More Than Perfect(19)

 She flinched from the thought. Damn Ryan and the cruel, careless way he’d broken her heart. The way he’d made her doubt herself as a woman. The way she’d cut off pieces of her life because he’d made her believe herself incapable. And damn her for letting him, for giving up on the possibility of having a successful sexual relationship, turning to work as both comfort and affirmation that in this area, if no other, she excelled.

 It was ridiculous. She needed to get over it. She needed to find a man—a man other than her boss—who could teach her what she needed to know.

 Angie frowned in concentration, the thought taking root, flourishing. It wasn’t a bad idea, she slowly decided. If Lucius could entertain the idea of a cold, calculated marriage in order to provide a good home for Mikey, a contract between like-thinking adults, why couldn’t she do the same? Oh, not marriage. But a cold, calculated sexual relationship, one designed to teach her the art of lovemaking, the craft of fully exploring her womanhood. It would be no different from when she’d taken classes to teach her the skills necessary to pursue a successful career, a career she now enjoyed to the fullest.

 What would it feel like to be as experienced in bed and in male/female interactions as she was at her job? To fully explore an aspect of her life she’d denied herself in the wake of Ryan’s and Britt’s betrayal? It would be… Tears filled her eyes. It would be heaven. All she needed was the right man. A man who would be patient and understanding. A man she could trust.

 For a brief instant an image of Lucius flashed through her mind before she thrust it ruthlessly away. Don’t even go there! Heading down that path offered one thing, and one thing only. Certain and total heartbreak. What she needed was a man who found her attractive and that she wouldn’t mind having in her bed. But, who?

 Oh, wait. Wait, wait, wait. There had been another man who’d shown interest in her tonight.

 Gabe Moretti.

 A man like Gabe, an experienced man of the world would be the perfect choice. She vaguely recalled there’d been gossip about him at the office. What had they said? Right, right. He was a man who had the reputation for caring about women and who held honor dear. And best of all, he was currently unattached. Add all that together and it made him the perfect candidate to help with her problem.

 Angie snuggled into her pillow, her eyes drifting closed. Still, she could dream. She could imagine what it would be like to have Lucius free her from the pain and hurt Ryan and Britt had inflicted. A small smile drifted across her mouth. Too bad she didn’t fit his criteria for the perfect wife—whatever that criteria might be. Then she’d have it all. A career she adored. A man more than capable of helping her fully explore her womanhood. And even a baby, one she found utterly adorable. Imagine having the best of all worlds.

 It was perfection. Sheer perfection.





How could he be so stupid?

 Lucius stripped down and stepped into the shower, inhaling sharply at the cascade of icy water sheeting over him. At least it helped cool his lust. Somewhat. Though not nearly enough, considering he could still see her, nearly nude and gloriously, perfectly female. He braced his palm against the stone wall and allowed the water to pound down on him, praying it drummed some common sense into his addled brain.

 This was Angie Colter, PA extraordinaire, he was thinking about. She wasn’t the sort of woman to take to bed on a whim. She was his employee, for God’s sake. His responsibility.

 Just as Mikey was his responsibility.

 “Aw, hell,” he muttered. “How could I have forgotten?”

 The Pretorius Program. His plan to marry the “perfect” wife and mother. Someone who wouldn’t cheat on him. Someone who wouldn’t desert him or screw him over. Someone he could trust. Not that he believed he could ever have any of that. In his experience people cheated. Deliberately or otherwise, they screwed each other over. And trust was nothing more than a myth. Trust evaporated like a wispy dream at the first hard bump in the road. And usually that bump had something to do with money.

 Isn’t that what happened between his father, Angelo “Angel” Devlin, and Angel’s best friend and business partner? The death of that trust—not to mention the theft of Angel Enterprises by that partner—had killed his father.

 And hadn’t it happened again with Lisa? She’d wanted money and had done anything and everything necessary to get it, even marrying someone she didn’t love.

 Wasn’t it about to happen with Geoff’s parents, a couple who’d stood like second parents to him. Hadn’t they just threatened to file a lawsuit to gain custody of Mikey, claiming Lucius an “unfit” guardian?