The Best Man (5 page)

“I’m happy to have you back, Kate. You know that.” Luke ran a hand around the back of his neck. “But, to be honest, considering the business, your timing couldn’t be better.” His level gaze held her hostage over the cluttered cartons on the coffee table. “I need your help to save the firm.”

“Save the firm?” Kate’s heart raced. Dots swirled before her eyes. Her stomach went skydiving without a parachute.
Please don’t let him say things are so bad I can’t leave. Don’t let him say words that will end my chance at a fresh start even before it begins.
“What’s wrong?”

Luke blew a gusty breath. “Joel wants to sell out.”

“Can he do that?” Chills chased down Kate’s spine. Sharing the same plan as Joel, even if it was only one to leave the firm, was repulsive to her. Sharing meant having something in common.
Please, God, don’t let me be as callous as Joel.

“Sorry,” Luke shook his head. “I forgot. You don’t know—”

“Know what?” Chills chased along Kate’s spine. What more had Joel done in her absence?

“Your father’s will,” Luke sent her a probing look, “named the three of us beneficiaries.”

“Really?”

Ignoring the disbelief in her surprised tone, Luke shrugged. “With you...gone, .Joel controls his share and yours. That gives him a two-thirds majority vote.”

Kate focused on keeping her hand steady as she set her carton on the table. Joel must have made Luke’s life hell in the past few months. But...wasn’t this what she wanted? Cut all ties. Start over. Answer to her own expectations, not her father’s, or anyone else’s.

Except, her father didn’t have any expectations. His remains were stone cold, lying in a grave. Cold as his feelings for her, or so she’d thought. She would never gain his approval, now. But...she’d already given up on that. She’d made the decision on the trip home.

She frowned, tried to come to grips with news that her father was dead. Now, she’d never have to worry she wasn’t good enough to please him.

Wasn’t this what she wanted? Needed? Wouldn’t Luke be better off, without trying to work with Joel each day? They could all go their own way. Joel with his new wife. Luke in a new firm. And she could have independence...

Except, Luke said he wanted to save the firm. And why not? He had invested sweat equity in the firm just as her father had. Her first week on the job had revealed Luke’s dedication. Could she just turn her back on his efforts and walk away? Luke had offered the only kindness she’d received when she first joined the firm. Her father had been his distant self. Laurel had reflected his coldness until she and Kate gotten better acquainted.

Could she stand by Luke, now, when he needed her? Did she dare go back to the firm and risk being back in Joel’s influence? Still...if she walked away, what did that say about her? Didn’t that make her just as cold-hearted as her father?

But she had to take care of herself. Guard her safety. She’d learned she couldn’t depend on others. Even her own husband.

“Does he,” Kate cleared the hoarse note from her throat, “does Joel have a buyer?”

“Not one willing to keep the firm’s name intact.”

Feeling chilled and face burning at the same time, Kate frowned. “Why buy an existing firm, anyway? Why not just start a firm of their own?”

Air spewed from Luke’s lips as his gaze skimmed over the way she clutched her arms around her middle. “They’re after the client base.”

Kate jerked her attention away from the shape of Luke’s lips and focused on the signs of frustration written on his face. Reluctance at telling him of her intention to leave the firm grew to the size of a boulder in her chest. Now was not the time to tell him she wanted a new life.

Even with her new goal fresh in her mind, she knew she couldn’t turn her back and oppose Luke’s wishes. It wasn’t right. From day one, he offered friendship and support in her efforts to win her father’s approval. “But clients have a choice. They could leave if another lawyer takes over the firm.”

“True,” Luke shrugged, “but it’s worth the risk for the buyer. That’s why I bought in with your father. Why Joel…”

“You can say it, Luke. I figured out the truth. It’s why Joel married the senior partner’s daughter.”

“I didn’t say that!”

“You don’t have to. Joel fooled me for a while, but I’ve had time to think since the tsunami. I worked things out.”

“Kate, I—”

“That’s why I decided I would leave the firm if I ever got home alive.”

“You can’t,” Luke lowered his voice. “Not now. The firm is your inheritance from your father.” Luke frowned. “You need to protect the effort he put into his life’s work.”

“Why?” Kate cleared her throat, hating that she felt like a spoiled child when Luke mentioned her father’s firm. “He chose his career and the firm over his family.”

“That’s what men do, Kate.”

His tone said,
face it and grow up.
But Kate saw the compassion and the shadows darkening his eyes. “Is that what your father did, Luke? Is that why you understand of my father’s choices? Well, it isn’t easy growing up without a father.”

“I know that.” Luke ran a hand through his hair. His gaze darted away from her for long seconds. Then he squared his shoulders and blew out a long breath. “I grew up without a father figure just like you did, Kate.”

“Luke, I’m—”

“Except, my father lived in the same house with us, but he was never home. Never showed interest in what my mom and I were doing.” He shrugged. “He spent more time with his other women than he did under his own roof.”

It was the first time he’d ever mentioned his home life to Kate, and she was startled by what he’d revealed. How it tainted her view of their past friendship. Could it be that Luke hadn’t befriended her because he like her, but because he felt sorry for her? Had her need for her father’s approval struck a note with him?

She’d thought she and Luke were kindred spirits. Turns out they had more in common than she’d known. But she wanted Luke’s respect, for her skill as an attorney and her choices. She did not want his pity.

This changed everything. Why show allegiance to the man who befriended her because he felt sorry for her? “What happens to you if Joel sells the firm?”

“He can’t sell. Now that you’re home, his hands are tied.” A frown wrinkled Luke’s brow as he studied her expression. “Unless...you agree with his decision to sell.”

“You didn’t answer my question. What happens to you if the firm is sold?”

“This isn’t about me, Kate. This is about saving your father’s dream, his life’s work.”

Kate wrapped her arms around her middle. Since her father had chosen to make Joel a partner, instead of her, she could care less about his legacy. All she had ever wanted was his love.

Then, just when she thought she’d earned his respect, if not his love, he had passed her over and given the partnership to Joel. His rejection, and intentional infliction of pain, had hurt more because Joel used her to gain her father’s favor. “Level with me, Luke.”

Luke rested his elbow on the arm of the chair. “My future depends on the deal Joel works out. I might be offered a position with the new management, or I might choose to relocate and start over.”

“But you like Raleigh. You’ve always said the museums and social life around the university made Raleigh the perfect place to live.”

Luke shrugged. “I don’t want to sell for obvious reasons. I worked hard to earn your father’s trust before he offered me a chance to buy into the firm. If I’m honest, I admit I don’t want to lose all that effort.”

“So…you’re against selling out for a big bundle of cash?”

“Aren’t you?” Luke’s brow wrinkled as he studied her. “Your father devoted his career to building that firm. He left his share to you. Do you want to see his name erased by new ownership?”

Kate jumped to her feet and paced in front of the large window looking over Raleigh’s skyline. Something about this apartment, the sleek setting hinting at party lifestyle, didn’t ring true anymore than her reaction to Luke’s words.

All she’d ever had of her father was his last name. What good was a name without the family connections associated with it? Without love? She stared out at the sparkling lights of the city and cleared her throat. Her decision, the words she was about to speak, could change Luke’s life as much as her own. She glanced at him over her shoulder.

“I came home with one goal in mind, Luke. I want to start over.”

Long moments of silence followed. Luke’s gaze bored into her, looked deep into her soul as if he were reading her mind. Finally, he spoke in a strong steady voice. “Then that’s what you should do, Kate.”

Kate’s shoulders slumped. She’d expected a battle. Expected Luke to put forth an argument listing all the reasons she should stay with the firm. Instead, he was telling her to go. Agree to sell. Was he so eager to get rid of her? As eager as Joel had been?

“But that means Joel wins again.” Kate leaned her shoulder against the glass as she studied Luke. “He’ll destroy everything you and my father worked for, and fill his pockets.”

“I opposed the deal because you weren’t here to voice your opinion, Kate. I wanted to protect your inheritance. Now, you’re home, it’s your decision to make. Don’t concern yourself about me.”

“So, there’s nothing wrong at the firm?” Kate settled back on the sofa and picked up the food container.

“Why do you ask?” Surprise and something like relief chased across Luke’s face. “We have more cases than we can handle.”

“I just wondered, I mean…my father’s death could cause us to lose clients.” She stabbed at the noodles with her chopsticks and tried to think of how to phrase her next words. “When I went
missing
…Joel could have been so messed up that you didn’t have enough help.”

“It was nothing like that.” Luke’s shoulders slumped against the back of the sofa. Kate looked so serious with her eyes framed by the new short haircut. How could he explain and not hurt her? How could he reassure her, and not reveal that her husband had been remarkably calm after he returned from the disaster?

“Joel…buried himself in work after he returned home.” Working long hours with his secretary at his side to offer comfort, but Luke wasn’t about to tell Kate that. “It seemed to help him adjust.”
Right
.
The SOB had wasted no time moving into his secretary’s bed.

Kate sent him a pensive look. “It’s just...things don’t feel right. I seem to remember you collected abstract art.” She flung a hand to indicate the blank walls in the living room. “I haven’t seen one painting in this apartment.”

Heat crawled up Luke’s neck and filled his face with color. He wracked his brain for an answer that would satisfy her curiosity and not be a lie. He never intended to mislead Kate again. He had done so once, by keeping his mouth shut and not revealing his feelings for her. Never again. Still, he didn’t want her to feel guilty. Didn’t want to scare her way with the intensity of his feelings.

If he had loved her enough when Joel appeared, if...

“I collected art for a while.” Luke looked around at walls as stark as the day he moved in this apartment. “By the time I was ready to move, none of that stuff appealed to me enough to go through the headache of packing it up to relocate.”
Don’t ask when I moved…or why! Don’t poke around in my private life and uncover my weak spot.

Kate’s brow arched. A grin pulled at one corner of her mouth. “If you didn’t sell your collection because you needed money for the firm, then it sounds like woman trouble to me.”

“Oh?” A single choked sound…maybe a chuckle, burst from his lips. “You think?” Luke studied the room with a frown, hoping she would never suspect how close she’d hit home. His glance settled on the shopping bag. “Don’t forget your new clothes. I picked up a few things so you could change. Why don’t you grab a shower and wash the jetlag away?”

Face turning the color of old paste, Kate got to her feet.
Great, he’d reminded her how little her callous husband had cared for her.
Luke stifled the urge rush over, pull her in his arms, and promise never to let her go. But he didn’t have the right. Their past friendship extended only so far.

He’d pushed the boundaries by bringing her to his apartment. Had risked revealing his deepest secret. It had been close. Kate had spotted the blank walls, remembered his paintings, but he would not make her feel responsible for his choices.

He would not expose his deepest feelings for her and add to her burdens. Besides, Kate wasn’t asking for someone to lean on. The thing he’d noticed most about her, after the shock of her appearance, was her self-reliance. They were equals. Partners in a law firm.

“Keep a tally of what I owe you, okay?” Kate reached for the bag and pulled out a handful of items, in vibrant colors. A pair of denim Capri's caught her eye. Holding them up, seeing the slender legs, she tossed him a grin. “Not exactly office attire.”

Luke made a face and hid deeper emotions with a shrug. “I thought you should pick out the important stuff. This will get you by for a couple a days. Besides, you’re a partner in the firm. You can wear what you want to the office.”