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“Damian. You can’t be sure of—”
“She wanted my name. My money.” Damian gave a choked laugh. “Even my title, the ‘Prince’ thing you and I both know is nothing but outdated crap. She wanted everything.” He drew a deep breath, then blew it out. “And she lied about carrying my child to get it.”
“When did you find out?”
“When she died,” Damian said flatly. He drained his glass and refilled it. “I was in Athens on business. I phoned her every night to see how the pregnancy was going. Later, I found out she’d taken a lover and she’d been with him all the time I was gone.”
“Hell,” Lucas said softly.
“They were on Long Island. A narrow, twisting road on the Sound along the North Shore. He was driving, both of them high on booze and cocaine. The car went over a guardrail. Neither of them survived.” Damian looked up from his glass, his eyes bleak. “You talked about grief before, Lucas. Well, I did grieve then, not for her but for my unborn child…until I was going through Kay’s papers, tying up loose ends, and found an article she’d clipped from some magazine, all about the symptoms of pregnancy.”
“That still doesn’t mean—”
“I went to see her doctor. He confirmed it. She had never been pregnant. Not the first time. Not the second. It was all a fraud.”
The two friends sat in silence while the sun dipped below the horizon. Finally Lucas cleared his throat.
“I wish I could think of something clever to say.”
Damian smiled. “You got me to talk. You can’t imagine how much good that’s done. I’d been keeping everything bottled inside.”
“I have an idea. That club of mine. Remember? I’m meeting there with someone interested in buying me out.”
“So soon?”
“You know how it is in New York. Today’s hotspot is tomorrow’s trash.” Lucas glanced at his watch. “Come downtown with me, have a drink while I talk a little business and then we’ll go out.” He grinned. “Dinner at that place on Spring Street. A pair of bachelors on the town, like the old days.”
“Thank you, my friend, but I wouldn’t be very good company tonight.”
“Of course you would. And we won’t be alone for long.” Another quick grin. “Before you know it, there’ll be a couple of beautiful women hovering over us.”
“I’ve sworn off women for a while.”
“I can understand that but—”
“It’s what I need to do right now.”
“You sure?”
Inexplicably an image of the woman with green eyes and sun-streaked hair flashed before Damian’s eyes. He hadn’t wanted to notice her, certainly didn’t want to remember her…
“Yes,” he said briskly, “I’m positive.”
“You know what they say about getting back on the horse that threw you,” Lucas said with a little smile.
“I told Nicolo almost the same thing a year ago, the night he met Aimee.”
“And?”
“And,” Damian said, “it was good advice for him, but not for me. This is different.”
Lucas’s smile faded. “You’re right. Well, let me just call this guy I’m supposed to meet—”
“No, don’t do that. I’d like to be alone tonight. Just do a little thinking, start putting this thing behind me.”
Lucas cocked his head. “It’s no big deal, Damian. I can meet him tomorrow.”
“I appreciate it but, honestly, I feel a lot better now that we talked.” Damian held out his hand. “Go have your meeting. And, Lucas—Thank you.”
