Lead Me On (28 page)

Should he ask her to help him find an apartment, or find one on his own and tell her after the fact? As for asking her outright to move in with him, he had a feeling he'd be wiser to ease her into that idea. She could move her things gradually, one overnight bag at a time.

Which brought him to the last obstacle: the tiny, little matter of telling her he'd been born Scott LeRoche.

He stood for a moment, letting the spray of the shower beat down on his back as he imagined what she'd say. In his mind, he saw her smile and call him silly for worrying as she assured him it didn't matter.

Yeah, right, buddy, in your dreams.

He'd think about it later, he decided. He had enough to deal with today already since his sister was coming to pick up Chloe. He'd deal with that first, then decide when and how to tell Allison he was the son of the man who was trying to destroy her business, a member of the family she'd hated all her life. She was jittery enough as it was without dropping that bombshell on her. Yes, waiting to tell her was definitely best.

Allison felt Scott enter the room, like a shift in the air that made her skin tingle. She straightened from pouring a glass of juice for a guest and glanced over her shoulder. He stopped in the doorway, his hands in the pockets of his shorts and a contented smile on his face.

"Morning, Uncle Scott," Chloe called as she plowed through her breakfast of French toast.

"Morning," he said to his niece, but his smiling gaze remained fixed on Allison.

Heat rose in her cheeks. "Can I get you coffee?"

"Depends." He nodded to the nearly full table. "Do you need any help?"

"No. Chance has come down out of the clouds enough to be useful again."

"In that case, I'd love some coffee."

While he went to the buffet, Allison turned her attention back to the other guests, encouraging them to chat among themselves, tell where they were from and their plans for the day.

"Do you know, I think the stories about the Good Luck Ghost are true," one of the new guests, a woman from Dallas, told the others. "I had the most amazing thing happen this morning."

"Oh?" An older woman from Oklahoma City perked up. "Well, don't be stingy, honey. Tell. Tell."

"A year ago, I lost my wedding ring." The Dallas woman smiled apologetically at her husband. "I thought it had been stolen, since I'd left it in a locker while working out at my club. I've looked through everything that was in my gym bag at least a hundred times. Then, this morning, I opened my makeup case, and there it was! Sitting right there winking at me." She held up her left hand, showing off the ring. "Isn't that incredible, that it just reappeared like that?"

Her story sparked the usual debate among the guests about the existence of ghosts in general and Marguerite in particular.

Listening with half an ear, Allison poured some juice for Chloe. "So, are you ready for your mother to pick you up today?"

"Yep." The girl swirled a bite of French toast through a pool of syrup. "Especially since she agreed to take me to all the Zephyrs' home games if I don't run away again."

Scott laughed as he sliced into his pan-fried ham and pineapple. "You are such a little blackmailer."

"Please, if you don't mind, I prefer the term 'opportunist' "

"Yeah, and the pirates of the gulf preferred the term 'privateer.' "

Chloe sighed dramatically, much to the amusement of the other guests. "The true entrepreneurs of every age are always misunderstood."

" 'Entrepreneurs'? " Scott chuckled. "What have you been doing, reading my thesaurus?"

"Well, if you were a normal guy, like Amy Sutter- field's dad, you'd keep something interesting in your nightstand, like Playboy magazines instead of dictionaries."

Everyone laughed as Scott shook his head. "Please, Chloe. There are some things uncles don't want to know."

"Try being a father," one of the men said.

Scott went very still, then slowly raised his gaze to Allison as if considering the idea. Her heart began to pound at the thought of having a child with him. The doctors said she could carry full term, but would she ever have the courage to try for another baby?

"Maybe someday," Scott said to the other man. "Right now, I'm content to take life a day at a time."

Allison nodded, realizing the words were a reminder of their new agreement: no holding back, but no rushing things, either.

"Hey, Chance," Chloe greeted as he came in with a fresh tray for the buffet. "Do you think I could go see the baby before I leave?"

"You bet." A smile split his face. "I'll let Aurora know to expect you."

"Cool."

"You too, Scott," Chance added. "Adrian says you were there for most of the big event, so you might as well come see the end result."

Scott looked a bit startled but pleased by the invitation. "Thanks, I appreciate that."

As the focus of the room shifted to the proud new father, Allison moved over to Scott on the pretense of refilling his coffee cup. "You don't have to go if it makes you feel awkward."

"No, I'd like to see the baby." The closeness of their bodies lent a sense of intimacy. "Can you get away later, though, after Chloe leaves? I'd like to go someplace quiet where we can talk."

A wary look in his eyes made the words sound slightly ominous, but she brushed the notion aside. "I'm sure I can manage something."

"Good." He nodded. "For now, though, I need to get my niece packed and ready to go. Chloe, you done eating?"

"All done." The girl wiped her mouth, and jumped up. He mussed her hair as they headed out of the dining room.

Allison watched them go, marveling at the kind heart that lay hidden beneath Scott's cynical facade. What a wonderful husband and father he would make ... if she ever had the courage to take that sort of risk. If he was even thinking along those lines. Nerves fluttered in her belly, but she stilled them with a deep breath.
Think about the here and now.

~ ~ ~

Allison stayed busy the rest of the morning with guests browsing through the shop before checking out. The steady traffic kept her from going with Scott and Chloe to see the baby, but in a way, she was glad. The last two days had held enough emotional upheaval. Seeing Scott hold baby Lauren might be more than she could handle.

So even when she found herself alone in the shop with nothing to do, she grabbed a feather duster and busied herself cleaning displays. In all, she was quite pleased with how calm she felt, and even more pleased with her family's acceptance of the man she'd decided to let into her life.

Things were going to be fine, she told herself. Just

fine.

"Hello?" someone called.

Allison turned at the sound of the voice and saw a tall, elegant woman standing in the central hall wearing a bright purple pantsuit and lethal-looking high heels. The woman's stance reminded her of Chloe's pampered-rich-girl act the day she'd first arrived.

Smiling, Allison stepped into the hall and offered her hand in greeting. "Hello. You must be Chloe's mother, Diane. I'm Allison."

The woman raised a brow as she took in Allison's simple sundress, worn sandals, and scant makeup, then dismissed her with a dramatic wave of the hand. "Sorry if I'm late. You would not be-
lieve
the morning I've had. First the limo service I hired to pick me up at Houston Hobby apparently
lost
the order. If you can imagine. Lost it! I had to rent a car on the spot. Of course, they couldn't have anything sporty or even nice. I'd have settled for some boring luxury car, but no, all they had was a 'compact.' I've decided they call them compacts because they aren't any bigger than a makeup case, for heaven's sake. Uncomfortable seats,
no
acceleration, and the road noise ... Gawd, it's so loud, you can barely hear the radio. Well, no matter, I'm here, I'm famished, and I plan to drag my reclusive brother away from the computer long enough for him to take me and Chloe out for lunch. I trust he's around."

"Mom!" Chloe gave a happy shriek from the stairs, then bounded forward to launch herself into her mother's arms.

"Ooo, baby, I missed you," Diane cooed in a childish voice against her daughter's hair. "Are you all packed and ready to go?"

"Yep. Did you meet Alli? She's really neat" Chloe turned to Allison with her head against her mother's. The nearly identical features looked completely different; Chloe with her ball cap and baggy clothes, Diane with her sleek hair and expertly applied makeup. "This is my mom."

"So I gathered." Allison marveled at the reunion. Two weeks ago, Chloe had run away from this woman, now she welcomed her with a child's unconditional love.

"Come up and see my room." Chloe tugged on her mother's hand. "I'll tell you all about the sunken ship in the cove and the ghosts and everything."

"Chloe, can't we just get your things and go? My head is splitting and I already know about the ship and the ghosts. Or have you forgotten, we used to own this place? Of course, back then, it was a dilapidated dump." She glanced around. "This is a vast improvement."

Allison went very still, certain she'd heard wrong. "What did you say?"

"A vast improvement. You've really fixed the place

up."

"No," Alli whispered, "about owning the house."

Chloe's face went stiff, while Diane trailed a hand through the air. "Surely Scott told you our father, John LeRoche, owned the house until a year ago."

"Mo-
om
!" Chloe glared at her.

"But how can that be?" Ice formed in Allison's stomach. "His name is Lawrence, not LeRoche."

"Oh, that's just a name he took to piss off John. I can't believe he didn't tell you all this since he's been here, what, three weeks?"

"Mother!"
Chloe grabbed Diane's arm. "We told you not to say anything."

"What?" Diane blinked, then tapped her forehead with her manicured nails. "Oh yes. I remember now. Scott didn't want anyone here to know for some reason. Sorry, I forgot." She smiled and shrugged. "Where is he, by the way?"

"I'll go get him," Allison offered in an even voice, then walked to the steps on wooden legs. Behind her, she could hear Chloe berating her mother, but the words couldn't compete with the buzzing in her head.

Anger and pain mounted with every step. She watched with detachment as her fist lifted and rapped on the door to his room. He opened it and smiled at her, that wonderful lopsided smile that she'd grown to love. Actually love! What a fool she'd been to trust fate again.

A lump rose in her throat, and she wondered frantically if it was a mistake. Maybe she'd misunderstood Diane. "May I come in?"

"Absolutely." He glanced into the hall, to be sure they were alone, then slipped a hand about her arm and started to draw her toward him.

"No!" She held up a hand. "Don't. Don't touch me." She went all the way into the sitting area to get away from him. Her breath felt trapped in her chest, and she couldn't seem to get any air out or in.

"Allison? What is it?'

She turned to face him. "Your sister's here."

His expression turned wary as he closed the door. "And?"

"Is it true? Are you ... are you John LeRoche's son?"

Scott closed his eyes. "I was going to tell you."

"Oh, my God." She covered her mouth.

"I swear, I was going to tell you."

"When?" she demanded. "You've been here three weeks!"

"I know, but I couldn't. Not before." He started toward her, needing to hold her and soothe her. "You've got to believe me—"

"Do not touch me!" She stepped away with her arms wrapped about her middle. "How could you do this? Was it all some kind of joke? Were you calling your father to brag and laugh behind my back?"

"Allison, how can you say that? How can you even think it! I would never use you, or any woman, that way." He moved closer, and this time when she tried to step away, he slipped a hand about her arm. "Listen to me, I'm not Peter. I don't use women, then brag about it. You can scream at me for not telling you I'm related to John LeRoche, but don't hang some other man's sins on me."

"Why didn't you tell me? Did you come here to spy on us? To help your father win the lawsuit?'

"No! It had nothing to do with him. In the beginning, I didn't tell you because I don't tell anyone. That's why I never do personal interviews. My connection to John LeRoche is nobody's business. As for my name, I didn't lie, it is Scott Lawrence. I had it changed legally years ago before I was even published."