Marrying a Delacourt. Sherryl Woods

skirted past him and aimed for the door. Conveniently, her overnight bag was still there. She’d barely made a grab for it, though, when he stepped into her path. Even though Michael went through life with an economy of movements, he had always been able to move as swiftly as a panther when he chose to. Apparently right now he was highly motivated.

      “You can’t leave,” he protested.

      “Oh, but I can.”

      “Grace, don’t do this to me. You’re a lawyer. You know how to cut through red tape, get things done.”

      She regarded him with amusement. “And you don’t? Please. Compared to convincing a foreign government to let you steal mineral rights, this is just a little inconvenience. Deal with it.”

      “Do you want me to beg?”

      She grinned at the prospect, then regarded him curiously. “An interesting possibility. Are you any good at it?”

      “Let me give it a shot.”

      He reached for her hand, pressed a kiss against her knuckles that sent shockwaves cavorting right through her. It wasn’t exactly begging, but she had to admit it was an excellent start. Something inside her was melting right along with her resolve.

      “Please, Grace. Stick around through the weekend at least. Help me get a straight story out of those kids. Once we’ve figured out what to do, you can race straight back to Houston and I won’t bother you again for another half-dozen years or so.”

      She withdrew her hand, because she didn’t like the sensations his touch was kicking off. “Nice try, but I’m not convinced yet that you really need me. Any old lawyer would do. Doesn’t Delacourt Oil have a slew of them on retainer?”

      He frowned at that. “None like you.”

      She regarded him with surprise. “I almost believe you mean that.”

      “Believe me, Grace, I have never meant anything more, never needed you more,” he said with convincing solemnity. “Never.”

      There was a time when those words would have made her pulse ricochet wildly. Unfortunately, they still had a disconcerting effect. Ignoring it, she shook her head and took another step back, a step toward putting a safe emotional distance between them.

      “Maybe this will be good for you, Michael. Put you in touch with real human beings for a change.”

      He appeared genuinely offended by the implication. “I deal with real human beings all the time.”

      “You just don’t find them nearly as interesting as the bottom line, is that it?”

      “You’re not being fair.”

      “Probably not,” she agreed. “But we both know life isn’t always fair.”

      His gaze locked on hers. “But you are, Grace. Fairness is what you’re all about. You fight for the underdog. Nobody knows that better than I do. I’ve seen you take some of my friends to the cleaners to make sure their ex-wives get what they deserve. Hell, you’ve taken me apart on the witness stand to pry out some ugly truths about friends of mine. We both know how tough you are when it matters. You handled that situation for Jeb’s wife when you thought the company was misjudging her. If it hadn’t been straightened out to your satisfaction, you would have fought like a tiger for her.”

      “You lucked out. Brianna was in love with Jeb and he was smart enough to go to bat for her in the end. Otherwise we would have sued your pants off and won.”

      He grinned. “That’s what I mean. You don’t care who you go up against, if you think the cause is just.”

      “There’s a difference this time,” she said.

      “What’s different?”

      “You and I would be on the same side. I think I like it better when we’re battling on opposite sides,” she admitted candidly.

      “Safer that way?” he inquired, an all-too-knowing glint in his eyes.

      She was surprised that he could read her so well. “Smarter,” she corrected.

      He regarded her with amusement. “You don’t still have a thing for me, do you, Grace? Being here with me isn’t dredging up old memories, is it?”

      She bristled at the suggestion. “Of course not.”

      “Then it shouldn’t be a problem, right?” he said, clearly laying down a challenge. “We’ll leave the past off-limits, stick strictly to the situation at hand.”

      It rankled that he thought it would be so easy to avoid rekindling their old passion. But if he could spend this weekend with her and keep it impersonal, then she certainly could…or she would die trying.

      “Fine,” she said, picking up her bag again, this time turning toward the stairs. “Okay, where’s my room? Since I’m staying, I’m obviously too beat to think straight. We’ll tackle this in the morning.”

      And in the morning, maybe she’d be able to figure out why Michael Delacourt was the only male on earth who could still twist her right around his finger without even trying.

      Chapter Three

      Michael had never been so relieved to see anyone in his life as he had been to see Grace pull into the driveway the night before. The fact that his heart had done a little hop, skip and jump had been gratitude, nothing more, he assured himself. The woman was far too prickly for him to consider another run at anything more, especially when there were plenty of willing women who’d be grateful for his attention and who wouldn’t grumble if he had to cancel a date every now and again.

      Not that he didn’t understand why Grace had been furious when he’d missed her law school graduation years ago. He’d known exactly how important that day was to her. She had struggled and sacrificed to go to college, worked herself to a frazzle to succeed. She had earned that moment of triumph, and he should have been there to witness it.

      Even understanding all that, he’d gotten caught up in a tough negotiation and hadn’t even glanced at a clock until it was too late to make the ceremony. He’d apologized in every way he could think of, but she’d been unforgiving. Still was, as far as he could tell.

      At the time, he’d told himself it was for the best. After all, how could a man in his position be expected to work nine to five? If he followed the workaholic example set by his father, his career was destined to be time-consuming. If Grace was going to be unreasonably demanding, it would never work out. Better to find that out before they were married.

      He winced when he thought of how he’d tried to deftly shift all of the blame to her, tried to make her feel guilty for his neglect, as if it were her expectations that were at fault, not his insensitivity. No wonder she’d taken every opportunity since to make him squirm in court. He was amazed that she’d shown up here at all, much less stayed. But, then, Grace had too much grit, too much honor, to let her distaste for him stand in the way of helping someone truly in need.

      One glance at those two boys and Michael had seen her heart begin to melt. Despite her tough exterior, she was a soft touch. Always had been. Even when she’d been struggling to pay tuition, refusing to accept so much as a dime from him, she’d never been able to turn away a lost kitten or a stray dog. She’d craved family the way some people needed sex. He’d counted on that to work in his favor when he’d called her.

      And speaking of sex, being in such close proximity to her was going to be sheer torture. Just because he’d recognized that they weren’t suited for marriage didn’t mean that recognition shut off his hormones. The minute she’d stepped out of that rental car, looking annoyed and disheveled, he’d promptly envisioned her in bed with him, and in this scenario he was doing some very clever and inventive things to put a smile back on her face. He doubted she would have been pleased to know the direction of his thoughts.

      He was none too pleased about them himself, since he’d been