Byron slanted Lucas a look. “One too many roosters in the henhouse?”
“You want to buy underwear, buy some for Lexi.”
The clerk hustled back to Devin, three velvet cases in her hands. She opened the first, and the jewels flashed under the store lights.
“This one is called aurora swirl,” she said. “Three-colored teardrop diamonds-blue, yellow and pink-with white square cuts in the chain-D flawless. And a total of seven carats in all.”
Devin seemed speechless as the woman speedily fastened the necklace around her neck.
Byron leaned across the table separating them. “I suppose you’ll insist on buying the diamonds, too?”
Lucas knew he should be annoyed at being backed into a corner, but he was too busy getting a kick out of the expression on Devin’s face. He had to admit, the necklace looked stunning. The clerk knew exactly how to accessorize the dress.
“Let me get a better look,” he said, motioning Devin forward.
The clerk smiled like a Cheshire cat, giving Devin a gentle little shove toward him.
Devin took a few halting tentative steps. Then she came down off the dais, her voice a low hiss. “Don’t you dare encourage her.”
“It looks good on you.” Lucas spent only a fraction of a second on the diamonds before catching a glimpse of the lace bra peeking out above the neckline of the dress.
“Well, I think it’s too garish,” Devin stated loud enough for all to hear.
The clerk’s expression faltered for a split second. “We have many other fine-”
“I think this is the one,” said Lucas. He boldly reached out to touch the stones, brushing his fingertips against the warm, soft skin of Devin’s chest. His voice went lower. “This is definitely the one.”
“No,” said Devin.
“Oh, yes,” said Lucas. He hadn’t thought about buying her jewelry. But suddenly he wanted Devin to look exactly like this at the party tonight. He wanted to watch her sinuous movements under the slinky dress, to see her smile, to hear her voice and to pretend it was a real date.
“You’re going to meet the Duke of Rothcliff,” he told her. “I’m expanding our manufacturing base in Europe, and I need to impress him.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“It’s a time-honored tradition. I wear the same old tired suit, and you’re the billboard for my wealth.”
Devin’s jaw worked for a moment.
“Now
Lucas looked up, and Devin turned her head.
“Too much?” asked Lexi as she did a twirl in a fuchsia satin strapless dress with miles of ruffled, bell-shaped skirt.
“I’m finding us a big ol’ ball to attend,” Byron responded. “Hell, I’d even strap myself into a tux to take you out in that, darlin’.”
Lexi’s grin was wide.
“No, to the necklace,” Devin told Lucas.
But Lucas had already reached in his pocket and deftly extracted a credit card. “Yes, to the necklace,” he told the clerk. “Yes to the dress. And yes to everything else she’s wearing.”
His credit card was out of his hand before Devin could mount another protest, and the clerk was swiftly heading across the store.
“I win,” he told Devin.
“What did you win?” she scoffed. “You just spent-” She faltered. “Lucas, you didn’t ask the price.”
“It’ll be on the bill,” he told her mildly.
“Are you showing off?” she challenged.
“Yeah. Because up until now, I didn’t think you knew I had money.”
“You’re impossible.”
“What was your first clue?”
She pointed in the direction the clerk had gone. “Go stop her.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Lucas.”
He lifted his eyebrows.
“What are you doing?”
“We’re shopping for dresses. Which, by the way, is a whole lot more fun than I expected.”
Byron chuckled beside them. “Take that one, too,” he called to Lexi. “And try on something else. Lucas is finally starting to have some fun here.”
“You go try on something else,” Lucas told Devin, enjoying the way her eyes flashed blue fire.
“And bankrupt the company?” she asked.
“We can afford it.”
“Is this the way you’re going to manage Amelia’s money?”
“Amelia’s too young for diamonds.”
“You know what I mean.”
“That was on my personal credit card, Devin. I don’t spend corporate money on a date.”
She smoothed the dress and then rubbed her bare arms. “Lucas, I am
“You afraid I’ll expect you to put out?” he dared. He expected her to blush, or get flustered, or get angry.
Instead, she straightened, took a breath and looked him square in the eyes. “I already have.”
As she turned to flounce away, Lucas found himself under Byron’s accusing stare.
“What do you want from me?” Lucas asked him. “I bought the woman some diamonds.”
Byron didn’t pick up on the joke. “You don’t think you might be playing a bit of a dangerous game here?”
Lucas turned to face the older man head on, acknowledging to himself, as well as to Byron, the magnitude of the stakes. “You think I haven’t already thought of that?”
Devin had never thought of herself as particularly starstruck, but meeting a member of the royal family had put a cluster of butterflies firmly in her stomach. She found herself glad to be wearing a designer dress, and of the confidence boost from the diamond necklace.
“Do you do this kind of thing a lot?” she asked Lucas as they moved from the ballroom to the veranda of the Oak Point Country Club. The evening was sultry and warm. Little white lights decorated the railings and palm trees. The veranda overlooked a rolling lawn that sloped down to a narrow river. Pathways led across a footbridge to the lighted gardens beyond.
“Eat dinner or meet royalty?” Lucas stopped when the reached the rail.
“Hang out with the who’s who.” Even as she asked the question, she knew the answer. Lucas held an important position, in an important company. She might not be an economics expert, but she understood high tech was the future for well-paying jobs in the country. “Never mind,” she added.
“You look very beautiful,” he told her, eyes a soft pewter in subtle light.
“It’s the hair.”
“And the face.”
“It took three highly skilled professionals to get me looking like this.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Uncomfortable, she turned to face the rail, bracing her hands and gazing out across the grounds of the country club. “Are you flirting with me?”
“Absolutely.” He moved in behind her, his voice intimate behind her ear.
“Do you think that’s such a good idea?”
“I think it’s a terrible idea.” He stroked the backs of his fingers down her bare arm. “If we flirt, I figure there’s a better than even chance we’ll end up in bed.”
She started to call him on his bold assertion, but he kept right on talking.
“And, after we make love, there’s a better than even chance we’ll fight.” He drew a breath. “And I don’t like the
