Jade

After my morning ritual of puking and brushing my teeth, I left Lucas sleeping soundly in bed. He looked all rumpled and sexy, and I badly wanted to climb back in with him. I needed some ginger herbal tea and toast more than I yearned to feel the warmth of his arms wrapped around me again. I padded into the kitchen, giggling about the whole barefoot and pregnant thing as I puttered around. The laughter quickly died when I grabbed the paper from the counter. One of the cleaning staff Lucas had hired must have left it there for him to read over breakfast. Looking at the picture of the two of us staring up at me from the society pages, I was relieved to have beaten him down here.

The picture had been taken when he was helping me into the limousine. His hand had slipped from my lower back to the curve of my ass right when the photographer had snapped it. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the look in his eyes was beyond heated. It reminded me of a wild animal who’d caught sight of its prey, and there was no mistaking who he was stalking—his step-sister, as the headline proclaimed in bold print.

“I can’t seem to catch a break,” I mumbled, dropping my head onto the cool granite of the countertop.

“Whatever it is, it can’t be that bad, sweetheart,” Lucas murmured in my ear, wrapping his body around me and pressing mine against the cabinets. “Not when my morning is starting off with the sight of you bent over like this.”

My fist clenched and the crinkling of the newspaper caught his attention. He took a step backwards and slid the paper away from me, smoothing the wrinkles out as he read the article. I swiveled around, picking up my tea and sipping it while I watched him, wanting to see his reaction. His eyes were grave when they met mine once he was done. “Looks like the cat might be out of the bag. I better contact the company’s head of public relations, fill her in on the situation and see how she thinks we should handle it.”

He didn’t look too upset, which surprised me considering what he’d told me about keeping our relationship quiet just the other day. It gave me hope for our future as a couple, but I didn’t like being called a situation. I sure as heck didn’t appreciate someone else getting to decide how, if, and when we talked about our relationship.

“I’ll give you five days, Lucas.”

“For what, sweetheart?” he asked distractedly, staring down at his cell phone while he typed out a message.

“Five days to figure out how you’re going to handle the situation.” I practically spit the words out. “I’m giving you five days to decide exactly how important I am to you.”

My explanation certainly captured his attention, and his anger too, judging by the hint of fury in his eyes. “And what exactly happens after then?”

“I refuse to be your dirty secret. My mom was married to your dad one day before they died. We weren’t raised together. Heck, we didn’t even know each other when we first met, when we created a life together.” My hand curled around my stomach protectively. “I’m not ashamed of what happened between us, of my feelings for you. For six weeks, I knew what it felt like to miss you. I like having you back in my life. More than like it, even.”

I took a step closer to him, resting my hand on his chest while I stared up into his eyes. “I’m falling for you, Lucas. So hard and fast that I’m already half-in-love with you. Maybe even all the way.”

His eyes lit with male satisfaction at my admission. “You have to know I l—“

I pressed my finger to his lips, stopping the flow of words. “Not like this.” I shook my head emphatically, tears welling in my eyes. Stupid hormones. “Not right now. I want you to take these five days and really think about what you want. It can’t be a knee-jerk reaction to the thought of losing me or the baby. And while you’re thinking, you have to know I’d never keep you from him or her. Your decision needs to be about where you see our relationship going. Just the two of us, as a couple.”

“Dammit, Jade, you’re not being fair.”

“I’m sorry,” I murmured softly. “But I don’t have time to worry about fair. I’m carrying your baby and I have my debut show to get ready for in five days. Once it’s over, I’ll be ready to hear what you have to say. Until then, I’ll keep my lips shut to the press if anyone happens to call me. I won’t be easy to find, though, since I’ll be busy at the gallery.”

“Too busy to spend time with me?” Disappointment was clear in his tone, and there might even have been a hint of hurt there too.

“I’ll be home each night,” I sighed. “In your bed, if that’s where you want me.”

“Then I guess we have a deal. Five days from today, the minute your art show is over, you’ll have an answer,” he gritted out, swooping down to claim my mouth in a brutal kiss. “In the meantime, your ass better be in my bed each night. Or else.”

My knees buckled when he strode out of the room, and I moved over to the padded seat in front of the picture window and dropped down onto it. I’d snagged my phone off the counter on my way across the room and typed out a 911 text to my best friend. We’d been playing phone tag ever since I’d found out Lucas was my step-brother and I was pregnant with his baby. I’d had too much going on to worry about not connecting with her, but now it was urgent I spoke with her. I needed my bestie, she was the only person in the world who could possibly understand what I was going through. Lucky for me it only took about a minute before my phone rang with her call.

“Are you okay?” Bailey whispered frantically. I heard the rustling of fabric and realized I’d probably pulled her out of bed.

“Crap! I’m sorry,” I apologized. “I didn’t stop to think you might still be in bed.”

“Don’t worry about it. My sleep schedule is all messed up. I was just taking a little nap while a miracle was happening in the nursery. Jack and Julia are both down for an early morning nap.”

“This can wait while you catch up on your sleep.” It really couldn’t wait long, but I felt like I should offer since she was a sleep-deprived mom with two three-month-olds.

“Shut up,” she practically growled. “Well, not really. You know what I mean. You would never have sent me our emergency code unless it was urgent. So spill the beans. Now.”

Spill them I did. I let her know about everything that had happened since we last spoke a week and a half ago. About Lucas being my step-brother, the pregnancy, and my feelings for him. I didn’t spare a single detail, well except for a few about our sex life.

“Whoa!” She whistled once I was finally done. “It sounds like you found yourself in one hell of a situation, Jade.”

“That’s the understatement of the year,” I groaned.

“How about I give you the same advice you gave me back when I came home to pack up my mom’s house?”

I thought back to our dinner that night and laughed softly. “This is entirely different, Bailey. I told you to give him a chance, because from everything you’d told me about him, I knew he wanted you forever. You assumed Wyatt didn’t want a relationship with you when he really did, but Lucas was the one to walk away from me after he accused me of horrible things. And even after we moved past all of that, he still said he wanted to keep our relationship a secret.”

“But not forever,” she pointed out gently. “Just until he figured out a way to protect his company, his father’s legacy. Your child’s future.”

“Well, crap,” I mumbled. “When you put it that way, I guess I can understand it a little better.”

“And from everything you told me, it sounds like he’s crazy about you.”

“Do you really think so?” I cried.

“Yeah, Jade. I really do.”

* * *

The night had been a rousing success. Almost all of my paintings had a sold sign underneath them. The prices listed by the gallery owner had been astronomical, and I couldn’t believe how much I’d earned with my art. All in one night. I should have been over the moon happy, but all I could think about was the conversation I was about to have with Lucas. He’d hired a limousine for us again, but the ride home from the gallery was so different from the one back from L’étang. The only contact between the two of us was his hand clenched around mine as we rode in silence.

The last five days had passed much as our first few living together had, except I wasn’t home as much because I was busy working on the final touches for my show. Lucas woke me up every morning with a cup of my tea and a couple slices of dry toast. He had lunch delivered to me each day, and dinner waiting at home at night. Not a single night had passed without us making love, and I’d slept soundly in his arms afterward. It was all perfect—except for my ultimatum hanging over us like a dark cloud.

Lucas took me at my word, and we hadn’t spoken of it. I hadn’t told him I loved him again, and he hadn’t shared with me how he felt. I had no idea what he had decided, and the suspense was killing me. By the time the limo pulled into the drive, my stomach was twisted in knots. I didn’t notice the driver had parked in front of the garage instead of the front door until Lucas helped me from the car. Lights flickered in the windows of the second story apartment. Lucas helped me up the stairs and I gasped when he swung the door open and I realized it was candles causing the glow.

Rose petals were scattered on the floor, and when I glanced up at the skylights, I saw twinkling stars in the night sky. The stage had definitely been set for romance, but I couldn’t figure out why we were here instead of in the main house. As though Lucas had read my mind, he flipped the light switch on the wall and my question was answered.

“A studio?” I gasped, twirling around the room and gawking at all the equipment he’d had brought in. “You turned the apartment into a studio for me?”

“I did,” he confirmed, dropping down to one knee in front of me. “My wife is an artist. She needed a studio so she can share her incredible talent with the world. It’s why I had my assistant working on it since the morning after I found out about the pregnancy.”

The morning after… he’d been working on this since before my ultimatum. I didn’t realize how important it was to me until this very moment.

“I’m not your wife yet.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a flawless diamond ring. “In my heart you are, Jade. I haven’t been able to forget about you since the moment we met. If I hadn’t allowed past experiences to cloud my better judgment, I never would have let you go and you’d already have my ring on your finger. I love you,” he paused to look down at the ring, moving it to the tip of my finger. “And I want the world to know you’re mine. Will you marry me?”

The studio, gorgeous diamond ring, and proposal, it was more than I’d ever dreamt about how this conversation would go. It looked like Lucas had used every minute I’d given him to set out to prove how he felt about me. There was only one possible answer I could give. “Yes.”