Lush (21 page)

“Until we’re past our one-year mark?”

“Something like that.”

He lifted her chin with his finger so she had to look up at him. “Something like what? Be honest.”

“I guess I just want to make sure we’re as strong as we can be before we bring another child into the world. And that it’s a safe world.”

He studied her for a moment, his wild blue eyes searching for something. Maybe that tiny seed of doubt she still carried where he was concerned. He’d changed a lot since they’d been together before. In big and in small ways. The memory of him bending his secretary over his desk still haunted her sometimes, only now the memories were of people she hardly recognized anymore. They weren’t the same people they’d been the first time around.

They wouldn’t make the same mistakes.

“I want to make sure Kevin can’t hurt us ever again,” she said. “I can’t bring another child into this nightmare.”

“I agree.” He looked like he was going to say something more, but then nuzzled her neck instead. “About that second DNA sample…”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

“Lucy, let’s go,” Cal hollered up the stairs. “We’re going to be late if we don’t leave in the next five minutes.”

“I’m coming!”

Ten minutes later Lucy came barreling down the stairs, her shoes and purse in one hand and two presents in the other. Cal met her halfway and relieved her of her packages.

“Two presents?”

She slipped her shoes on. “One for Crosby and one for Mi.”

Cal eyed the packages as he held the front door open for his wife. He knew Rob Crosby, the director of
Pleasure at Home
, had specifically requested no gifts. “What did you get for Crosby?”

“Scotch.”

“Good call.”

He helped her into the car, and then they were finally on their way to the party. He’d lied when he’d told her they had five minutes, padding their timing by fifteen minutes. And it was a good thing he did. He hated being late, even to a retirement party/baby shower.

“I can’t believe Crosby’s retiring. I thought for sure he’d keel over in his director’s chair at ninety-three while yelling at one of the grips.”

Cal had promised Crosby he wouldn’t tell anyone the real reason Crosby was retiring early—he had terminal cancer and wanted to spend his last days with his family. It hadn’t been an easy thing, making that promise to his friend or keeping it. Lucy had worked with Crosby for two years. If she knew he was keeping this info about Crosby from her, she’d be very upset with him. And the last thing he wanted was his wife upset with him.

Things between them for the past few weeks had been really good. Incredible. The article about Lucy had been published with a completely different slant than he imagined Priscilla Barnes had had in mind. But then, her name hadn’t appeared in the byline.

They hadn’t heard a thing from Lucy’s asshole ex, and Cal had begun to wonder if maybe he wasn’t gearing up for something. Of course he didn’t share his concerns with Lucy. She had started to hope that maybe Walker had lost interest. Lucas had been keeping an eye out, and so far Walker hadn’t shown up on any police blotter or in any morgue. He was still out there…somewhere.

They drove up to the TV station where
Pleasure at Home
was filmed, which looked like every other office building in the industrial park it was located in. Lucy jumped out of the car before Cal threw it into park, excited to be seeing her old friends again. He angled out of the car and slid on his Stetson, pulling it low to shade his eyes. He got the presents out of the backseat and jogged to catch up to his wife.

“I’m thinking we need to get you out of the house more often, darlin’, if you’re this starved for company that you’d leave me behind to carry your packages.”

Lucy slipped her arm through Cal’s. “It feels like forever since I’ve seen Mi, and it has absolutely been forever since I’ve seen Crosby and the rest of the crew. I have good memories here, Cal. Working here was one of the highlights of my life…other than having Poppy.”

“And marrying me.”

“Well, yes. And that too. Of course.”

He laughed. She always made him laugh. And kept him honest.

They entered the studio to find the party in full swing. Lucy broke away to greet her friends. Cal spotted Lucas off to the side leaning against the wall. After handing the presents off to one of the production assistants, he headed for his friend.

Cal had met Lucas so many years ago, he’d lost track of how long they’d known each other. Lucas was Cal’s opposite in just about every way, but somehow their friendship worked. Cal had learned long ago not to question the why of it. He was so damn lucky to have a friend like Lucas.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” Lucas replied.

“Where’d you get that beer?”

Lucas reached into the cooler next to him, pulled out a beer, and handed it to Cal.

“Thanks. Looks like the wives are glad to see each other.”

Across the room Lucy and Mi were embracing and crying like they hadn’t seen each other in years.

“Mi’s been so busy training Elisa and getting ready for the baby she hasn’t had much spare time.”

“I hear your sister’s a natural at selling sex toys,” Cal teased.

Lucas made a face. “I owe you a punch in the throat for hiring her.”

“She’s a grown woman. Attractive. Smart. The audience loves her. You should be happy. With Elisa taking over the show, Mi will have more time to spend with you and the baby when he comes.”

“You’re not the only one to notice my sister’s attractiveness,” Lucas grumbled.

Cal tracked his friend’s gaze across the room to where
Pleasure at Home
’s new director, Ian Kershaw, stood talking to one of the cameramen. Only Kershaw’s gaze wasn’t on the man in front of him—it was firmly latched on to Elisa’s ass. Cal could hardly blame the man. Lucas’s sister had caught Cal’s eye a time or two back in the day. Tall like the rest of the Vegas, Elisa had long dark hair, exotic looks, a nice firm ass, and a rack any man would love to get his hands on. And it looked like that was exactly what Ian Kershaw had in mind.

Cal chuckled. “Like I said…she’s a grown woman.”

“Don’t you have some kind of rule about romance in the workplace you could enforce?”

“It’d be hypocritical of me, seeing as how I slept with Lucy when she was the host of
Pleasure at Home
.” Cal tipped his beer toward Lucas. “And of you too, since I do believe you were in my employ when you took up with Mi. Moved her right into your house
and
your bed.”

Lucas shifted his feet. “That doesn’t count. Damn. He’s coming our way.”

Ian Kershaw made his way across the room to where Lucas and Cal stood. Elisa followed his movement,
her
gaze firmly on
Kershaw’s
ass.

“Looks like the attraction’s mutual.” Cal clapped his friend on the shoulder and laughed. “Be nice. Kershaw could end up being your brother-in-law.”

“Fuck off,” Lucas muttered.

“Hello, Mr. Sellers.” Ian held his hand out, and Cal shook it. “Thanks again for the opportunity here at
Pleasure at Home
.”

“Call me Cal.” He gestured toward Lucas. “Have you met Lucas Vega, Mi’s husband…and Elisa’s brother?”

“No, I don’t believe we’ve met.” Ian shook Lucas’s hand, managing to not grimace at the excessive force Lucas used. “Nice to meet you.”

Lucas grunted.

Despite Lucas’s feelings toward the man, Cal was grateful to have him aboard. Just when Cal thought they’d never find a new director for the show, Ian Kershaw’s resume had come across his desk. Ian was overqualified for the job, and in accepting it took a pay cut. Cal had Lucas check out Kershaw, and he couldn’t find any reason why the man would take a career step down to move from California to Dallas. He’d left his last job in L.A. with a glowing recommendation from a popular reality TV show’s producer, sold his home in Malibu, and moved to Texas where—according to Lucas’s report on the man—he had no friends or family.

“You’re all settled in then?” Cal asked.

“We start taping the new shows with Elisa as the host next week. I’ve already been over the marketing plan, and the new products have arrived. Mr. Crosby’s been invaluable in helping me get to know everyone and how things work. Everything’s set.”

“Glad to hear it.”

“Hello, gentlemen.” Elisa slid in between Cal and Ian. She nodded at her brother. “Lucas.”

“Your brother’s more of a gentleman than I am,” Cal said, smiling despite Lucas’s scowl. Cal gave Elisa a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I guess this is my official chance to welcome you to
Pleasure at Home
.”

Elisa had swept into the studio and delivered an audition that blew everyone away, including Crosby. And he wasn’t easy to please. Lucas, on the other hand, had not been pleased. It was one thing for his wife to sell sex toys on TV, and quite another for his sister to do it.

After watching Elisa’s tapes, there was no way Cal was going to bend to his friend’s wishes. Elisa was a natural. She glowed on camera the same way Mi and Lucy had, only Elisa had a little something more. Cal couldn’t put his finger on what exactly that something was, but he heard the sound of cash being sorted while he watched Elisa, and he was sold.

“Thank you. I absolutely love it here. It’s my dream job.”

Lucas curled his lip at his sister. “Your dream job is touching fake cocks all day?”

“It was good enough for your wife.” She gestured toward Cal. “And his wife. But it’s not good enough for me? I’m not a virgin, you know, Lucas. I’ve had sex. I
have
sex. I’ve even tried out some of those fake cocks. They’re pretty darn good. If they could earn a paycheck and rub my feet, I wouldn’t need a man at all.”

Lucas glanced up at the ceiling, exasperation with his sister in his body language and tone. “Jesus fucking Christ.”

Cal noticed Ian sneaking a side glance at Elisa, an amused smirk on his face. Was he who Elisa was currently having sex with? Or working toward having sex with? That would be some fast work. For all of the ribbing he gave Lucas and how attractive Elisa was, Cal had only ever seen her as the sister of his best friend. Hell, she was almost a sister to him. He made a note to keep an eye on the situation. Not that Lucas wouldn’t. But Cal had enough distance from Elisa to see things her brother might overlook. And if Elisa knew Cal intended to play honorary brother to her, she’d probably try to kick his ass.

“We can always count on you, Elisa, to tell it like it is.” Cal clinked his beer bottle against hers.

Lucas let out a frustrated sigh and turned to walk away. “I’m going to go find Mi.”

“He’s seen stuff while in the Navy that the rest of us can’t begin to imagine, and yet Lucas gets all puritanical when it comes to sex.” Elisa watched her brother put his arm around his wife. “If Mi wasn’t pregnant, I’d wonder if he ever has sex at all.”

“Give him a break,” Ian said. “No man wants to imagine his sister having sex.”

“Your sister has three kids,” Elisa shot back.

“Immaculate conception.” Ian took a sip from his cup.

Cal noticed that the man wasn’t drinking alcohol, unless the clear liquid in his cup was straight vodka. He doubted it. Cal’s daddy had taught him three things—never trust a woman who only talked about money, never trust a horse showing the whites of its eyes, and never trust a man with something to hide. And something told him that Ian Kershaw had something to hide. Something more than his affair or intended affair with Elisa.

“Welcome aboard, both of you. I’m looking forward to the new shows. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to find my wife.”

Cal left the couple whispering to each other and trying—but failing miserably—at hiding their attraction. He looked around for Lucy, but she was nowhere in sight. He’d made sure that security was tighter than usual. As
Pleasure at Home
seemed to attract more than its fair share of negative attention—some of it threatening—there was always security on the premises. Especially since Mi had been the target of a stalker, and the original building the studio had been in had been blown up by a religious extremist group.

There was no reason for Cal to panic. Lucy was probably in the ladies’ room and would be back shortly. In the meantime, he’d keep an eye on his assistant, Felicia. That business with Priscilla Barnes had revealed a leak in Cal’s otherwise-tight ship. And that leak went by the name of Felicia. She’d been acting strange ever since Cal had gotten married. Her flirting, always easy to ignore, had become more brazen. She’d rub up against any part of Cal she could whenever she could. And her clothes bordered on breaking company policy. But she never did anything that would give him cause to let her go.

There had only been two people in his office when he had proposed the marriage deal to Lucy—him and Lucy. Cal hadn’t given a thought to the fact that Felicia had been on the other side of the door. He certainly hadn’t figured her for bugging his office, but when he had Lucas do a sweep after the magazine interview, they found one. Not only had Lucas found the listening device, but he was able to track it back to Felicia. Cal wasn’t sure if she was working for someone else or if she was using the info she acquired for her own gain. Either way, Felicia was a problem that needed to be solved. He hadn’t gotten where he was by acting too fast or in anger. So he was biding his time, watching Felicia, trying to figure out what her game was and making plans to move against her.

Felicia caught him looking at her, said something to the woman she’d been talking to, and headed over to where Cal was. She was attractive and—if he was honest—that had been part of the reason he’d hired her. She’d also come highly recommended and was a very experienced executive assistant.

“Hello, boss.” Felicia fingered his tie, stroking her thumb along a nonexistent wrinkle. “Nice party.”

He ran a hand down his tie, causing her to drop her hand. “Thanks. I’m glad you’re having a good time.” He looked out over the top of her head for Lucy. “Did you come here with anyone?”

“No.” She angled closer, smashing her breast against his side. “I’m available.”