More Than Perfect(53)
She settled into the embrace, releasing her breath in a laughing sigh. “That’s a good thing since I don’t believe our antics last night fall under the heading of proper office decorum.”
“Not in any office I’ve been in charge of.” He kissed her, tasting the tea that flavored her lips. “Nor any office I haven’t been in charge of.”
She settled into his embrace, her trim curves growing more familiar by the day, even as they grew more tempting. “I can’t begin to tell you how relieved I am to hear you say that. So, when are you thinking we should marry? I can’t send out engraved invitations without a date.”
“Good point.” He frowned in concentration. “Let me call Joe regarding the dinner and make the arrangements with Dorchester Chapel. I think they’ll both be willing to accommodate me.”
She stroked her fingers along the jutting curve of his jaw, causing his blood to heat. How did she manage that with just a single touch? “They’ll be accommodating because it’s you?”
He laughed, the sound ironic. “No, more because of my bank account. It does come in handy at times like this. Once I have that set up, do whatever it takes short of offering sexual favors to get those invitations printed and out as quickly as possible.”
She tempted him with a laughing pout. “And here I was looking forward to offering sexual favors.”
He chuckled. “You can offer them to me, instead. Or maybe I should offer them to you out of sheer gratitude.”
“I have to admit, I like a grateful man,” she teased. “Once the venue’s set, I’ll take care of the rest of the details.”
“Thank you, Angie.” He couldn’t help himself. He took her mouth in a slow, thorough kiss. He vaguely heard Mikey squeal in approval, banging his hands against his high chair tray as though in applause. “I agree, munchkin. That definitely deserved a round of applause.”
As always, it took Angie a few seconds to surface and her open passion and lack of artifice never failed to humble him. She moistened her lips as though still tasting him. “You leave tomorrow, right? Monday? How long did you say you were going to be gone?”
“Five days. I’ll see if I can’t cut it to four. Three. Maybe I can rearrange my schedule and get back here in three.”
“I’ll see what I can get accomplished in the meantime.” She lowered her head to his chest and held on as though it hurt to let go. “Why don’t you leave me the key and directions to your Lake Washington house. I’ll swing by and start working on some preliminary ideas on that front.”
“Do you think you’ll have enough time?”
Angie looked up at him and what he read in those soft, aquamarine eyes sent a shaft of desire spearing through him. “I need to stay busy while you’re gone, Lucius. Maybe if I fill every minute I won’t miss you quite as much.”
He cupped her face and feathered another kiss across her mouth. “Liar.”
And she was a liar, Angie readily conceded the instant he left. Guilt threatened to overwhelm her at the way she’d set herself up as the “perfect” woman for Lucius. She would have been tempted to tell him the truth except for two vital facts. First, though she might not be “perfect”—who was?—she didn’t have a single doubt that she suited him right down to the bones, just as he suited her. They fit together in every possible regard, from the way they related to one another, to emotional needs, to sexual compatibility. She’d never anticipated they’d bond so well, so fast. But they had and she refused to feel guilt over one small lie if it forced Lucius to see what had been right under his nose all along.
Second, Mikey needed a mother, someone who would love him as much as she would her own child, love him in a way the Ridgeways would never offer due to what they perceived as the “stain” on his bloodline. Though she hadn’t anticipated falling head over heels for a six-month-old, she had. And if it had taken one small lie to bring the three of them together as a family unit, well… She could live with the guilt. Besides, what did it matter how she and Lucius married, if the end result not only met their expectations, but exceeded them? Wasn’t that the actual intent and purpose of the Pretorius Program?
She presented those same arguments over dinner at Trinity’s apartment later that night. “Yeah, it sounds all nice and logical,” her friend allowed. “But I have a feeling Devlin won’t take your view of things. All he’s going to see is a big, fat lie and hang you with it. You know he has trust issues. This isn’t going to help him get over them.”