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She closed her eyes. It was late. She was tired. And he attracted her more than any man she’d ever known. “Luc, you have to leave now,” she whispered.
Passion sparked to life in his eyes, the hint of a flush mounting his angled cheekbones. “You look very beautiful sitting in the moonlight,” he murmured. “It streaks your hair with shiny silver-gold threads.”
She froze. “A trick of the light,” she insisted. “Go to bed, Luc. Please. You promised.”
“I promised I wouldn’t kiss you again last night. But I didn’t make any promises about today. And in case you hadn’t noticed, this is a brand new day. Nor did I promise I wouldn’t sit in the moonlight with you. That I wouldn’t talk to you. That I wouldn’t watch you hold Toni as if she were your own.”
His every word seduced her. She turned her head away, turned from near overwhelming temptation. “You’re forgetting about my fiancé.”
“No, I’m not. But perhaps you should forget about him. He isn’t good for you. Not if he encourages you to wear those ridiculous outfits and scrape your hair back instead of leaving it loose around your face. You’re so beautiful, Grace. Hiding that beauty is a sin.”
Grace set aside the empty baby bottle and lifted Toni to her shoulder. She rubbed the infant’s back, using the moment to gather the remaining shreds of her composure. At last she forced herself to say, “Luc, I’m your assistant. I’m engaged to be married. You asked for my help and I’m helping you. Don’t make this more difficult than necessary. I’m not interested in having a relationship with you. I have William.” For the first time she got the name out without stammering. “He’s all I need. All I’ll ever need.”
She might as well have struck Luc. He reared back, and without another word, stood and walked away. For an insane instant, Grace considered following him, confessing the truth. But she knew she wouldn’t. She couldn’t afford to become emotionally involved with him. Not if she wanted her own business. And not if she wanted to come out of this situation with her heart intact.
“Riseand shine!”
Grace rolled over and groaned, flinging an arm across her face to block the blinding sunlight. “Go away,” she snarled.
Luc chuckled. “I have coffee,” he tempted.
She peeked out from beneath her elbow. “Coffee?”
“A cup for now and a whole fresh brewed pot waiting in the kitchen.”
She sat up and looked over at the crib. It was empty. “Where’s Toni?”
“On a blanket in the living room shaking her fist at dust motes.” He headed for the door. “We have a lot to do today, so hurry up and get dressed.”
Drawing her knees to her chest, she said, “I don’t have anything clean to wear.”
“We’ll stop by your apartment on the way to the store. You can change and pack a few days’ worth of clothes.”
She eyed him suspiciously. “A few days?”
“A few days,” he confirmed. “Brand called.” And with that he breezed from the room.
It took ten minutes to pull herself together. The coffee helped substantially. After locating her glasses on the living room couch and popping them on the end of her nose, she swept the carpet for her scattered hairpins and pocketed them. Reluctant to face reality and even more reluctant to hear what Brand had to say when he’d called, she played with Toni for a while. Eventually, hunger forced her to track down Luc in the kitchen. Open confrontation seemed the best course of action.
“What do you mean a few days?” she demanded, jumping right in. “What did Brand say?”
“He missed connecting with Carina in Italy. Her mother is being seen by a specialist in Switzerland, so Carina went there. Brand’s following.”
“Did you tell him about the police? Did you tell him we haven’t a clue how to take care of a baby? When’s he coming back?”
“Yes. Yes. And as soon as possible.” Luc ran a hand through his hair, an edge of impatience creeping into his voice. “You’re upset about this and so am I. But there isn’t anything I can do about it. Not yet. So let’s make the best of things.”
Right. Until the police showed up. Or worse, Dom. And then Luc’s clever little scheme would come crashing down around both their ears. And so would her scheming with Dom. She struggled to stay calm. Shrieking wouldn’t accomplish a thing, except make her feel a whole heck of a lot better. She took a deep breath, wavering between anger and capitulation. “What’s your plan of action?” she finally asked, giving in to the inevitable. At least, with Luc, it was the inevitable.
“First we go to your apartment. Then we go shopping for Toni. I’ve called in at the office and postponed everything for a few days.” He brandished the coffeepot. “In the meantime, let me pour you more coffee. There’s cereal for breakfast or I can scramble you some eggs.”
She shuddered at the thought of eggs. “Cereal. I can’t face anything yellow first thing in the morning.”
Once they’d eaten, they prepared for their outing. Getting ready took longer than Grace ever could have imagined. Packing the diaper bag alone was a major undertaking. “Diapers. Check. Wipes. Check. Powder. Check. Spare clothes. Check. More diapers. Double check.”
“You forgot the bottles and formula.”
She glared at Luc in exasperation. “Then you better get a second diaper bag, because nothing else will fit in here.”
