Eight
Annie knocked on Duncan’s front door. She was more nervous than she had been before their first date, but this anxiety had nothing to do with Duncan. Instead she was about to meet his only living family member—Lawrence Patrick—and she desperately wanted the older man to like her.
She’d brought a Bundt cake and two DVDs, but wasn’t sure about either. Maybe she should have brought her cousins or Kami to be a distraction.
The door opened and she saw a tall, handsome, older man with graying hair and eyes that were exactly like Duncan’s.
“You must be Annie,” the gentleman said. “Come in, come in. I’ve been waiting to meet you, but Duncan has insisted on keeping you all to himself. Probably because he knows I have a way with the ladies.” Lawrence winked at her, then gave her a warm smile that melted away her nervousness.
He took the cake container from her and sniffed. “Do I smell chocolate? My favorite.”
“I’m glad. It’s lovely to finally meet you,” she said, closing the door behind her.
“And you, young lady. I’m hearing very good things about you. My nephew isn’t one to speak well of others, so you must be something special.”
Duncan strolled toward them. “Come on, Lawrence,” he said with a resigned sigh. “Let’s wait at least ten minutes before you go telling Annie all of my flaws.”
His uncle chuckled. “All right, but no longer.” He turned to Annie. “Duncan has a teleconference with China in a few minutes. We’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other while he’s tied up.”
“I look forward to it,” she said.
“Great,” Duncan muttered, but there was humor lurking in his gray eyes and he pulled her close for a brief kiss. “Don’t fall for the old guy’s charm. He’s had decades of practice with the ladies.”
She laughed. “Maybe I like a man who knows what he’s doing.”
“Sassy,” Lawrence said. “I like that.”
They went into the great room. Annie pulled out one of the DVDs she’d brought. “I saw this and couldn’t resist.”
Lawrence stared at the cover, then started laughing.
Duncan shook his head. “You’re encouraging him.”
Annie set the copy of the movie Rocky on the coffee table and settled on the sofa across from Lawrence. The older man took a comfortable chair, while Duncan sat next to her.
“Rocky was a southpaw,” Lawrence told her. “Left handed. They’re a special breed. A lot of fighters don’t want anything to do with them. They can’t adjust. A great boxer knows how to think, how to anticipate.”
Duncan stood. “I’m going to get ready for my call. Feel free to doze off, Annie. Lawrence loves to talk.”
“I’ll be telling her your secrets,” Lawrence said.
“I have no doubt.”
Duncan went into his study. Lawrence barely waited for the door to close before saying, “I know about the deal you have with Duncan. Why you’re helping him.”
“Oh.” She hadn’t been expecting him to say that. “My brother has some problems. This seemed the only way to get him help.”
“I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. But you’re not acting like someone doing a job. Are you that good an actress?”
She looked down at her lap, then back at him. “No. I’m not. I like Duncan. He can seem really hard and distant, but I don’t think that’s who he is. There’s kindness in him. He’s a good man.”
Lawrence nodded slowly. “Not too many people see that side of him. They believe the press. It takes strength to take a failing business and grow it into an empire. He did that. He fought his way out of his circumstances.”
Circumstances Annie didn’t know much about. “I know you helped raise him,” she said.
“The blind leading the blind,” Lawrence told her. “My sister was a flake. She was a lot younger than me—a surprise baby. Our parents were so happy to have another child. They adored her. She was spoiled, always getting her way. After they died, she took her half of the money and disappeared. A couple years later, she came back pregnant. Wouldn’t say who the father was. I’m not sure she knew. She had Duncan, then took off again. That’s how it was, the first dozen or so years of his life. She would come and go. It broke his heart.”