Delicious (48 page)

gun and fire quickly enough. She, however, might be able to use the

element of surprise.

“You.” Joshua pointed his gun at Luc, then waved it to the left.

“Lindsey is mine. She‟s always been mine. For touching her, you‟ll die.”

“It‟s Alyssa, asshole,” she sneered. “And I hate you. Rot in hell!”

While he stared at her in growing anger, she grabbed Luc‟s gun, then

shoved him aside. Vaguely, she heard him stumble. Joshua was distracted

by the commotion long enough for Alyssa to grip the unfamiliar gun, point,

and . . .

Bang!

As the sound crashed through her ears, Joshua slapped a hand to his

chest and staggered back. When he pulled his fingers away from his white

shirt, they came away red. A crimson stain began spreading across his

shirt.

“Bitch!” Joshua muttered, then staggered.

To her horror, he righted himself and raised his gun again.

Luc jumped in front of her and ripped the gun from her hands. Before

she could protest, he‟d planted his body in front of hers, aimed, and fired.

The loud shot reverberated through the little space, ringing in her ears.

Joshua‟s head snapped back. As he fell to his knees, blood oozed

from the wound right between his eyes.

Alyssa jumped as he dropped into a noisy heap on her hardwoods. His

gun fell out of his lax hand and skittered across the floor.

Luc kicked it away from Joshua, until it rested at his feet. Never taking

his eyes off of her stepbrother, he steadied his own gun and pointed it

again at the sick bastard.

Alyssa took a step toward Joshua and bent.

“No!” Luc insisted. “It could be a trick.”

“Then cover me.” She swallowed. “I need this.”

And damn it, she wasn‟t at all shaken by the thought she might have

helped kill her stepbrother. In fact, she was holding her breath, hoping she

had. If so, she‟d throw a fucking party.

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Downstairs, they heard a commotion, then a loud thump as the front

door hit the foyer wall. Footsteps poured inside, pounding up the stairs, just

as Alyssa bent to Joshua and put her fingers on his carotid.

“Well?” Luc prompted.

“You okay, Ms. Devereaux?” Remy asked, standing on the stair

directly behind Joshua.

“Mrs. Traverson,” Luc corrected Remy tersely, then turned back to her.

“Sugar?”

She stood and smiled—really smiled—for the first time in fourteen

years. “The son of a bitch is dead.”

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T
HE blisteringly clear Friday afternoon gusted through Lafayette.

Alyssa watched out the living room window as she paced, waiting. Half an

hour before she was due at the obstetrician‟s office. Luc had begged her to

let him accompany her to the appointment. No sign of him so far.

She sighed. What was up with that man?

“You have that „I‟m thinking about Luc‟ look on your face,” Sadie

teased.

Alyssa rolled her eyes at her own ridiculousness. She‟d taken steps to

end her marriage to Luc, yet she couldn‟t stop thinking about him. This

morning, she‟d fondled her wedding ring, sorely tempted to put it on just to

feel closer to him.

“I don‟t understand Luc,” she confessed. “It‟s been almost a week

since we shot Joshua.”

“A bastard more deserving of a pine box I‟ve never met.” Sadie

gripped her hand. “Honey, why didn‟t you tell any of us about your past?”

Because it had been her shame, and she‟d buried it ruthlessly, using it

to fortify her iron heart so that she‟d never get too close to anyone else

again. Luc had melted her defenses and filled her soul. Now she felt

incomplete without him.

For me, there’ll never be anyone else I’ll love half as much as you
.

As she nibbled on a fingernail, those words ran through Alyssa‟s head.

Had Luc really meant that or had the possibility of her and the baby‟s

deaths prompted him to say those words?

“I just wanted to keep it behind me,” Alyssa said finally. “Besides, I

never imagined that Joshua had seen me at my mother‟s funeral,

recognized me, hired someone to hunt me down . . .”

“You mad at Tyler?”

The question rattled around in her head. “Not mad. He was doing a

job. Tyler said that Joshua didn‟t act creepy or obsessive until after he‟d

located me and turned over the information. He actually put his life on hold

to protect me because he feared the worst.”

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“And because he was hoping you‟d give him the time of day.”

Alyssa grimaced. “That, too.”

“Did he say what he‟s going to do now?”

After hours on Monday, he‟d insisted on seeing her home, making sure

all was well and safe since Luc had left . . .

What did you expect a man you served annulment papers to do
?
Stay

so you could throw him out more creatively?

“He wants to remain in Lafayette. Says he likes it here and had no real

ties in Los Angeles. Jack and Deke offered him a job. Apparently, they‟ve

been turning away business because they‟re short-handed, and Deke

wants to spend more time with Kimber since they have a baby on the way.”

“You do, too, girlfriend. When is that appointment? Shouldn‟t you be

leaving?”

Stomach clenching, Alyssa glanced at her watch and winced. “I‟ll give

Luc five more minutes; then if you‟re still game . . .”

“Absolutely, I‟ll go with you. A girl needs moral support for these

things,” Sadie offered, then smiled sadly. “Though I know you‟d rather have

Luc.”

Alyssa couldn‟t refute that. After Joshua‟s attack nearly a week ago

and after she and Luc had answered all of Remy‟s questions, she‟d

expected him to stay, confront her about the annulment. At least voice an

opinion. But he‟d only stolen a kiss, told her loved her and pleaded to go to

her doctor‟s appointment, then left for Texas. Midweek, her curiosity had

gotten the better of her, and she‟d called Luc to ask him the million

questions floating through her brain. Again, he‟d only told her that he loved

her and would be there on Friday to pick her up. She tried to put him out of

her head and focus on the myriad items on her to-do list, but no luck.

Sadie glanced at her watch. “Why don‟t you get your purse together?

I‟ll meet you in the car. I‟m parked out front.”

Alyssa tried to stifle her disappointment at Luc‟s no-show long enough

to smile for her friend. “Sure. Thanks.”

As soon as she heard the
click
of the door behind Sadie, Alyssa felt

pesky tears sting her eyes. Damn it, she had a doctor to see, a baby to

confer about. If Luc had suddenly embraced the annulment . . . well, maybe

it was for the best. At least she tried to tell herself that. The last week

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without him, she‟d come to realize that she would never be completely

happy or completely whole without him.

But she also knew that she couldn‟t be married to a man she loved this

fervently who remained only to be with the child he‟d always dreamed of

having. Without Luc‟s love, sharing a home, a bed, and a last name would

be hollow. Eventually, it would tear them apart. If he didn‟t truly love her
for
her
, better that she know now—not when the child was cranky for a

nighttime feeding . . . or when he or she began kindergarten . . . or when

they had their first sporting event, first crush, first heartbreak . . . or when

Luc finally found the woman to whom he could devote his heart—and left

her an empty, broken shell.

Even though she was saving herself more pain later, it fucking hurt

now.

Swallowing back the tears, she grabbed her purse, set the new alarm,

and carefully shut the door behind her. After locking it, she turned toward

Sadie‟s car at the curb.

Except it was gone.

What the devil?
Shaking her head, she followed the
L
of her walkway to the driveway.

There stood Luc, looking at his watch.

Her breath caught. Her heart stopped. He‟d made it.

Why?

Thoughts racing, she took tentative steps forward. Luc looked up, saw

her—and darted her way.

He cupped her cheek and placed a gentle kiss on her lips, over almost

as soon as it started. “Hi, sugar. I‟ve missed you.”

Those chocolate eyes looked so earnest, so honest. God, why was he

doing this to her? If he still wanted her, why didn‟t he just tell her he didn‟t

want the annulment? Or maybe he did want it? She was so confused . . .

“Hi. Thanks for taking me to the appointment.”

“I wouldn‟t miss it for the world.” He opened the passenger door and

held it as she slid inside.

So was his affection for her merely that of for the mother of his child?

As he hopped in the driver‟s seat and glanced her way, there was

something on his face she‟d never seen before. The heat was still there. He

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wanted
her, no question. That expression said he wanted to devour her

now—and to keep doing it for hours, days. It was tempered by something

warm, like sweet sunshine honey. Something like . . . affection. Even hope.

His smile seemed to say there was no one he‟d rather be with.

How much of that was tangled up in his feelings for the baby?

He grabbed her hand and backed the Jaguar out of the driveway. She

knew she should release him . . . but she couldn‟t find the strength to let go.

“Have Remy or the boys been out to question you again or give you

more information about Joshua‟s attack?” he asked.

“No. Once Remy cleared us of any sort of homicide charge, I just didn‟t

want to talk about it anymore.”

“You must be relieved that Joshua is gone. Your past can‟t come back

to haunt you again.” He squeezed her hand.

She took strength in his caress. This wasn‟t a topic she could discuss

with anyone . . . but him. He really
knew
her in a way no one else did. For that, she was grateful.

“I still wish I could have reconciled with my mother, but maybe that

was impossible. She didn‟t want to believe me because it made her life too

difficult, and I have no respect for that.”

“What Joshua did to you was terrible. Tragic. What she did was

worse.” Luc‟s warm gaze wrapped her in a soft blanket of comfort.

It would be so easy to sink in . . . get lost. And so painful later.

“I work every day on forgiving her. It‟s a day-by-day thing.”

“Everything that happened made you who you are today—strong,

independent, savvy, pragmatic. I wouldn‟t change a thing about you. You‟re

the woman I love.”

Her heart seized. How badly she wanted to believe him. “Luc . . .”

“Shh.” He pulled up in front of the hospital complex. “Let‟s see the

doctor now. Later, we‟ll talk through this.”

Damn it, she didn‟t want to put it off. Alyssa didn‟t deal well with

shoving unpleasant things aside. Why not just get it over with? But they

could hardly discuss their marital issues in the waiting room. She sighed.

Within minutes, the obstetrician‟s nurse called them back and she

greeted the pleasant fortysomething woman who examined her while Luc

sat in the chair behind her and held her hand.

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“Would you like to hear the baby‟s heartbeat?”

“Please.” She smiled.

“Very much.”

Alyssa couldn‟t see Luc‟s face, but she could hear the sincerity in his

voice.

The doctor applied a cool gel to her abdomen, then a plastic wand and

. . .

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh
. A little beating heart. The sound filled the

room, young, tender yet remarkably hardy. A miracle.

Tears filled her eyes. “Oh, my God.”

Luc squeezed her hand even harder. “I‟ve never heard anything so

amazing.”

She heard the tears in his voice, too.

“Very strong and healthy,” the doctor promised. “On the slower side,

which could indicate a boy, but we‟ll know for sure when we do the

ultrasound around week twenty.”

A boy?
Alyssa‟s heart clenched, then pitter-pattered. She‟d love a boy.

Or a girl. She‟d love this child, no matter what. And she loved that, no

matter what happened, it would always be part of Luc.

Finally, the other woman measured her abdomen, chatted a bit about

what to expect over the next month, then sent her on her way. As they

settled with the receptionist and exited the building, Luc gripped her hand.

They reached his car, and he stopped her, turning her to face him.

“Thank you for sharing that with me. I will be forever grateful, no matter

what happens in the future. I‟d like fifteen minutes more of your time, if

you‟ll spare them. Then, if you still want to proceed with the annulment, I

won‟t stop you.”

Denial and fear slammed her at once, and she tried to block them out.

The annulment was—ultimately—a good thing, right? So why should

everything inside her rebel at the thought that he wouldn‟t fight it?

She just loved him too damn much.

“All right.” Her voice shook.

Without another word, they returned to her house, and she showed

him into the living room. They sat on the sofa, less than two feet apart.