More Than Perfect(39)
She could feel warmth burning a path across her cheekbones. “I don’t think I can do this.”
“You don’t have a choice. I don’t want there to be any question that our marriage is a love match. I don’t want the Ridgeways to have any grounds for suggesting otherwise.” He tipped her chin upward, his black eyes burning into hers. “When we rush into the hospital together I want on some level for Tabby to believe we just rolled out of bed.”
“Not much of a stretch considering we did,” Angie muttered.
His mouth twisted to one side. “Unfortunately, my dear Ms. Colter, you have an innate knack for presenting a calm and unruffled front. Excellent when it comes to a work setting, but not at all what I need right now.”
She glared at him in exasperation. “And you think undoing a few buttons and wearing my hair down will change that?”
“It’ll help. So will a carefully staged embrace.”
She stared at him in open dismay. “Oh, Lucius, no. Not tonight.”
“Of course not tonight,” he retorted impatiently. “But soon.”
“Is that really necessary?”
Irritation flashed across his face. “What the hell difference does it make if the Ridgeways catch us kissing? We will be kissing. In case there’s the least doubt in your mind, we’ll be kissing on a regular basis. We’ll also be sharing a bed from this point forward.”
“You’re moving too fast.”
“Then catch up,” he snapped. “I don’t have time to go slow with you, not considering this latest development. Nor is there time for you to turn coy at this late date. I explained what I needed going in. And you know damn well what’s at stake here.”
Angie’s chin shot up. “Back off, Lucius. You’re pushing too fast, too hard. We’re not married, yet.”
“Another fact that I plan to change at our earliest possible convenience.” He checked his watch and swore. “We need to go. We can argue about this later.”
He was right. They did need to go. She held her tongue while he whisked her into the elevator. The ride to the garage level took next to no time. He led her to a new BMW sedan that took her by surprise. She wouldn’t have associated the car with him, vaguely recalled he drove something far sportier, until she caught sight of the car seat in the back. It hit her then. He’d purchased the car with Mikey in mind. And she’d bet the title on her pretty little house in Ballard that this particular model possessed one of the highest safety ratings around.
They pulled out into the misty Seattle night, the dampness causing the tires to softly hiss against the pavement. Darkness clamped down on them, intensifying the intimacy within the confines of the car. To Angie’s relief, Friday night traffic proved light, perhaps because it was well past rush hour, also well past the time when people would be heading out for dinner dates or theater engagements. The darkness and intimacy also gave her the courage to address an issue she’d neglected to ask Lucius about, an issue that continued to nag at her. She decided to get it out into the open before committing herself to her role as his fiancée.
“Would you mind if I asked you a question about Mikey and your guardianship of him?”
He spared her a swift glance before returning his attention to the road. “Since you’ll soon be his mother, I don’t mind at all.”
“His mother,” she repeated faintly. “I…I hadn’t thought of it quite that way.”
“Start.”
She gave a quick nod. “Okay. I can do that. I think.”
“What’s your question?”
“Why?” she asked simply. “Why did you agree to take Mikey and why are you so determined to keep him—to the extent of marrying a virtual stranger? Why not just let the Ridgeways have him? It would certainly be simpler.”
“Excellent question and one I’ve asked myself countless times over the past three months.” His mouth compressed and a frown of concentration etched a path across his brow. “There are several reasons, to be honest. First, I made a promise to Geoff, and I don’t ever—ever—renege on my promises.”
“There’s a reason for that, isn’t there? Your father?” she hazarded a guess. “And what happened between him and Lynley?”
“I will never be Lynley,” he confirmed. “I will never break a promise, once made.”
She didn’t doubt him for a single moment. Lucius Devlin might be one of the most ruthless men she’d ever met, but he had a code of honor as inherent and unalterable as the color of his eyes or the hard, uncompromising angles of his face. Even with Lisa, if she and Geoff had still been a couple when she’d come crying on his shoulder, he’d never have laid a finger on her. Angie knew that with utter certainty.