“My feelings—”
“Run deep, darling. Yes, I know. So do mine. My feelings, that is.” Elise laid her head against his shoulder and kicked him underneath the table. “Go ahead and tell them how much you need me in your life, darling.” She lifted his arm and draped it around her shoulder, pulling herself closer to him and freeing her left hand.
Luc sucked in a sharp breath as Elise used her left hand to carve letters into his leg. He cleared his throat. “Moonbeam, Raven, I am marrying Elise because I need her and I…,” he paused waiting for Elise to finish writing on his thigh. L-O-V— “And I love her.” Love her? Where the hell had that come from?
Elise snuggled closer and patted his leg. “It took me forever to get him to understand, Mom. And Lucien is so old-fashioned. He absolutely refused to have an affair when his feelings for me were so pure and deep felt. How could I have refused him when—with his heart in his eyes—he pleaded with me to marry him and make all of his problems fade away?”
Elise stifled a giggle and practically skipped behind Luc as he stalked a path through the cubicle farm towards his office. Raven and Moonbeam were now convinced that Luc was madly in love with her and they’d reluctantly given their blessings. All that was left was to tell her father, which wouldn’t be a problem. Her father’s motto was: If it’s what you want to do, princess, then nothing I say will change your mind. At least that’s what it would be if she got to her father before Raven did.
Luc marched into his office and Elise followed, closing the door behind her. He hadn’t said a word since leaving the restaurant.
He tossed his jacket onto the sofa and pinned her with a fierce look. “What tale do you plan on weaving for your father? Will we become star crossed lovers brought together over the flames of your computer? With me rescuing from the billowing flames of the desktop?”
Elise beamed at him. “Daddy doesn’t need a tale. He’ll stare at you for a while and probably tell you fifty ways he can kill a man with a tie, but he’ll give his blessing.”
“Forgive me, darlin’, if I don’t believe you.”
“You’re just mad because you had to tell a little white lie.”
“A little white lie? Elise, you have Raven and Moonbeam believing that our marriage is a fairy tale romance.” He cursed under his breath, ran a hand through his hair, and started to turn away. “No dammit, this is not okay,” he ground out and advanced on her.
Elise flattened her back against the door as Luc trapped her, pressing his palms against the cool wood on either side of her head. She’d never seen him like this. He was seething. “Um, Luc, I, uh—”
He lowered his head until they were nose to nose. “I don’t like little white lies, Elise. I don’t like hearing them and I especially don’t like delivering them.”
“But it was—”
“There will be no more scenes like today, Elise.”
She’d never noticed until now, but there was a hint of gold in his gray-ish eyes. “It was more of an embellishment and—”
“Elise,” he warned and the gold in his eyes flickered like an unholy flame. “No more.”
“I only did it because Moonbeam would do anything in her power to stop me from committing, what in her opinion would be, relationship suicide. And if Raven knew why, he’d kill me.”
“After he killed me.” Luc groaned and rested his forehead against his arm. “Damn, Elise, all I want to do is marry you. Why does your family have to question my motives? And my feelings,” he said derisively.
She relaxed somewhat, which was hard considered that he was invading her personal space and she was enjoying it more than she should be. “They love me and they want to make sure I’m making the right decision. Your family would do the same thing.”
He gave a short bark of laughter. “You don’t know my family. When I told my mother, she was more concerned with throwing the social event of the season and changing the names on the programs.” He turned his head to tell her, “By the way, you’re supposed to have dinner with Mom and the sisters tonight.”
“Tonight? What time?”
“Whatever time they get here. You’ll be on your own until seven. Mom said she needs your measurements.”
“What? Alone?” Her body tingled from the heat and proximity of his chest. “Why,” she asked breathlessly. She made the mistake of turning her head and found herself scant centimeters from his mouth.