The Boss's Baby Bargain

Author:Karen Sandler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Silhouette
Published: 2002-11-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Dead tired, Lucas swung the hotel door shut behind him and dropped his briefcase on the desk. His overcoat he dropped on the desk chair, not caring that it dragged on the floor. Slipping off his shoes and kicking them into the closet, he waffled over whether to shower now or wait until morning.

Morning would be soon enough. Shedding his jacket, he hung it up in the closet, then stuffed his shirt into the hotel laundry bag. Stripping down to his shorts, he staggered to the bed.

When his bleary gaze snagged on the blinking red message light, he considered leaving whatever crisis it represented until morning. But on the slim chance it might be Allie, he picked up the receiver and punched out the numbers for the message service.

When he first heard her recorded words on the voice mail, his heart slammed into overdrive. She’d called him. After days when her only contact with him had been regarding work issues, she’d actually initiated a call to him.

A beep sounded at the end of the message and Lucas realized he hadn’t registered a word she’d said. For all he knew, she’d only called to inform him of some last-minute detail related to the information he’d last requested of her. His hands shook as he pressed the buttons to replay the message. Even if there was nothing personal in her call, he wanted to hear it again.

“Lucas,” she said, then hesitated. “Lucas, please call me at home. No matter how late. We need to talk.”

As he let the receiver slip back into its cradle, conflicting emotions battled within him—joy that she wanted to talk to him, trepidation over why. What if she’d tired of their sham of a marriage? What if she wanted her freedom?

And could he blame her? He’d treated her so shoddily the morning they’d made love, so cruelly. He’d thought only of himself, taking his pleasure in her body and then abandoning her because she’d gotten too close. The sweetness of her touch had nearly exploded the barriers between them and it had terrified him.

But that fear was nothing compared to the terror of losing Allie. He tried to shake loose the sense of dread, to tell himself Allie wouldn’t leave him. He had only to dial his home number and speak to her to allay his fears. But his hands seemed reluctant to move. Even as he assured himself Allie wasn’t calling it quits, he couldn’t shake the sense of impending doom. But what could be worse than Allie leaving?

Something deep inside him knew the answer. A little voice he’d struggled for years to keep walled in. A part of him that had grown stronger during this brief time with Allie.

Too much pain lay in that direction if he gave that voice credence. Much easier to keep it buried.

Cursing his own cowardice, Lucas lifted the receiver again and punched out his phone number. It rang only once before Allie answered with a breathless, “Hello?”

“It’s me,” he said, keeping his tone brusque.

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