Ready for King's Seduction. Maureen Child

charge, Warren,” Lucas told him, tired of the man’s excuses. Whenever anything went wrong on one of his sites, he was never around. Always off doing something else. “You give the orders on this project, and you take your orders from me. You damn well know better than to dig before WeDig comes out to clear it and the guys should know it, too.”

      “Yeah, but—”

      “No more buts. I’ll be at the site in a half hour. For now, get some pumps in there to clear the yard and get that water pipe capped off.”

      “Already done.”

      “That’s something anyway …” Shaking his head, he added, “Keep the guys on site until I get there.”

      “Right, boss.”

      When he hung up, Lucas was still furious, but almost grateful for the shift in his thoughts. If not for Warren’s ineptitude, he’d have nothing on his mind but Rose Clancy. And he’d already done nothing but think about her since the night before.

      She had haunted his dreams, making sleep nearly impossible, and then this morning over his cup of coffee, he’d smelled her in his kitchen. It was as if she was imprinting herself on his consciousness.

      Now, Lucas thought back to how Dave had always described his sister. Younger, softer, easily hurt and scared of her own shadow. She hadn’t sounded all that appealing to him until the day he first met her. Then, her looks had bowled him over first and her laughter had hit him hard. There was something about a woman who knew how to laugh, he thought now. Maybe it was because growing up, he’d never heard his own mother laugh at a damn thing. Whining on the other hand … she had been very good at that.

      As soon as that thought entered his mind, Lucas deliberately shut it down. It had sounded bad—disloyal—even to himself. His mom had done the best she could. She had just been too … alone.

      Hell. Memories from his childhood weren’t going to make this situation any easier to deal with. Disgusted with himself and his lack of concentration, Lucas pushed aside all thoughts but those related to work. For most of his life, work had been his sanctuary. The place in the world where everything was as it should be. Where the rules were well-defined and always followed. Here, Lucas kept his finger on the pulse of the company. Here, he wasn’t questioned, just obeyed. Here, he was—

      “How’d it go last night?”

      “What?” He looked up as Sean strolled into his office and plopped himself down into one of the three chairs in front of Lucas’s desk. He was chewing on one of the frosted cookies.

      “Did you know we’ve got cookies in the break room now?” He held one hand to his heart and bowed his head. “Thank you, sister Katie….”

      “Yeah, I heard,” Lucas muttered. “Apparently a Weight Watchers class is in the offing.”

      “Not for me,” Sean said with a laugh as he licked the last bit of frosting from his finger.

      Lucas sighed. “Is there a reason you’re here?”

      “Yep. Curiosity. How did it go last night? You know. With Rose?”

      “How did you know about that?”

      “Your secretary told my secretary, who told me and …” He shrugged and grinned. “Here I am. Seriously? Cooking lessons?”

      Frowning, Lucas leafed through a pile of papers on his desk. He didn’t want to talk about this with Sean. Hadn’t he just been focusing on not thinking about her? For all the good it had done him.

      In spite of his best efforts, she kept popping back into his mind. Her smile. The way light flashed on her long blond hair. The sound of her laugh and the fresh, lemony scent of her. It was all right there whether he wanted it to be or not.

      “Nothing to say?” Sean whistled low and long. “Must be even more interesting than I figured.”

      Glaring at his brother, Lucas demanded, “Don’t you have something to do?”

      “Actually, yeah. I’m headed out to look into a new service provider. With the way the company’s expanding, our old one just isn’t keeping up.”

      Lucas didn’t even have to pretend disinterest. Sean was enamored of all the technological aspects of the business, but once he started talking about it, Lucas’s eyes glazed over. “Good,” he said. “Go do it.”

      “In a sec.” Sean leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. “So tell me.”

      “Tell you what?” He dropped the papers on his desk and sighed as he figured the fastest way to get rid of his brother was to answer his questions. “You already know I hired her.”

      Sean laughed. “For cooking lessons.”

      “Why is that so hard to understand?”

      “Seriously?” Sean shook his head and stood up. “You, cooking? I should have been more impressed with her. Blonde, beautiful and a miracle worker. Teaching you to cook? Does she get hazard pay?”

      Frowning, Lucas thought of the triple-her-usual-salary offer he’d made and realized that she was getting hazard pay. His scowl deepened as he snapped, “I’ve cooked for you before and you’re still breathing.”

      “Only because of my excellent digestive system. It can withstand all sorts of toxins.”

      “Get out, Sean.”

      “Going, Lucas,” he said amiably.

      “Oh—” Lucas stopped him with a single word. “There’s trouble at the Johnson site.”

      “Warren again?” Sean frowned.

      “Yeah, they dug without the okay and hit a water pipe. Apparently the home owner can now dock a boat off the patio.”

      Shaking his head, Sean said, “I know the crews are your department, but if you want my opinion, we ought to get rid of Warren. We spend more time cleaning up after him than anything else. He’s more trouble than he’s worth.”

      “Agreed.” Lucas nodded. “We’ll talk about it at the weekly meeting.”

      “Right.” Sean headed for the door, but before he left, he asked, “On the Rose front, I hope cooking lessons are all you’re really up to.”

      “What?”

      “I hope you’re not still planning on using her for payback on Dave. Because, my man, that way lies misery.”

      Lucas didn’t say anything, just stared at his younger brother until Sean shrugged and walked out. But long after he was gone, the man’s words were still ringing in the air.

      Was he right? Was Lucas just asking for trouble by using Rose to get back at Dave?

      Standing up, he turned his back on the work waiting for him and stared out the window at the world beyond the glass. Long Beach was shivering under gray skies and a cold rain driven by an icy ocean wind. Oak trees rattled bare limbs, and the tall pines swayed with each gust.

      Truth be told, Lucas didn’t much like the idea of using Rose, either, though damned if he’d admit that to Sean. But the bottom line was, she was the sister of a man who had cheated him. Lied to him. And Lucas couldn’t let that slide.

      Liars deserved what they got, he told himself as his hands fisted at his sides. Hadn’t he grown up watching his mother’s heart broken again and again by the very men she had trusted to keep her safe? First, it was his father, Ben King—though to give Ben his due, he hadn’t promised Lucas’s mother any more than he had the mothers of any of his sons.

      But Lucas’s mother had pinned her hopes on love. Time and again, she’d gone searching for it, only to have whatever man she was pining over use her up and let her go. Her trust shaken, her heart shattered more times than he could even count, she’d finally given up. Destroyed by the very emotion she’d so longed to feel.