Here With Me (Adair Family 1)

She gave him a tender smile and then glanced back toward the door. Beyond it, they could hear members talking and laughing together. “The castle is busy.”

“Summer approaches.”

“Of course.” She chuckled as she turned back to him. “I know busy is good for you, but I prefer it quiet.”

Something in the back of her eyes, a shadow, caught his attention. “You okay, Luce?”

If it was there, it abruptly disappeared. “I should be asking you that, Mr. Broody. Is everything okay?” Her expression hardened. “Nothing bad happened while I was gone, right?”

“No. It’s been quiet.”

“That’s good. How’s Mac, the family, Arro … Thane?”

Lachlan wasn’t stupid. He was aware of some attraction between his friend and brother. However, he knew Lucy. She wasn’t the settling-down type. Didn’t trust anyone long enough to do it. And for that reason, she’d stayed away from his brother. Lachlan couldn’t say he wasn’t thankful. Thane’s heart had already been broken by his wife’s sudden death. The last thing he needed was to become entangled with a charming but elusive American starlet with a mysterious past.

“Everyone is well.”

“And Robyn? Or is she the reason for the brooding?” she teased.

Lachlan exhaled heavily. If he admitted what he was feeling out loud, it might make the inner turmoil worse. But he wasn’t a stupid man, prone to bouts of self-denial. He understood his feelings, recognized them. He just didn’t know what to do with them.

Lucy leaned toward him. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Luce …” He shifted uncomfortably and then pushed out of the chair. Restless. He strode over to the tall, narrow window adjacent to his desk and stared out at the golf course and woodlands beyond.

“You know you can talk to me if something is bothering you.”

His pulse quickened. “Luce … remind me that I have no room in my life for a woman.”

“And why is that again?”

Images of his childhood, of his father, flashed before his eyes. His mother’s gravestone. Watching Thane grieve over the gravestone of his wife.

He remained silent.

“Or not.” She gave a huff of laughter, but it sounded a little hurt.

Lachlan turned to her. “It’s just not for me, Luce.”

“I know. I get it. You know that.” She strolled toward him, her heels clicking on his hardwood floors. When she stopped before him, she didn’t have to crane her neck to meet his eyes, she was so tall in the shoes. “Why do you need the reminder?”

He gave a small huff of disbelief. “Robyn.”

His friend’s eyes widened with understanding. “Are you saying … oh my God, you’re falling for her.”

The idea made his heart pound, his skin flush, and he scowled. “No, I’m sure it’s not that drastic,” he denied. “But I do … I do have real feelings for her. Unexpected and real. I don’t know how to move forward.”

“You would usually end things.”

“When the woman started to have real feelings, yes, but this has never happened to me before.” Suddenly he realized who he was speaking to. “I mean, Luce, you know I care about you—”

She held up a hand, cutting him off with a tight smile. “I know what you mean.” She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. “I should have known Robyn would do this to you.”

“Why?”

“You tell me. She has something, doesn’t she?”

Yes, she did. And it was driving him mad. Lachlan wanted to be around her all the time. She never bored him. Her dry wit and no-nonsense attitude made him laugh while her sense of adventure and lack of inhibition ignited his blood. Yet it was her fearless honesty and soft compassion beneath the sexy toughness that most called to him. He’d told her things. About his family. His past.

It made the fact that she still wouldn’t confide in him about the scars on her chest that much more disappointing. Lachlan wanted to know her. Even as it excited him to keep discovering her.

“Is it just the sex?” Lucy pushed.

He shook his head. It wasn’t just the sex, although that was goddamn mind-blowing. He was addicted to the taste of the woman.

“What do you want me to tell you?”

“To walk away.”

Lucy reached out to stroke his cheek, her fingers rasping against the bristle of his short beard. “Sweetheart, even if I tell you to do that, you won’t. I can see it in your eyes. She’s under your skin.”

Fuck.

Luce was right.

He turned away to stare out the window at his estate. Only a few short months ago, all he had to worry about were his siblings and his business.

Now not even his mystery stalker overshadowed the top of his concerns.

Robyn.

His mind, his very blood, was filled with nothing but her.

It was aggravating and not a little terrifying.

“I’ll leave you to brood.” Lucy’s heels faded away. “And Lachlan … Robyn is wonderful, but she’s made it clear this isn’t her permanent stopping place. Don’t be the guy who holds her back because he doesn’t want her but he doesn’t want anyone else to have her. She deserves better than that.”