The Missing Heir(33)

                Luca took a sip of his coffee. “But you’re still just going to walk away?”

                “No.”

                Luca drew back in clear astonishment. “You’re not?”

                “First, I’m going to make sure Amber wins custody. Then I’m going to walk away. Involving myself in the Henderson family was never part of the plan.”

                Cole was heading back to his life in Alaska just as soon as things were under control here. Showing up in Atlanta was about him doing his duty. It wasn’t some family reunion    , and he wasn’t about to upend his and Zachary’s lives by acknowledging their biological connection.

                Kissing Amber last night might have momentarily thrown him off track. He still couldn’t believe he’d done it—in a purple bathroom of all places, with Zachary in his arms. How ridiculous was that?

                His plan was to keep complications to a minimum. Not that a single kiss had added some huge complication. In fact, he’d already put it into perspective.

                Sure, Amber was pretty. She was sweet and kind and compassionate. And she’d had a rough time of it growing up. Her stories had engaged his sympathies.

                But lots of people had a less-than-stellar upbringing. She was fine now, and she loved Zachary. And Cole was right to leave the two of them to get on with it.

                “You’re sure that’s what you want?” asked Luca.

                “I’m positive it’s what I want.” Cole pulled his thoughts back to his earlier point. “Roth will try to prove that Coco was unfit to name either a guardian for Zachary or the person to control Coast Eagle.”

                “On the bright side,” said Luca, “I don’t think many wills are overturned because they’re foolish.”

                “I hope not.” Just then, Cole wished he knew more about the law.

                “So what do you think of Destiny?” he asked Luca. “I mean, other than she’s hot. Can you see past the fact that she’s hot? Because you should declare a conflict of interest if you can’t be objective.” Cole wanted to be sure Amber was getting the best possible legal advice.

                Luca was all but laughing as he cut into his waffle. “I don’t need to declare a conflict of interest. I know she’s smart.”

                “Are you sure? How do you know?”

                “I asked her a few questions last night.”

                “And?”

                “And she had a ton of technical information at her fingertips. But she wouldn’t tell me anything about Amber specifically.”

                “You didn’t make her suspicious, did you?”

                “No. I pretended I was curious about what I’d read on social media. There’s a lot out there on social media.” Luca set down his cutlery and pressed a few more keys on the laptop. “For example, this, here. There are new rumors that Roth Calvin will be named interim president of Coast Eagle.”

                Cole reached out to turn the laptop to face him again. “I thought Amber was in charge?” Letting Roth step up as interim president couldn’t be a good move for her.

                “It’s a board decision,” said Luca.