Escorting the Groom (The Escort Collection 4)

And I no longer cared what anyone else thought.

The lobby of the hotel was as I remembered it. There were marble floors, marble columns, and teak woodwork. It was very luxurious and

a bit severe, sort of like Lucas Ford himself.

I didn't tell him that I'd been there before. With other men. I hoped that none of the staff would recognize me. If they did, I prayed they at least had the decency to pretend otherwise.

I tentatively put my hand on Lucas's arm as we headed toward the elevator. If people were going to believe that we were a couple—engaged, no less—there was no time like the present for us to act like one. Lucas shot me a look but then took my hand. Even though I was five-feet-eight, I felt positively tiny next to him as he hustled me through the lobby. He pulled me close against his six-feet-three frame, nodding curtly at the hotel staff, not stopping to say hello to anyone. Lucas Ford was clearly a lone wolf. It was going to be difficult to convince people that he had finally chosen a mate. He released my hand when he got inside the elevator.

"Lucas…" I let my voice trail off. "Would it be okay if I ask you some more questions?"

His green eyes scanned me, making me shiver again. "Such as?"

"Such as, why did you hire me? Why didn't you ask a friend? Or actually…" I let my voice trail off.

"Actually what?" He faced the elevator doors as they opened then strode through. From what I could see, there was only one door on this floor. We had reached the penthouse suite, occupation one.

Now two.

He opened the door, and I momentarily forgot about all of my questions. Holy guacamole. Even though I’d been to The Stratum before, I'd never been in the penthouse suite. It had all the usual touches one would expect—gleaming hardwood floors, gorgeous furniture, original artwork. But the best part was the floor-to-ceiling windows that took up an entire wall, overlooking the park. I went over to them and looked out, gaping.

"Wow." The park stretched out before me, its flowering trees and sparkling ponds glinting in the afternoon light. "This might be the best view in the city."

Lucas came up beside me. "I've always liked it." He turned to me. "Now, what were you asking me?"

"I'm asking why you hired me when you have all of this." I gestured to the view, the apartment, and finally to Lucas himself, which brought a small grin to his face. "It can't exactly be difficult for you to find a date."

His eyes sparkled. "It's not that it's difficult. But I need this to be a business transaction. I'm not interested in having a relationship with anyone. I'm certainly not interested in having a wife."

I knew I shouldn't ask more, because it wasn't my business. But curiosity got the better of me. "Why is that?"

"I can see that you're the inquiring type." The small smile still played on his lips. "I'll make you a deal. You can ask me five questions, and I will answer them honestly. But then I get to ask you five questions, and you have to answer them honestly. And then we're done with all this getting-to-know-you garbage. Deal?"

I crossed my arms against my chest. "Deal." I looked toward the kitchen, mentally kicking myself for starting this. I wasn't looking forward to answering his questions. "Can we have a drink while we play this?"

Lucas immediately headed toward his liquor cabinet. "Hell yes, we can. Does that count as one of your questions?"

"Does that count as one of yours?"

"No." He poured us each a neat bourbon.

"Then no for me, too." I started formulating my list of questions. I knew he wouldn't give me a second chance. I had to make these count.

Lucas sank down onto one end of his enormous leather sectional, and I sat down on the other, tightly gripping my drink. "Okay. Here we go. Question number one: why aren't you interested in having a relationship or a wife?"

Lucas took a sip of his drink. I tried not to let my eyes wander down to the part of his chest visible beneath the undone buttons of his shirt. "That's a compound question. That should count as two questions."

I shook my head. "It's not a compound question because it's addressing one over-arching point. Besides, it's what you just said. Now please stop being so technical, and let's get this over with."

He chuckled and then sat back, looking resigned. "I'm not interested in having a relationship or a wife because, quite frankly, I haven't met anyone who's held my interest for long enough. Not for a month. Not for a year. And certainly not for a lifetime."

He was pretty full of himself, but at least it seemed like he was being honest. "So… question number two: have you ever had a real relationship before?" I knew he'd never been married because I'd done my homework via a thorough Google search.

"Yes. I have had a real relationship before." His brow furrowed, as if I might be giving him a headache.

"Question three: how old were you when you had this relationship?" I had a million more things I wanted to ask, but I was running out of road. I had a feeling this was the only way I would be able to get this information out of him.

Lucas had another sip of bourbon. "I was twenty-eight."