The Illegitimate Heirs: Luke, Zach and Jake. Kathie DeNosky

the ups and downs. I couldn’t ask for better friends. You’re the best.

      And to Tina Colombo for believing in me through thick and thin. I can’t thank you enough.

       Prologue

      “We’re not for sale, Mrs. Larson,” Lucien Garnier refused flatly. “And I’m sure you’ll agree that trying to build a relationship of any kind at this stage is out of the question.”

      Completely unaffected by his blunt statement, Emerald Larson stared across her highly polished Louis XIV desk at one of her recently discovered grown grandchildren. She could understand his and his two siblings’ anger. It had to have been quite disconcerting to discover that instead of the struggling artist he’d portrayed himself to be, their father Neil Owens was really Owen Larson, the philandering, footloose offspring of one of the richest, most powerful women in the corporate world. But then, she hadn’t been overly happy to learn that in his youth, her late son had left a bevy of women pregnant and on their own.

      Since learning of her grandchildren, Emerald had arranged for all of Owen’s children to claim their birthright and take their rightful place within the Emerald, Inc. corporate empire. She had successfully built a relationship with her three other grandsons and set them up with companies of their own, but the trouble was, she didn’t know exactly how many children Owen had fathered or even if she’d found all of them. It was only in the past few months she’d learned that her son had impregnated yet another woman—not once, but twice. His affair with a young Frenchwoman visiting the San Francisco area on a student visa had resulted in a set of twin sons, Lucien and Jacques. Then, ten years later, Owen had returned to the woman and rekindled the affair, only to leave the poor dear girl pregnant again, this time with a daughter, Arielle.

      The fact that Francesca Garnier had been the only woman Owen had returned to was bittersweet for Emerald. It was heartening to learn that her hedonistic son had loved the woman as much as he was capable of loving anyone, but disappointing to realize that in the end, his self-absorption had won out and he’d left Francesca behind—just as he’d done with the others.

      But the past was just that—the past. There was little Emerald could do about what had taken place all those years ago. The only thing to be done now was to forge ahead and focus her efforts on righting things between herself and the three Garnier siblings.

      “I can well understand your irritation, Lucien, but think about what I’m offering you and your brother and sister. Each of you will receive a multimillion-dollar trust fund, as well as complete control of one of my companies.”

      “We don’t need your money or your company,” Jacques reiterated.

      “I understand that you and Lucien are wealthy enough in your own right now to never want for anything,” Emerald acknowledged, nodding. Turning her attention to her only granddaughter, she smiled. “But what about you, darling? I’m sure your teaching salary is adequate enough to provide you with the basics, but what I’m offering is financial security for the rest of your life. You’ll never have to worry about taking care of yourself or your—”

      “Arielle is fine,” Lucien interrupted, his glare formidable. “Jake and I have always taken care of our sister and we always will. We’ll see that she has everything she needs.”

      “And you should both be commended for the sacrifices you’ve made to raise her.” Emerald was completely impervious to his dark expression. “After your mother’s untimely death, you not only did an excellent job of taking care of your sister, you both held jobs, as well as finished your education. That’s a huge undertaking for two boys barely twenty years old.”

      “We wouldn’t have thought to do it any other way,” Lucien countered, shrugging off her compliment.

      Emerald watched the girl eye one brother and then the other before Arielle sat forward in her chair.

      “I could never express how much I appreciate everything the two of you have done for me throughout the years,” Arielle spoke up, finally breaking her silence. “But I’m a grown woman now, Luke, and I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself and making my own decisions.” She turned her full attention on Emerald. “Luke and Jake might not be interested in what you’re offering, Mrs. Larson, but I certainly am.”

      “No, you’re not.” The twin brothers glared daggers at their younger sister.

      “Oh, yes, I am.”

      Arielle’s determination was almost palpable and it did Emerald’s heart good to see that her granddaughter didn’t seem the least bit affected by her older brothers’ intimidating scowls. The child reminded Emerald of herself some fifty years ago.

      “You two can do what you please, but I’m going to accept the trust fund and whatever company Mrs. Larson deems suitable for me to take over.”

      Their lack of agreement on the issue was the very opening Emerald had been looking for to seal the deal. “If you’ll excuse me for a few moments, I have something that requires my immediate attention,” she interjected, rising from her desk chair. “While I’m gone, I think it would be wise for the three of you to discuss my proposal.” Walking to the door, she turned back. “But keep in mind, this is all or nothing. You all agree to accept everything or forfeit the opportunity completely.”

      Stepping into the outer office, she pulled the door shut behind her and walked over to her assistant’s desk. “Get the acceptance papers ready for my grandchildren to sign, Luther.”

      “Have they accepted your gift, madam?” Luther Freemont asked in his usually stiff manner as he reached for a file on his desk.

      Emerald glanced at her closed office door, smiling contentedly. “Not yet. But rest assured, they will.”

      She hadn’t intended to put stipulations on her gift to the Garnier siblings, but her twin grandsons’ determination to decline her generosity left her little choice. Being one of a few women over the past fifty years to carve out her place in the “good old boy” network of the corporate world, she’d learned when and how to manipulate a situation to her benefit. And she certainly wasn’t above pulling out all the stops to get what she wanted—even if that meant playing hardball with her own grandchildren.

      Confident that everything was going her way, Emerald glanced at the clock on Luther’s desk. The Garnier siblings should have had ample time to reach an agreement.

      “I’ll page you when we’re ready to sign the documents, Luther,” she instructed, walking back to the door.

      When she re-entered her private office, she smiled at her grandchildren still seated in front of her desk. It was time to incorporate the Garnier siblings into the Emerald, Inc. empire.

       One

      “Haley, I want my calendar cleared for the day and you to be in my office in five minutes. There’s something I need you to do.”

      Haley Rollins stared open mouthed as Lucien, or as he preferred to be called, Luke Garnier passed her desk on the way into his private office. For the past five years, every weekday morning at promptly eight-thirty, he’d arrived at the corporate offices of Garnier Construction, ordered her to get him coffee and expected her to be in his office to review his day’s itinerary. But today he was more than half an hour early and failed even to mention the requisite cup of coffee.

      What on earth could have happened that would cause a man so set in his ways to deviate from his routine?

      Something was definitely in the works and if the look on his handsome face was any indication, he considered it to be of the utmost importance. Her usual Monday morning slump vanished.

      Reaching for her phone, Haley made quick work of rescheduling his appointments,