Madison stepped away from Luke.

Since their one unforgettable night together, Luke was constantly on Maddie’s mind.

When she was close to him, any semblance of her lawyerly deductive reasoning flew right out the window. And when they were in the same room, she felt a physical ache to be in his arms.

Maybe if she had never known the magic of letting him possess her…

And here she’d thought that finally losing her virginity would simplify her life. Ha!

She still wasn’t certain why she’d let Luke—client, confirmed bachelor and longtime buddy—be the first.

But if things could get more complicated, she wasn’t sure how….

The Last Marchetti Bachelor
Teresa Southwick

www.millsandboon.co.uk

For Karen Taylor Richman and Joan Marlow Golan.

Thanks for encouraging me to take a chance.

I hope you’re as pleased with the results as I am.

TERESA SOUTHWICK

is a native Californian who has recently moved to Texas. Living with her husband of twenty-five years and two handsome sons, she is surrounded by heroes. Reading has been her passion since she was a girl. She couldn’t be more delighted that her dream of writing full-time has come true. Her favorite things include: holding a baby, the fragrance of jasmine, walks on the beach, the patter of rain on the roof and, above all, happy endings. Teresa also writes historical romance novels under the same name.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Epilogue

Chapter One

“I understand leaving without telling me goodbye.” Luke Marchetti’s deep, accusing tone said he didn’t understand at all. “But I don’t get why you didn’t tell me you were a virgin.”

Madison Wainright froze in her bedroom doorway and took a deep breath.

Turning to face him she whispered, “Luke.”

“In the flesh.”

And what exceptional flesh he had. He stood beside her queen-size four-poster bed, his thick dark hair still damp from his shower. His smoldering bad-boy good looks took her breath away—the well-shaped nose, square jaw shadowed with whiskers, and dormant dimples. When he scowled, like now, they were barely there. But she’d seen him flash a smile, unleashing dimples that looked as if a sculptor had pressed thumbs into soft clay. The effect could melt most feminine hearts. Except hers, of course. But with that white terry cloth towel loosely knotted and slung low on his lean hips, he could be the poster boy for tall, dark, dangerous and tempting.

“Why, Maddie?”

While he’d showered, she’d debated whether or not she could face him after doing “the deed.” Finally she’d slipped on jeans and a T-shirt. Now she pressed a cardigan against her breasts, as if that could shield her from his gaze. Since he’d already seen her without a stitch, it was rather like closing the barn door after the horse got loose.

“Why am I leaving my own condo? Or why didn’t I tell you about the ‘V’ issue?”

“Either. Both.” He lifted his powerful shoulders in a shrug.

He was her three-dimensional definition of the word hunk, not that she’d had gobs of personal experience evaluating the opposite sex in various stages of undress. But she was nothing if not opinionated. And her opinion was that she liked his tall, lean body. She liked the hair on his chest.

Stubbornly she resisted the urge to sigh. Even now she remembered the way her right palm had tingled as she’d run her hand across the oh-so-masculine contours. Now, in the daylight, she added visual to her tactile memory and saw that the dusting of hair tapered to a vee just above the spot where his pesky plain white towel tenaciously clung as if by magic to his hips.

He looked out of place in her frilly, feminine surroundings: lace curtains covered the windows; vases filled with flowers adorned the dresser and nightstand; wreaths and bows and pictures of Victorian women hung on the walls; even the bed, covered in white eyelet, shouted that this was a woman’s world. The sight of floral sheets, twisted and tangled from loving Luke the night before, flooded her with guilt.

She was no longer Southern California’s last twenty-five-year-old virgin. But, why, why, why had she let it be Luke?

She swallowed twice before regaining the power of speech. “I realize this is my place. As a thoughtful hostess concerned about your privacy, I figured it would be better if I slipped out quietly.” She tried for an impersonal, businesslike tone, so the breathless quality in her voice was a dismal failure. “Just call me Martha Stewart,” she added, struggling for lightness.

Ignoring her humor, he asked, “Better for who?”

His manner was almost friendly and conversational, but his blue eyes narrowed at the same time as his full, sensual lips thinned. She knew she would never forget the feel of his mouth on several of her most super-sensitive spots.

“Better for both of us—to spare us the awkward morning-after-the-night-before dialogue.”

“Sharing the experience afterward is the best part. But you wouldn’t know about that, since it was your first time.”

“Are you making fun of me?”

“Never. I’m annoyed that you neglected to tell me.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

The defensive pose limited her view. But her disappointment was mitigated by the impressive muscles that bunched in his biceps.

“Okay. Busted. You’re right. I’ve never done this before. On top of that, I don’t read women’s magazines. I don’t know the top ten topics of discussion the morning after spending the night with a man for the first time. Or the politically correct behavior. My experience is in the courtroom, not the bedroom. I don’t like feeling inept. There are things I can do to get ready for court, but there’s no way to prepare for—what we did last night. I was just trying to spare both of us an uncomfortable situation. I’m sorry I was such a disappointment.”

His nostrils flared slightly, as if he was a beast in the wild scenting his mate—again. “I never said I was disappointed. Just the opposite.”

She met his gaze, and her breath caught at the primitive look in his eyes. Electric-blue, she thought. What does that mean? Probably that she would get zapped. Again. Which was exactly why she’d wanted to slip out quietly, even though this was her place.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, making his mouth seem even more exciting, if possible, than last night. She already knew that one touch of his lips to hers made her other four senses stand at attention, anxiously anticipating their turn.

Somehow, she had to sever the sensuous spell surrounding her. She studied his face and said the first thing that came to mind. “You didn’t shave.”

“I don’t have a razor. And a good thing, too. If I’d taken the time, you’d have escaped.”

Still in the doorway, with freedom so near, she clutched her sweater tighter. “Escape. Right. I do have work to do.”

She sounded like a moron but hoped he wouldn’t notice. Or that he would be noble and just let her off the hook.

“What’s your rush? It’s Sunday. Even a workaholic like you is off today. If nothing else, city hall has the good sense to close the courts on the weekend.”

Apparently, he wasn’t feeling especially noble this morning. “True. But most of a lawyer’s work is done before setting foot in the courtroom. Besides I have groceries to buy, and—”

“Hold it, Maddie.”

Maddie. He was the only one who ever called her that. It had been her undoing last night. She’d always been Madison. Her mother had insisted on it. She’d picked up the habit of correcting anyone who tried to shorten her name. Why had she never admonished Luke?

“What?” she asked.

“Ever since Nick, you vowed never to get involved with another Marchetti man. I know for a fact that you’ve never been with another man. I have to know—why me?”

He was right about her vow. She’d made it just over a year ago, after her relationship with his brother Nick hadn’t worked out. His heart belonged to another woman. That didn’t come as a big surprise. She wasn’t the sort of woman men fell for. Growing up the way she had tended to do that to a girl. The split with his brother had been amicable, and Luke had offered her a shoulder to lean on. Which she had refused. Even though his shoulder was just one of many parts to admire in such a fine specimen of a man.

Her career had to be her focus. She didn’t want an intimate relationship. Although it would be a humdinger of a challenge to have a relationship less intimate than she had shared with Luke last night. So what in God’s name had possessed her to sleep with him? Because he swept her away? He had, but it was so not like her to lose control.

She just didn’t have any answers. “Objection. The question is irrelevant.”

“It’s relevant to me.” He sighed heavily. “You’re twenty-five. You’re a beautiful, green-eyed redhead.”

“You should get your eyes checked.” She pointed to her nose. “These freckles are hateful little suckers and pretty unattractive.”

“I like them. I imagine a lot of guys like them. In fact, I bet guys hit on you all the time. So why now and why me?”

“I wish I knew.”

If only she could chalk up her weakness and temporary suspension of brain function to too much liquor at his brother’s wedding the night before. But she’d only had the one glass of champagne Luke had fetched for her to toast Alex and Frannie, and she hadn’t finished that. Luke had been attentive from the moment she’d arrived at the elder Marchetti’s home without a date for the wedding. Her law firm represented the legal interests of Marchetti’s Incorporated. Since she’d become a friend of the family, she was the representative chosen to attend. Alone. Luke had been alone, too, which she didn’t understand since he was a babe magnet.

He’d just said guys must hit on her all the time, and she could say, “Right back at you.” A man who looked like him had to give the general female population whiplash when he walked into a room. Yet in all the time she’d known him, he’d never settled on one woman. Why in the world would she be foolish enough to believe she could be the one?

But she’d been grateful for his presence beside her at the fairy-tale June wedding. For some reason, as the festivities had wound down, she’d been oddly reluctant to return to her lonely town house. He’d taken her for a drive. When it came out in conversation that he’d never seen her place, she’d invited him over. One thing had led to another. But he deserved a more articulate answer to his question about why him.

“I’m not sure why, Luke,” she started. “Motive and opportunity.”

He flashed a grin and treated her to the world-class dimples that made her knees weak. “Spoken like an up and coming attorney.”

Cursing the fact that she hadn’t made a quicker exit, she met his intense, blue-eyed gaze. “That’s right. I’m a lawyer on the fast track. I was handpicked by Jim Mallery to take over his clients when he retired. Virgin, high-powered attorney is an oxymoron. Sort of.” She shrugged.

“That doesn’t answer my question. Why me?”

“That’s the opportunity part.”

His lips thinned for a split second. “I was hoping for something less premeditated. Something more along the lines of that you lost your head and couldn’t help yourself.”

She hoped he would never know that he’d just hit the nail on the head. But losing her head was a half step from taking a blowtorch to her heart. Burned once she was naive; burned again she was just stupid. Nick fell for someone else because he realized she, Madison, wasn’t love material. She wouldn’t make the mistake of letting herself be vulnerable again.

“I would have appreciated advance warning that it was your first time,” he said.

“Why? What difference would it have made for you to know that I’m a vir—” Heat started in her neck and radiated upward into her cheeks. “I mean that I was a virgin.”

He pushed away from the bedpost and walked toward her. He stopped at a point where another of his long strides would put him a whisper away from her. A delicious fluttering started in her abdomen.

“It makes a big difference,” he said, an angry edge to his voice. “Number one, I might have backed off. Number two, it’s a big responsibility.”

“Why?”

The word popped out of her mouth before she could stop it. Followed quickly by mortification. Curiosity had put her in the top 3 percent of her law school class. Now she just felt socially backward and pretty much humiliated.

“A woman’s first time has an impact on every subsequent encounter. There are things a guy can do to make it easier—to make it good.”

“It was good,” she blurted out.

The slow half smile that turned up the corners of his mouth excited her at the same time it made her nervous. Had she just given him some sort of secret to use against her?

“I’m glad,” he said. Then he frowned. “I don’t buy the opportunity part of your explanation. This is me,” he said, tapping the chest she’d so recently admired. “I know guys must come on to you all the time. You still haven’t explained why me.”

She sighed. “I’ll answer that as best I can, Luke, but I’m not sure I know myself. I was caught up in the magic of the wedding.” She smiled, and couldn’t help that it was sad around the edges. “It was wonderful to be a part of a big happy family again.”

“You’re still hung up on Nick?” His voice was just this side of a growl. “Did it bother you hearing their announcement about Abby’s pregnancy?”

“I was never hung up on Nick.” There was no point in elaborating. He didn’t need to know that guys figured out fast that she wasn’t lovable. “I realized that it wasn’t him as much as your family I missed. I never had that, a large, loving family,” she said wistfully.

Or one that loved her at all.

“I thought you had a brother.”

“I do. Older. But we’re not close. Not with my parents, either.”

“So you were raised by wolves?”

She laughed. “Just the thought would give my mother the vapors. No. Boarding schools, accelerated classes, a law degree. Oh, my,” she said, struggling for humor as a defense against the assault of lonely, painful childhood memories.

“I think there’s more to it than that.”

Uh-oh. This was exactly what she’d been trying to avoid. “Don’t, Luke.”

“Don’t what?”

“See things that aren’t there. I’m not looking to get involved.”

“With me?”

“With any man. But the last Marchetti bachelor tops the list.”

“I’m not looking to get involved, either.”

“Good,” she said, popping that tiny bubble of disappointment before it even got started. “Why not?” she asked before she could stop herself. Her penchant for blurting out questions was her greatest strength and weakness.

He lifted one muscular shoulder in a casual shrug. “I figure after all this time of it not happening, it’s just not in the cards for me. But there’s no reason why we can’t be friends.”

After what we did last night? she wanted to shout at him. But she kept her cool and said, “I don’t want to waste your time.”

“Shouldn’t I get to decide if it’s a waste? It’s my time.”

“Which would be squandered on me. I’m offering you a painless out.”

“You think love hurts?”

“Exactly,” she said. Mostly she meant loving and not having it returned.

He shook his head, and she hated the pitying look he leveled at her. “I’m not sure I buy your explanation.”

She shrugged. “Every crime has motive and opportunity.”

“And you think what we did was a crime?”

“Maybe more like a misdemeanor. But certainly not very smart. Don’t you agree?”

“Not by a long shot.” His eyes narrowed. “I don’t buy this act of yours. You’re not a swinging-singles woman. In spite of your profession, you’re not a manipulator. You’re not a calculating person. I think for the first time maybe in a long time, you let yourself feel. We were good together, Maddie. We like each other. You got caught up in the moment. You already admitted it was good. From a woman’s first time, there’s nowhere to go but up.”

Oops. She had given him a weapon to use against her. “It can’t happen again, Luke.”

“It could,” he said. He raised one dark eyebrow in a suggestive expression that easily kicked up her heart rate. “If you’d let it.”

“I won’t. Even if I wanted to, which I don’t,” she hastily added, hoping he wouldn’t suspect that she’d just lied. “Your family is one of Addison, Abernathy and Cooke’s oldest and most influential clients.”

“But you dated Nick.”

“That was before I was handpicked to handle your company’s legal business. Now there’s a huge potential for conflict of interest.”

“There’s no conflict. I’m definitely interested.”

“Be serious, Luke.”

“I’ve never been more serious. I don’t see how us being friends would be a problem.”

“Because you’re not a lawyer. At the very least, a close personal association with a client suggests the appearance of impropriety. And even if I believed in love, it would be unprofessional of me to continue seeing you. I’m nothing if not professional.”

His gaze raked her from head to toe. “In jeans and T-shirt you look about eighteen. But denim on you in court would sway judge, jury and opposing male counsel to whatever you were selling.”

“You’re not helping,” she said, blushing furiously.

“Good. I hope I’m making it hard as hell for you to dismiss me.”

“I’m not dismissing you. But all we can achieve is a friendly working relationship.”

“We achieved way more than that. And we can’t go back, Maddie.”

Yes, she could. And there was no time like the present. “The name is Madison.”

“Since when?”

“Since we woke up in bed together.”

Four weeks after Maddie—correction Madison—had shut him down, Luke sat in his office trying to focus on the spreadsheet program staring at him from his computer screen.

It was almost quitting time, but his bachelor condo held little appeal. And his thoughts kept straying to a petite, green-eyed redhead, her shoulder-length hair curly and wild after he’d run his hands through it.

He leaned back in his leather chair, linking his fingers before resting his hands on his abdomen. He was CFO of Marchetti’s Incorporated. The family restaurant business was thriving, and he had a million things to do. But even the word spreadsheet brought visions of him and Maddie tangling her bedsheets into his mind, in direct competition with his concentration. Four weeks, for God’s sake. She’d made it clear that they had no chance. Why couldn’t he get her off his mind?

He was over thirty. He’d known lots of women. He’d done more than his share of dating and a good percentage of those dates had ended up with him spending the night. But he’d easily forgotten them. Why not Maddie? And, dammit, she would never be Madison to him. Frustration curled and knotted in his belly. Did a redhead’s legendary temper spill over into stubbornness? Because she’d picked a hell of a time to display it. What was wrong with having a friendship? He knew better than to ask for forever after.

He got the feeling that her hesitation to get involved went deeper than she’d told him. He supposed it could have something to do with him, with the fact that he was the black sheep of the family. The only one with blue eyes, more keep-to-himself than outgoing, and the only one just under six feet tall. Except for his sister, Rosie. The point was, he was different. He figured he’d caught a recessive gene not to fall in love; therefore, home, hearth, family wasn’t in the cards for him.

So why should Maddie take a chance on a guy like that? Especially after her relationship with his brother had fizzled?

Still, Luke would bet his Marchetti’s Incorporated stock options that Maddie had been telling the truth about not being heartbroken. After discovering she was a virgin, he was even more convinced. Or was that just wishful thinking?

The intercom on his desk buzzed, startling him from his thoughts. He leaned over and punched the button. “Yes?”

“Miss Wainright to see you,” his secretary said. “And I’m leaving for the day.”

Just the sound of her name booted up his pulse. “Send her in,” he answered, trying to keep the hot-damn-I-can’t-believe-she’s-here tone out of his voice. “Have a nice evening, Cathy.”

“Thank you,” she answered before clicking off.

Maybe Maddie had changed her mind and they could achieve more than a friendly working relationship. What other reason could she have for coming to his office? Glancing at his computer monitor, he was reminded that she had been handpicked by a senior partner to handle his family’s legal affairs. There could be a dozen things other than his scintillating personality and animal magnetism that had brought her here. She was unpredictable; the night spent in his arms was proof of that.

He’d best not count on anything with the enigmatic Ms. Wainright. Until notified to the contrary, he would assume she’d come to see him about business concerning Marchetti’s Incorporated. The more business they did together, the sooner he would be able to get her out of his mind. That’s the way it always worked for him.

His office door opened, and the counselor in question walked in. “Hello, Luke.”

“Hi.” He stood up. His father had drilled it into all four of the Marchetti boys to stand when a lady entered the room.

“Do you have a minute?” she asked.

“Of course. Take a seat,” he said holding out a hand to indicate the leather wing chairs in front of his desk.

He’d rolled up the sleeves of his white dress shirt to just below his elbows first thing that morning and loosened his tie. He resisted the urge to straighten it and button his cuffs. With Maddie, he’d experienced an unforgettable, intimate night. He was a loner, not charming like his brothers. He’d learned forever wasn’t in the cards for him. But he couldn’t shut the door on the present, either. No way were the barriers going back up between them. At least on his part.

In fact, he figured it couldn’t hurt to remind her. “To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from the golden girl of Addison, Abernathy and Cooke?”

The color in her cheeks deepened to a becoming rose, and he knew his barb had produced the desired result. Her blush highlighted her soft skin and the freckles dotting her nose. He liked the way she couldn’t quite hide them with makeup. There were exactly six. He knew because he’d kissed every last one.

She was still standing halfway between the closed door and his desk. Her hesitation to come closer and to answer him put a bump in his ego road, slowing it down. In fact he became uneasy. Usually direct, forthright and no-nonsense—the fact of her virginity being the only exception—this was a Maddie he’d never seen before. Her restrained behavior was unusual. Not to mention the worry puckering her forehead.

“It’s nice to see you, Maddie.”

She flinched. “I asked you to call me Madison.”

“I remember.” He’d always been good with figures, but hers was his favorite. He recalled every curve, every square inch of silky, sweet-smelling skin in spite of the tailored green suit she wore with the jacket buttoned to her neck. “So what brings you here? Business or pleasure?”

“It’s personal, Luke.”

Was she finally beginning to see things his way? She wasn’t exactly wearing the expression of a woman looking to pick up where they’d left off. In fact, she looked pale, and tired.

“What is it, Maddie? Are you okay? You look like someone died.”

“Someone did.”

His chest felt tight and he had trouble drawing in air. The names of his loved ones flashed through his mind. Ma, Dad, Nick, Joe, Alex, Rosie, their spouses, his niece and nephew. Then common sense asserted itself. If something had happened to one of them, Maddie wouldn’t be standing in front of him with the news. Come to think of it, as long as his family was fine, he couldn’t see that he had much of an emotional investment in the person she was here to discuss. In fact, he’d go it one better. Whoever had died couldn’t directly affect him, so whatever had brought her here after four long weeks was a lucky break for him.

He took a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll bite. Who died?”

She swallowed once, then walked toward him. Finally she sat down in one of the chairs facing his desk and set her briefcase on the floor beside her. “I don’t know how to tell you this.”

“Just spit it out. Who died?”

She swallowed twice, then looked him straight in the eye. “Your father. Not Tom Marchetti,” she added quickly.

“Since I’m not adopted, I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about.”

“There’s no easy way to say this. Tom Marchetti is not your biological father, Luke. The man who is—was—your father passed away.”

Chapter Two

“You’re joking,” Luke said.

She flinched a little at the politely disbelieving expression on his face. “I wish I were.”

“This isn’t funny, Maddie.”

She didn’t have the heart to bust him for using the nickname. Although she would never admit it, she liked it when he called her that. “I know. Believe me, I’m as shocked as you are.”

“Who said I was shocked? Except about the fact that you would lie.”

She let out a long breath and shook her head, kicking herself for the umpteenth time because she’d let her libido loose and allowed it to run away with her. A random act of passion was like a pebble tossed into a pond, rippling outward and touching so much more than that one tiny spot. She just hadn’t realized that it was a really big pond or exactly how far those ripples could touch.

“Do the words conflict of interest ring a bell? This is the reason it’s not a good idea for an attorney to sleep with her client,” she snapped.

The words were out before she’d thought them through. How she wished she could call them back, because the last thing she wanted to bring up for discussion was that night, the most unforgettable hours of her life.

“I don’t see what one has to do with the other,” he said.

“Then I’ll explain it to you. If our association hadn’t taken a personal turn, you would have no reason to mistrust me or question my behavior, or accuse me of lying.”

“Sure I would. You’re telling me that Tom Marchetti is not my father. That my mother slept with another man and I’m the result. My parents have been happily married for thirty-five years. This is the most preposterous thing I’ve ever heard. It has to be a lie.”

“Come on, Luke. Think for a minute. This would be a stupid thing to fabricate. It’s too easy to find out the truth. Besides, this is my work. It’s my livelihood and my life. I take that very seriously. It’s my fiduciary responsibility to handle this client’s last will and testament. That’s what I’m doing.”

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll assume for a minute that you’re telling the truth. Which means you’ve known about this. Do the words lie of omission mean anything to you? At the very least, I thought we were friends. But you never said a word to me about this.”

“Number one, if I had drawn up the will, I would have been bound by client confidentiality not to reveal the terms. Number two, I inherited this file when Jim Mallery retired. He recommended that I take over his clients, including this one. But I didn’t know anything about this until the firm received the news about Brad Stephenson’s death.”

“That’s his name?”

“Your father’s?” she asked.

“My father is Tom Marchetti.” His mouth tightened into a stubborn, angry line.

“In every way that counts—yes, he is your father. But not biologically.”

“Give it up, Maddie. This is ridiculous. And even if it wasn’t, why should I believe you?”

“The will Brad Stephenson had drawn up and on file with my firm is proof,” she answered.

“Let me see it,” he demanded, holding out his hand.

Madison noticed that his fingers shook. “I didn’t bring it with me. I’m here as your friend as well as an attorney. When you’ve had a chance to absorb what I’ve told you, we’ll discuss the terms at the office. And we are friends, in spite of what you may think. That’s why I’m here in person. News this sensitive couldn’t be delivered over the phone.”

She saw several emotions cross his face and named every one: anger, disbelief, shock, betrayal and back to disbelief. This news would take time to assimilate. More passionate ripples on the proverbial pond. Her heart ached for him, and she wished she could put her arms around him and just hold him. But attorneys dealt in facts, not feelings. And she needed to keep this professional, not personal.

He speared her with a skeptical look. “So the only proof you can give me is your word that some wacko, who retained the services of an attorney from your firm, left something to me in his will. Does that about sum it up?”

“I would alter some of your wording slightly, but in essence your assessment is correct.”

“You know, if you were upset about what happened between us, Maddie, all you had to do was say so.”

She took a deep breath and folded her arms over her abdomen. “It’s been a month, Luke.” Please don’t let him read anything into the fact that she knew exactly how long it had been. “If I was upset, don’t you think you would know before this?”

“I’m not sure what you would do,” he answered. “Creating such an elaborate fabrication—”

“I understand that this is a shock, Luke,” she said, interrupting. She’d developed a thick skin over the years, trying not to let things hurt. Like the fact that her parents didn’t want her. That she would never be enough to make them love her. But it hurt her a lot that Luke could believe for even a moment that she would make up a lie this hurtful to get even for something. His low opinion was like a physical blow, and she had no idea why it should matter so much to her.

She met his gaze squarely. “Taking it out on me won’t get you anywhere.” She reached into her suit jacket for the business card she’d put there. Leaning forward, she set it on his desk. “That’s the number for one of the firm’s associates. When you’re ready, give him a call, and he’ll advise you in this matter.”

“What about you?” he asked.

She shook her head slightly. “I’ll plead workload as an excuse to bow out. It’s the most discreet way to handle the situation. No one has to know about us.”

“What if I still want you?” His question was almost a growl, but the sensual undertone made her shiver.

She still wanted him.

She looked into his eyes, wondering if she was reading her own need and longing into his expression, his words, even though there was an edge to his voice that she’d never heard.

“The fact that you could even entertain the notion I’m lying indicates that you don’t have confidence in me. You can trust Nathan McDonald completely,” she said, lifting her chin to indicate the card she’d given him. Why had she thought he knew her at all? If he did, he wouldn’t have accused her of something so slimy. “Nathan is the firm’s expert in this sort of thing. I’ll fill him in on the pertinent information and let him familiarize himself with the contents of the will. I’ll let him know you’ll be in touch.”

Touch. The word evoked images of his hands gliding over her skin, raising tingles in their wake. Countless times since that magical night the memories had taunted her. Just one of her many punishments for breaking a cardinal rule. She blinked the seductive vision away.

“What makes you think I’ll call?” he asked.

“Because you’re not the kind of man who will let this slide. You’re going to want answers. And they’ll have to come from your mother. When you get them, you’ll call,” she finished, nodding confidently. She curled her fingers around the handles of her briefcase and started to stand.

“Ma is going to be pretty upset about these accusations—” He stopped when she gripped the arms of the chair and lowered herself into it again. “Are you all right?”

She nodded. “A little dizzy. I forgot to eat lunch. Give me a minute, and I’ll leave you alone.”

He stood up. “You look white as a sheet. Are you sure you’re okay?” His brow furrowed with worry as he rounded his desk and stopped in front of her. “Maybe I should drive you somewhere,” he said, putting his warm palm to her forehead.

The touch felt wonderful. A glow started in her abdomen and quickly spread north and south. He was worried about her. No one worried about her. Her mother had made it clear she’d been an inconvenient accident. Her parents were always too much into their own lives and grooming her older brother to take over the family business to concern themselves with her. And if a problem arose, boarding school personnel did their job just enough to avoid liability.

But she knew Luke’s concern was offered instinctively—good news and bad. It meant that he was a kind and decent man.

But he was also a client, one who had avoided marriage for this long. That fact spoke volumes. It seemed clear to her that he didn’t want the responsibility of worrying about any woman on a permanent basis. And her parents hadn’t wanted her, why would anyone else? No, she didn’t want anything personal or permanent, either. There was too much potential for pain. Which was the main reason she’d shut the door on anything between them, after she’d given in to temptation and spent those hours in his arms. She had learned to count only on herself; she was committed to advancing her career.

Their one night of passion had destroyed the chance of any relationship between them, either friendship or business. When she’d brought him this unbelievable news, his first thought was that she’d lied. She understood that he was reeling from what she’d told him, but she couldn’t help being hurt that he could entertain the idea of her stooping so low, even for a moment.

What would he say if he knew there was more? Would he believe her? She didn’t have the words, the heart, the courage to tell him what she suspected. Not now. But she would tell him. When she had confirmation.

“Maddie?” he asked. “You zoned out. Are you sure you’re all right? Maybe I should take you home.”

“No, thanks.”

The last time he’d done that was what had gotten her into this conflict of interest in the first place. Now she was the least of his concerns. When he talked to his mother, and she knew he would, the facts would come out, because Flo Marchetti was an honest person, one of the finest women Madison had ever known. Studying the law had taught her that there were always mitigating circumstances. In spite of the way this looked, she hoped Luke would open his mind to those circumstances in order to find understanding and forgiveness.

He had a lot on his plate. It was best for both of them if they made a clean break from each other right now. He was going to have a lot to deal with. She wouldn’t add another problem to the pile.

She smiled. “I’m fine. Just low blood sugar. I carry protein bars in my purse for this very thing.” When the dizziness passed, she stood and backed away, putting a safe distance between them. “I’m sorry about all of this, Luke. You probably don’t believe that, but it’s the truth. If there’s anything—”

“There isn’t,” he said too quickly. “If you’re sure you’re all right, I’ll say goodbye, Maddie. I have work to do.”

She walked to the door and stopped. “While you’re working, do me a favor,” she said, with her hand on the knob.

“What’s that?”

“Remember that no one’s perfect. We all make mistakes.”

She stepped out and closed the door behind her, leaning against it with a sigh.

“Mistake is my middle name,” she said to herself.

“Ma, you’re not going to believe the whopper Maddie Wainright told me a little while ago,” Luke said.

He walked into his parents’ house, and the kitchen door wasn’t even closed before the words were out of his mouth.

Flo Marchetti grinned at him fondly. “You know, ever since you were a little boy, you’ve always blurted out whatever was on your mind.”

Luke studied her. With the newspaper spread out before her, she was sitting at the oak table set in the breakfast nook. It was as if he was seeing this kitchen and her for the first time. The ceramic tile countertops were the same. The tile floor hadn’t changed, and neither had the side-by-side refrigerator that always held enough food to feed an army. Which was almost what the five Marchetti kids were.

Rewind that last part. If Maddie was telling the truth, there were only four Marchetti kids and one… His gut clenched. The pain was right there, scratching at his consciousness. He refused to feel it. Surely there was a mistake. When he figured it all out, he could let the pain go without allowing it to touch him. He released a long breath as he looked at his mother.

In her late fifties, she was still an attractive woman. Gray hair, cut stylishly short, framed her relatively unlined face. She was wearing an olive-green, two-piece, knit lounging outfit. Granny glasses perched on the end of her nose for reading. Above the lenses, affection seemed to reach out to him from her warm-brown eyes just the way it always had. But everything felt different. He was looking at the world through different eyes. Why had he never questioned the fact that his were blue? Neither of his parents or any of his siblings had eyes that color. Had he suspected something and just ignored it?

There was still the possibility Maddie was trying to punish him, although he didn’t see her as that kind of woman. Maybe she felt guilty about spending the night with him. No one knew about it, but maybe she still wanted to make him pay. But she was right when she’d said if she was going to lie, the matter of his paternity would be too easy to prove.

“It’s not a whopper,” Flo said, pulling his attention back to her. “Maddie loves you.”

“That’s not the whopper, and she’s never said that to me.” Just the opposite. She hadn’t said it in so many words, but when she’d left his office, he knew it was for good. Part of him rebelled at the thought. But he couldn’t think about that now.

He met his mother’s gaze. “Ma, when are you going to get it through your head that love doesn’t make the world go round?”

“Never. Because it may not make the world go round but it sure makes the journey a lot more fun.”

“Maddie handles my legal affairs. That’s all.”

“Even though you spent the night together after Alex’s wedding?”

“How did you know— I mean—”

“Her car was parked here overnight because you drove her home.”

Good grief, he felt like a randy teenager caught sneaking out of the house in the dead of night to meet a girl. That wasn’t far from the truth. Even though she had come to him with this preposterous story, he felt the need to protect Maddie.

“That doesn’t mean that I stayed with her.”

“Did you?”

Instead of responding directly he said, “You didn’t say anything to anyone else, did you?”

“I didn’t have to. Nick and Abby came by the next day for brunch. They were the ones who told your father and me.” There was a self-satisfied expression on her face. “I always could tell when you were lying.”

Had he inherited that trait? Would he be able to tell if she was lying? His head pounded as doubts reared up again. They had glided and swirled through his mind as he’d driven straight from his office at Marchetti’s Incorporated to this house where he’d grown up. What if Maddie hadn’t been lying? What if Tom Marchetti wasn’t his father? That would mean his mother had slept with another man. No. It couldn’t be true. Again pain threatened and he pushed it away.

“Where’s Dad?” he said, nearly choking on the word. It wasn’t the question he wanted to ask. He wasn’t sure he was ready to hear the answer.

“Your father is having dinner with Rosie, Nick, Joe and Alex. You know he refuses to give up the tradition he started before you and your sister were born of giving me a night off by taking all his children out for dinner.” She frowned. “Come to think of it, why are you here and not with them?”

“I forgot. I had a lot on my mind.” He recalled the dinners with his Dad and siblings. They had done it once a week when they were all younger. Now the get-togethers were less frequent because of their busy schedules. But they made an effort to meet once a month at one of the Marchetti restaurants.

“Have you eaten, dear?” She started to stand. “I can make you something. Sit down.”

Ignoring her invitation, he asked, “What did you do while Dad took us out?”

Flo looked thoughtful. “Usually I had a long, relaxing soak in the tub. I didn’t have to play referee or listen to little fists pounding on the door. It was heaven for a frazzled young mother. Your father, bless his heart, realized that with three small boys a year apart in age, I needed some time for myself.” She smiled. “So tell me about Madison and the whopper.”

“She came to my office today,” he started, watching his mother’s face.

“That’s a start. Togetherness breeds familiarity—or something like that,” she said with a laugh. “I’ve always thought the two of you—”

“Ma, there is no two of us—”

“Have you ever heard the expression ‘One is a lonely number’? It’s about time you got yourself a love life. You’re not getting any younger, Luke. You work too hard. Soul mates don’t grow on trees. You’ve got to get out there and shake some branches. Find Ms. Right. Maddie is a wonderful girl—”

“I didn’t come here to discuss my love life.”

“Then why did you come, dear?” she asked calmly. “I can tell you’ve got something on your mind. What’s troubling you?”

“Your love life.”

She laughed. “Very funny. Every time your father or I have made allusions to our love life you kids make gagging noises and clear the room.”

His nerves cranked up a notch. He had to know about her love life. “Do you know a guy named Brad Stephenson?” He gripped the back of the wooden chair until his knuckles ached.

Her body language was all the answer he needed. She went completely still as her eyes widened and her skin paled. “Brad Stephenson?” she whispered.

“So you do know him.” Blood pounded in his ears. The barrier between him and the threatening pain cracked.

She nodded. “He was your father’s accountant years ago.”

There could still be a misunderstanding. Just because she knew him didn’t mean she’d slept with the man. “Maddie came to the office today and you won’t believe the wild story she told me. This guy Stephenson died—”

“Oh, no,” his mother gasped as her hand fluttered over her breast.

“You cared about him?” he asked, studying her shocked expression. The knot in his gut tightened a notch.

“Tom and I both liked him,” she said cautiously. “I’m sorry to hear he’s passed away.”

“Here’s where the whopper comes in.” He swallowed hard to get the words past the constriction in his throat. “He left a will, and Maddie inherited the account. She says I’m the beneficiary, that the guy is my father. Can you believe that?”

Flo sighed as she took off her reading glasses and set them on the table. She closed the newspaper and folded it in half, then quarters. The moment stretched into what felt like an eternity as his mother gathered her composure.

Lifting a gaze filled with tragedy, she said, “It’s true, Luke. Brad Stephenson is your father.”

Stunned didn’t begin to describe what he felt. He could hardly breathe. It was as if hands had reached into his chest, squeezing all the vital organs he needed to draw in a single breath of air. It was as if her words tapped into a motherlode of shock. Pain flooded him. He couldn’t get his mind around the fact that his mother, his Rock of Gibraltar on all things, could have done what she was saying.

“It was a long time ago,” she continued. “I’d like to explain—”

“And about damn time, don’t you think? When were you going to tell me?” Hurt and betrayal made him go cold inside.

She stood up and looked him straight in the eye. “Don’t take that tone with me. I’m still your mother and deserving of your respect.”

“Does Dad know? I mean Tom. Does he know?”

“Of course he does. I wouldn’t keep something like that from him.”

“But you kept it from me.”

“You were a baby.”

“I’m not now.” He stared at her. “Does anyone else know?”

“Your brother Joe.”

“Half brother,” he clarified.

She lifted her chin slightly. “I had to tell him. He was having a personal crisis. I talked to him so he could work some things through. He needed to understand that every relationship goes through ups and downs. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I also gave him permission to tell all of you about it. Apparently he decided not to. He doesn’t know about you, just my indiscretion—”

“Such a tidy word for it,” he said. “Isn’t there a neat little word for what I am?”

“Don’t talk like that.”

“Why? I believe the correct term is bastard. Or maybe the fact that you were married at the time makes it less ugly. Or more ugly? Maddie’s right. I’ll have to call her office and get legal counsel just to find out what label to use.”

He was behaving like an idiot. But he couldn’t seem to help himself. She’d lied to him about something as basic as who he was.

“Stop it, Luke. Let me explain—”

“You just did. But here’s the abbreviated version. You slept with another man while you were married to Dad—sorry. Tom. It’s going to take some time to get the principal players and labels straight.”

She held her head high. “Even condemned criminals get an opportunity to defend themselves. If you’ll just give me a chance—”

“I’m thirty years old. Seems like you’ve had plenty of chances.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Neither you or Tom felt the need to explain to me that I’m living a lie.” It wasn’t a question.

“Because you’re not. Your father and I had problems in our marriage. We worked them out. We both love you very much. Never doubt that—”

“Don’t have doubts? That’s asking an awful lot. You’ve let me grow up in a fantasy. Hell of a way to get a reality check, by the way. From the family attorney. Give me one good reason why I should believe you now?”

She laced her fingers together, and he was struck by her dignity in the face of his angry tirade. As soon as the thought entered his mind, he pushed it away. She’d cheated. She’d lied. How could he admire anything about her?

She drew in a deep breath. “Whatever ugly names you’re not calling me to my face are no less than I deserve. But know this, Son—”

“Don’t call me that,” he ground out.

“I will,” she said firmly. “You are my child, my son. I love you unconditionally. There’s nothing you could do that would make me stop loving you. I did as any mother would—what was best for you. Your father and I discussed—”

“Which father? Sorry, but you’re going to have to be more specific. I hit the jackpot today. Count ’em.” He held up two fingers. “Not one but two dads.”

She flinched, but ignored his sarcasm, and went on in the same modulated tone. “The adults concerned discussed the situation and felt you would be better off raised in a secure environment with a family who loves you.”

“I fail to see how lies translate into love,” he retorted.

“I hope you’ll come to understand why we made the decision. In time, when you’re less bitter and angry, maybe you’ll see that we had your best interests at heart.” She shook her head. “I don’t understand. Brad promised. He agreed it was best not to say anything—”

“But he did.” Pain and anger knotted together in his gut. “And in a whacked-out sort of way, that’s some comfort. At least he had a conscience. Maybe I got his gene for telling the truth instead of yours to perpetuate a lie.”

“Luke, listen—”

He turned away and walked toward the door. He heard her footsteps behind him. She put a hand on his arm and he couldn’t break her hold without more force than he was willing to use. Meeting her gaze, he put his hand on the knob.

“Luke, you can be as angry as you want at me. But don’t you dare take this out on your father. And don’t pretend you don’t know who I mean. Tom Marchetti loves you—you are his son.”

“When you bury your head in the sand, you leave your rear end exposed,” he shot back.

She went on as if he hadn’t spoken. “I will not tolerate any disrespect toward your father.”

As much as he hated to admit she was right about anything, the truth was Tom Marchetti was a victim, too. He wasn’t the one who had slept with someone else.

“Don’t—” Whatever she saw on his face made her release his arm.

Without a word from her to stop him, he left the house. He walked across the back grass, skirted the pool area ringed with Malibu lights, and stopped beside his sports car parked in the alley.

The anger, pain, bewilderment and betrayal that had dogged him since Maddie broke the news cascaded over him in a tidal wave that threatened to drown him. How could he have not known his whole life was a fabrication? The woman who had taught him right from wrong, who had given him a moral foundation to live by, had lied to him in the most elemental way. How could he not be bitter and furious?

Happy childhood memories washed over him. Times spent with his siblings, his mother—the man he’d never had a reason to question as his father. How could they let him grow up believing he was a part of that? As a teen, he’d been grounded from his car for trying to pull a fast one. Yet she expected him to act as if nothing had changed for him. How hypocritical was that? Everything had changed.

Leaning against the driver’s door, he ran both hands through his hair. His mother had given him the answers, just as Maddie had said. And she was right. He definitely planned to call a lawyer. But a stranger couldn’t respond to the questions he had. In fact, there was one big one at the top of his list, one that overshadowed everything else.

“Who the hell am I?” he whispered into the dark night.

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