Lone Star Valentine (McCabe Multiples) (6 page)

Away from her past.

And what scarily looked like her future.

The professional photographer and videographer continued taking in the scene.

Thus prompted, Bode hunkered down in front of Lucas, all macho charm, his voice unutterably gentle. “Want to come inside the house and say hello to your little sisters and Viviana?”

Lucas shook his head and did not look up.

Before Bode could say anything more, the front door opened. His sleek, gorgeous Venezuelan wife appeared. In a belly-baring halter top and flowing pants ensemble, she looked every inch the perennially entitled and pissed-off supermodel she was known to be. She stared at Bode, then lifted her hands as if to say,
What are we waiting for?
And with a last long withering look at Lily and a toss of her wavy golden-brown mane, she disappeared back inside. The door slammed behind her.

The photographer looked at Bode expectantly.

Straightening, he took another look at the door his wife had just gone in, then somberly turned back toward Lily. “Maybe it is a little much to just drop the little buddy off,” he said finally.

Gee. You think?

Gannon nodded, in support of Bode’s conclusion.

Paternal tenderness suddenly in his eyes, Bode looked at Gannon, man-to-man, then turned and gave Lily a beseeching glance. “How about you and Gannon come inside and stay awhile, and see if we can’t all work together to get Lucas settled?”

Chapter Five

Lily thought she knew what to expect from the luxurious interior of Bode’s multimillion-dollar home. After all, it had been featured in both
Architectural Digest
and
Personalities! Magazine.

But nothing could have prepared her for what lay inside.

The elegant white sofas in the formal living room had been pushed to the edges of the huge space. In the center were four separate stations—each sporting an elaborate little-boy birthday cake with a number on top—and a heap of gaily wrapped presents. Bunches of balloons added to the festive atmosphere.

A banner proclaimed Welcome Home, Lucas!

Lucas’s eyes lit with interest, while Viviana and her two daughters, ages one and three, watched nearby from the arms of their nannies. His complete PR team and Bode’s sports-management agent, as well as his attorneys, were also there—this time dressed as if attending a children’s birthday party.

Turning on the charm, Bode knelt down in front of Lucas once again. “I know I missed your first four birthdays, champ,” he said. “I’m going to make up for that, starting now.”

He rose and, seeming to understand that Lucas would not yet take his hand, motioned for the little boy to follow him. “Want to check out the presents?”

Lucas turned to his mother for permission. She nodded. “Go ahead, honey.” It would have been cruel to deny him this, when he had already been deprived of so much where his father was concerned.

Lucas handed Lily his blanket and his stuffed horse for safekeeping. And then cautiously made his way over to the bounty.

The next several hours were a blur of gifts, photos, cakes and song. It seemed every cake had to be lit, “Happy Birthday to You” sung again and again—to Lucas’s delight. His two little half sisters eventually joined in the joyful melee.

Lucas’s normal bedtime came and went. And still he played happily while Lily and Gannon watched the festivities from the sidelines and photo after photo was taken. Some of which were uploaded to Bode’s Twitter feed and transmitted, along with a number of carefully crafted seemingly spontaneous messages, from the star quarterback himself.

Eventually, Bode turned to Lily and Gannon.

She knew that was her cue.

Lily rose and, heart breaking, went over to her son. “Lucas?”

He smiled up at her, a train engine clutched in one hand, a caboose in the other. “It’s time for Gannon and I to go,” Lily said in a calm, cheerful voice. “You want to say goodbye to us?”

Lucas stood. He turned to Gannon. “Bye, Mr. Montgummy.”

“Goodbye, Lucas.” Gannon knelt down to offer Lucas his hand.

Lucas grinned and shook it enthusiastically.

Lily knelt down, too. For a second, getting a sense of what it would have been like, if she, Gannon and Lucas were a family.

Pushing her wistfulness aside, she smiled with encouragement at her son.

Lucas smiled back. As he had done many times before, he wreathed his arms about her neck. Hugged her fiercely, then let her go, still smiling with the inner contentment of a relaxed and secure child.

Vowing that she, too, would put on an award-worthy performance if it killed her, Lily gave her son one last impossibly jovial hug. “I’ll see you tomorrow around lunchtime, okay?”

Lucas grinned. “’Kay, Mommy.”

He went back to playing happily with Bode’s three-year-old daughter, Caryn.

Gannon rose, and helped Lily to her feet, squeezing her hand imperceptibly and infusing her with warmth and calm.

It’s all going to be okay
, Lily reassured herself firmly, more glad than ever Gannon had suggested he come with her. Not just as their attorney, but as a family friend. She felt stronger just standing beside him.

Bode walked Lily and Gannon to the door.

Gannon looked to Lily, seeming to recognize that she needed to give a final word of advice. “He needs his stuffed horse and blanket at bedtime,” she told her ex, a catch in her voice. “And he likes a story read to him, too.”

Bode nodded.

“And although he’s had a lot of cake, he hasn’t really had any dinner, so...”

Bode cut her off, his impatience with her lack of faith in his parenting coming through loud and clear. “I got it, Lily. Whatever he needs. Plus—” he paused to cast another fond look at the son they shared “—we’ve got a nanny of his own standing by to help out as needed, too. I promise you, he’ll be fine.”

Much as Lily hated to admit it, it seemed her son had adapted far more quickly than she had ever imagined he would.

Gannon gave Lily another look. Letting her know that he, too, thought everything was going to be fine. Otherwise, he would have stepped in.

Recognizing any further delays would not make things any easier, Lily swallowed and turned back to Bode. “You’ve got my cell number. I’m staying in the area tonight. So...”

“I’ll call you if we need anything,” Bode promised, really seeming to mean it.

And that, Lily noted, as she and Gannon were ushered out the door, was that.

* * *

“Y
OU
OKAY
?” G
ANNON
said after they had exited the home and driven away.

Compared to what? Lily thought, blinking back tears. She felt as if a semitruck had just driven square through the center of her heart. Aware she was near the breaking point emotionally—which was something she definitely did not want Gannon to see—she sucked in a quavering breath. She looked out the window until she felt she could speak in a calm tone, and sighed with a weariness that came straight from her soul. “You can just take me straight to my hotel.”

The corners of his lips lifted. “Sure you want to do that?” His voice was low, comforting.

“Do what?”

He sent her an intuitive glance. “Be alone?”

Actually, no, she did not want to be alone. But what were the alternatives?

“What are you suggesting?” Her breath hitched in her throat.

He stopped at a traffic light and turned to flash her an understanding smile. “Dinner first.”

Lily didn’t want to think about what might come next. “I’m not sure I can eat.” Her stomach was clenched as tight as the rest of her.

Something hot and sensual shimmered in his smile. “Then, it’s the perfect time to have me cook for you. If you don’t like it, you’ll have a great reason to just nibble a little here and there and pretend it’s due to an understandable lack of appetite.”

His joking made her smile. For a moment, she let herself imagine what it might be like to make love with him. Not just once, but many, many times. “You’re really inviting me to your place?”

“Might be a good time to see how the other half lives.”

Romantic notions bubbled up inside her. Suddenly feeling a whole lot feistier, Lily pivoted toward him as much as her seat belt would allow. “Other half?”

He commanded his luxury pickup with a sure, steady hand. “Us city slickers.”

She hesitated, curious despite herself.

What would his place be like? Would it—like the vehicle he drove—have any vestiges of the ranch and small town Texas where he’d grown up? Or be city all the way?

“Come on.” He waggled his brows, as if sensing she was on the edge. “It’ll give you a good chance to vent.” He reached over and briefly—playfully—squeezed her knee. “’Cause I know you’ve got a lot to say about what went down tonight. And who better to spout off to than someone else who was there?”

He had a point. “Okay,” Lily relented finally. “But you can’t do all the work.”

His low chuckle filled the cab. “You’re offering to be my sous chef?”

And that was all. No matter how attractive she found him, she was not going to end up in his arms tonight, not even for comfort.

Disguising her desire, she murmured, “Somehow I think the busier I am, the better.”

Gannon sobered. “Probably true,” he conceded with a commiserating smile. “In the meantime, start venting. And don’t hold anything back.”

So Lily didn’t.

As Gannon drove the freeways connecting Dallas and Fort Worth, she let loose her feelings on everything Bode had done the past few days. From manipulating the terms of their custody agreement to initiate a sleepover to the massive gift presentation and the way he had turned on the charm to lure Lucas in while simultaneously sending out photos of the event via social media and his PR team.

“The worst of it is,” Lily lamented when they reached the high-rise condominium building and entered the underground parking garage, “that Bode will probably go right back to ignoring Lucas as soon as he gets what he wants career-wise.”

“And maybe he won’t,” Gannon said quietly as he turned his truck into a reserved space and cut the motor.

Still feeling a little shaken, Lily gratefully reached for Gannon’s hand when he came around to the passenger side and helped her out. She gazed up at him, wishing she could lean on him the way she wanted without there being repercussions. She studied his handsome profile. “You really believe that my ex might come through for Lucas?”

Hand to the center of her back, he led her to the elevator and pressed Up. “I believe that your son is a great kid. I’ve barely had any time to spend with him and I can see that. So it follows that if Bode gets more thoroughly acquainted with Lucas, he will realize it, too.”

The doors slid open. Lily entered the elevator first, and Gannon went in after her.

“And in the long run,” Lily mused, forcing herself to put her own insecurities aside and be the adult the situation required, “being wanted, accepted and appreciated by his father could only be good for Lucas.”

Gannon nodded, respect for her gleaming in his eyes. “It’s a heck of a lot better than the alternative,” he said firmly.

* * *

T
HERE
WAS
A
gourmet food shop in one of the retail spaces on the first floor of Gannon’s building. They stopped by.

In short order, he bought a nice bottle of burgundy, two porterhouse steaks, fresh spinach and raspberries and a decadent-looking carrot cake with cream cheese frosting from their bakery section.

“You do remember I said I wasn’t really that hungry?”

“But I am.” He gave her a wolfish grin. “It’s possible when you smell the food cooking, you will be, too.”

Lily wasn’t sure what she expected from his abode, since to date she only really knew the cowboy and law student sides of Gannon. Suffice it to say, she was blown away when they finally walked in.

Gannon’s loft was the height of urban sophistication. Approximately two thousand square feet, it sported dark wood floors, rough-hewn brick walls and floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked downtown Fort Worth. The main living area encompassed half of the space and had a combined gourmet kitchen, living and formal dining area. Off that were a cozy book-lined study, a guest room and a master suite—the latter two each with a luxurious private bath.

All the furniture was heavy, masculine. No upholstered pieces. Just wood and leather. A few modern rugs sporting the red, gray and ivory color scheme of the abode.

“Wow,” Lily said when they had completed the tour.
“Nice.”

He grinned, evidently proud of the elegant sophisticated décor, and went to unpack the groceries. “Not how you pictured me living, huh?”

Taking a seat on one of the high-backed stools at the granite-topped kitchen island, she rested her face on her hand, watching him move about. “Actually, given how fast and far you’ve risen in the legal world, it was
exactly
the way I would have pictured you living.”

He rinsed the greens and berries and set them in separate colanders to drain.

“In the lap of luxury,” she explained at his inquisitive look.

He opened the wine. “Not as cozy as your place.”

She sipped from the glass he gave her. “True. Hard to imagine you having a family here.”

He flashed another grin her way and turned on the grill in the center of his stove. While it heated, he crushed a few berries in the bottom of a bowl, and then whisked together a vinaigrette with the ease of a man who cooked well and often. “Who said I wanted a family?”

Lily felt a stab of disappointment, as well as surprise. Telling herself this could be the deal breaker she had been expecting to surface all along, she looked him in the eye. “Don’t you?”

* * *

G
ANNON
HADN
’
T
. B
UT
somehow this evening, he had begun to reconsider. He shrugged and seasoned the steaks. “Haven’t really had time to think much about it.” The meat sizzled as it hit the hot surface.

With a quiet nod, Lily rose, wineglass in hand, and began to roam. Eventually, she ended up at the windows, staring out at the wintry evening.

The city lights beckoned like gleaming jewels against a black velvet backdrop. But most alluring of all was her.

The waves of her honey-blond hair were deliciously rumpled, as if she had just gotten out of bed. The skin on her face was smooth and flawless, her cheeks flushed a delicate pink. The flowered knit dress and rose-colored cardigan she wore molded nicely to her slender curves and made her look feminine and delicate. Her comfortable flats were casual and mom-like, yet still showed off her spectacularly sexy legs.

Wishing the entire day hadn’t been so fraught with tension for her, he continued lazily, “The firm requires I bill at least twenty-four hundred client hours a year. More if I wanted to make partner, which I did. And head up the family-law department.” Which amounted to more eighty-hour workweeks than he wanted to think about...

She came closer, and lounged against the counter. “All work and no play?”

He put together the spinach, berries and almonds and tossed it with the vinaigrette. “All work and a lot of play, too.” The steaks sizzled as he turned them.

“Ah, right.” Lily slid gracefully back onto one of the bar stools in front of the kitchen island. “You and your legion of girlfriends.”

The aroma of grilled meat filled the room. It was enough to make them both salivate.

Gannon brought out the salad plates and silverware, then sat opposite her. “I think you’ve jumped to the wrong conclusion about that.” He paused to look her in the eye. “The vast majority of them were platonic friends.”