Intent to Seduce & A Glimpse of Fire(44)

“Well!” The word came out on an annoyed huff of breath. “Do you think he’ll be stopping by tonight?”

Mac concentrated hard on rubbing the carrot back and forth on the grater. If she just concentrated on small details, just one step, then the next, she was going to survive. Tracker’s continuous visits over the past week was just one of the signs that told her she would never see Lucas again. Of course, he would want to tie up any loose ends. That was what Tracker had said he was doing in California. But she knew Lucas was distancing himself, using Tracker as his go-between. “I told him it’s not necessary. I’m not in any danger. But it’s very kind of…your brother to want to make sure. But everything’s fine.”

“Mac!”

She looked down and realized she’d grated right down to her knuckle and was now bleeding all over the grater.

“Here, let me.” Sophie took Mac’s hand and drew it under running water. When she was satisfied that the wounds were clean, she reached into a nearby cupboard.

“Did I ever tell you how much I hate people who are stupid?” Sophie asked as she applied disinfectant and bandages to Mac’s fingers.

“Several times.” Mac felt her lips curve slightly.

Sophie turned to face her. “I’m going to say this just once. You and my brother are being very stupid.” At Mac’s frown, she hurried on. “That’s it. I don’t intend to elaborate or lecture. My experience with stupid people is that you can’t ever get them to change their minds. So, I’ve merely stated a fact.”

Mac was saved from replying by the ringing of a cell phone. Both women moved toward their purses. Sophie dragged hers out on the third ring. “Yes? Okay.” A frown appeared on her forehead as she listened. “Tell him I’ll be there.”

When she turned back to Mac, she had a smile on her face, but her shoulders were tense. “The person whose name I can’t mention is arriving in D.C. this evening and wants to see me in his office tomorrow. He was too busy to lecture me in California. But that was his secretary. It turns out he had me penciled in for tomorrow, and she’s just calling to confirm his calendar.”

“Sophie, he loves you.”

“But he’s going to play big brother. That’s why he isn’t calling himself.” She sighed. “Not that I don’t deserve the lecture. My little rebellion got me kidnapped. And I don’t want to think about what might have happened if Gil Stafford had let go of that rope. It seems that whatever I do, I just can’t measure up to what Lucas wants.”

Moving forward, Mac took Sophie’s hands. “That’s the way I’ve felt about my family my whole life—that I could never measure up. But they never really loved me. Not the way Lucas loves you.”

Sophie managed a smile as she hugged Mac. “I know that. And on that note, I’m leaving.”

In the doorway to the kitchen, she turned back. “But before I go, I do have a suggestion.”

Mac frowned.

“Don’t give me that look. It doesn’t have anything to do with the person whose name I promised not to mention. I’m just going to say that since you did give your research a little field test down in the Keys, you should be ready to put it into action for real, right?”

Mac blinked. She hadn’t given any thought to her fantasy research for the past week—other than reliving every single thing she’d tried out on Lucas. Without saying a word, she studied her friend. Oh, Sophie’s face wore an innocent enough expression, but Mac didn’t trust her. She trusted her even less as she saw puzzlement fill Sophie’s eyes.

“The whole plan was geared to keep hold of a husband once you found him, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.” It seemed like a lifetime ago, Mac thought.

“Step one, as I recall, was to test the research.”

“Yes,” Mac repeated, wondering why she felt as if she was being led down the garden path.

“Then it’s time for step two—finding the husband.”

“Sophie, I—”

“I’ll be happy to come along with you. Come on, Mac. Wilbur’s got enough carrots there to keep him going for a month. It’s high time you got dressed up in some of your fantasy clothes from Madame Gervais and we did a little manhunting in Georgetown.”

“Soph—”

Sophie cut her off with a raised hand. “I’m not taking no for an answer. The best way to get over a man is to move on to the next one. We’ve both been through a rough time, and we need to do this for ourselves.”

Mac might have said no, but she could see that Sophie needed it too. “Okay.”

“Good. I’ll be back in an hour.”





CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE




“THIS ISN’T THE OFFICE,” Lucas said.

“No,” Tracker said.

He’d been so lost in thought that he hadn’t even noticed where they were until Tracker had parked at the curb. The sun had set, but in the thin light of dusk he could see the tree-lined street, the small but carefully tended lawns. Georgetown.

“Mind telling me why we’re here?” Lucas asked.

“She’s here. You asked about the doc twice when you called from the plane and two more times since I picked you up at the airport. Obviously, you have some doubts about my ability to keep an eye on her, so I figured you wanted to take over.”

“No. I’m not…I—” It was one of the only times in his thirty-two years that Lucas found himself at a loss for words. He had a plan for handling MacKenzie Lloyd. He’d come up with it during the seven nights he’d spent at Vincent Falcone’s villa. Seven sleepless nights. Without Mac. He’d shared a bed with her…what? Only twice. And now he couldn’t seem to sleep without her. Even on the plane ride home, he hadn’t been able to concentrate. All he could think about was her.

“You’re not what?” Tracker asked. “Worried about her? Head over heels in love with her?”

“She doesn’t… I don’t… We….”

“See. You can’t even finish a sentence. She’s not in much better shape herself.”

Lucas whirled on him then and grabbed the front of his shirt. “You said she was all right.”

“She’s fine, except for the fact that she asks about you just about as often as you ask about her. The two of you are gaga over each other.”

“I’m just tired.” Lucas relaxed his grip, knowing that he hadn’t told the truth. For the first time in his life, he was truly afraid. It was the same cold deadly fear that had bit into him when he’d seen her hanging from the balloon while Gil Stafford pointed a gun at her heart.

He couldn’t lose her. The words had screamed through his mind. After that, he wasn’t sure of the exact sequence of events. Mac had jumped and landed on Stafford, a gun had gone off, he’d felt the heat of a bullet pass by his cheek. Later, they’d told him that while he was breaking Stafford’s jaw, Tracker had climbed the rope ladder and landed the balloon and Sophie safely. But his only clear memory was of what Mac had looked like, lying on the ground, so pale, so still. For one moment, until he’d felt the pulse at her throat, he was sure she was gone.

Lucas rubbed the heels of his hands over his eyes. That heart-stopping moment had been what had prevented him from contacting Mac over the past seven days. The mind-numbing, body-aching, out-of-control fear that had ripped through him had scared him. He’d never been someone to lose control and Mac had a way of making him do just that on a continual basis.

“You can think of this as an intervention, if you want. But I can’t see you getting anything accomplished at the office until you settle things with the doc. That deal you made with Falcone—promising to mentor Sonny until his heir can take over—that was not something a sane man does. You’re not making any money for Wainright Enterprises on that one.”

“It’s an old debt,” Lucas said. “A personal one.”

Tracker paused for a moment as he digested that. “Okay. But I still say the office isn’t the place for you right now. You can either go in there and settle things with the doc or you and I are going to get rip-roaring drunk.”

Lucas nearly smiled. “Do you remember the last time?”

“Small town near Trinidad.”

“Istanbul. I’ll never forget carrying you back to the hotel.”

“It was Trinidad and I carried you. You never could hold your booze.”

“You passed out first.”

For a few moments, silence settled over the car.

“You’re right,” Lucas finally said. “I love her.”

“You got a plan?”

“I don’t have a clue.” Lucas opened the door and stepped out.



STEPPING OUT of her shower, Mac grabbed a towel and wrapped herself in it. She had barely ten minutes until Sophie would be back, and she hadn’t yet decided what to wear. Every time she looked at one of the outfits she’d shopped for with Madame Gervais, she began to imagine wearing it with Lucas.

Lucas. As sadness bloomed within her, she reached to rub the steam off the mirror so that she could see her image clearly.

She was a mess. And she was going to stay that way until she got a grip.