'm obviously not doing it well.” She told her ego to get over it. She didn't want to succeed here. She wanted to fail.

She wanted him to politely tell her he had work to do and he'd see her later. At which time, she would be completely occupied with Amelia. Or maybe she'd go out. Maybe she'd stay out all night, or at least late enough that he'd have to be asleep before she showed up.

“You're doing just fine,” he told her. “I'm surprised is all.”

“Good,” she lied, forcing herself to relax as she gave him another bright smile.

He perched on the edge of the bed. “Was this a spontaneous decision?”

“Yes,” she answered honestly.

He reached out to smooth back her hair. “You heard me come home and thought I'd like to…?”

His touch sent a lightning bolt of sexual charged energy down the length of her body. She sat up straight. “If you're too busy—”

“I'm not too busy.” He shrugged out of his jacket.

Devin swallowed. “I mean, you know, this probably isn't the best—”

“Second thoughts?” He loosened his tie.

“No. Of course not. I, uh, want this.” Oh, no. What now?

“I want it, too,” he told her huskily, tossing the tie and stretching out beside her on the bed.

“Lucas—”

He pulled her down, wrapping her in his arms, looking straight into her eyes. “It's a very nice surprise,” he told her. Then he dipped his head, and his lips touched hers, and her body ignited with white-hot arousal.

His arm wrapped around the small of her back, tugging her body against his own. Her lips automatically parted, and his kiss seemed achingly familiar. In the dim recesses of her mind, she knew she had to bring this to a halt. But reason quickly
disappeared, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, surrendering to passion.

His hand slipped beneath the hem of her tank top, trailing up her side, his palm surrounding her breast. Her nipple peaked beneath his touch, and her body reflexively arched against him.

He stripped her shirt over her head and feasted his eyes on her white bra. His gaze was searing, taking in every inch of her body, while his hand went to the button on his dress shirt.

After a moment's fumbling, he swore beneath his breath and ripped off the buttons, tugging off his shirt. Her bra went next, and they were skin-to-skin, kissing their way to another plane of desire.

She found her hands going to his belt, releasing the buckle, popping the button, pulling down the zipper, even while his kisses roamed from her mouth to her neck and down to the peaks of her breasts. He stripped off her shorts in a heartbeat, then dispatched the rest of his clothes.

Again, they were skin-to-skin, with nothing between them. The world outside his bedroom, his bed, his hands and his lips ceased to exist. Devin longed to get closer, to press harder, to wrap herself around his magnificent body and travel to paradise all over again.

“You amaze me,” he rasped, both hands cradling her face as he planted long, wet kisses on her swollen mouth.

She shifted her body, moving beneath him, kissing him hard and deep in return. She lifted her knees, wrapping herself around his hips, gasping his name as primal urges swept through her, robbing her breath and curling her toes.

His hand slid down her body, over the curve of her waist, across her hip, cupping her buttocks, and tugging her to him. He thrust, and she gasped, groaning in relief at the exquisite sensation of becoming one. A buzzing started in her ears, obliterating everything but Lucas's voice.

He told her she was beautiful, that she was amazing, that he'd never felt this way before, and that he never wanted to let her go.

The buzzing moved through her body, from her abdomen, to her breasts, to her thighs and to her toes.

His rhythm increased, and she arched her back. His hand found her breast, and sensation nearly blinded her.

She felt his muscles clench to steel, and she curled her body around him, hanging on tight and letting wave upon wave of pure released wash over her.

It was long minutes before her breathing slowed down.

Lucas was a hot weight on top of her, and she felt cocooned between him and the pillow-topped bed.

His hand stroked her face, and he gently kissed her temple, her cheekbone and the corner of her eye.

“I'm late,” he told her, the regret in his tone convincing enough to take the sting out of his words.

“I know,” she said and gave him a nod.

She'd let it happen. She'd actually taken her bluff to its final conclusion. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. But it was probably better if he left right away. Both her brain and her emotions were a jumble of confusion.

“I have time for a shower,” he said, and the next thing she knew, he was lifting her from the bed, setting her gently on her feet and guiding her to a huge marble bathroom.

The shower was magnificent, and so were Lucas's hands.

Feeling warm and fresh, and preposterously euphoric wrapped in a fluffy, white terry-cloth robe, it wasn't until Lucas left her in her own room to change that she realized they hadn't used birth control.