By the time Kate got to the top of the steps, Luc’s heart was beating faster than ever. She lifted her head, pushing her windblown hair away from her face. The second her eyes locked onto his, Luc felt that familiar punch to his gut. The punch that said if she turned him down he would be absolutely crushed and broken.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t put up a fight,” he told her, remaining in the doorway.
“I was tempted to jump overboard a couple of times, but I knew my dad would only go in after me.” She clasped her hands together and remained still. “What am I doing here, Luc, and why am I being held hostage?”
“You’re not a hostage,” he countered.
She glanced over her shoulder before looking back. “My father left with the boat and the only other one here is yours. By my accounts, I’m here with no way out except with your permission.”
“Come inside.”
Her brow quirked as she crossed her arms over her chest...a chest that was more voluptuous than when he’d seen her last.
“Please,” he added, when she didn’t move. “Please come inside so we can talk.”
Finally, she moved forward, and Luc let her pass him and enter first. The familiar, floral scent teased his senses and mocked him. He’d lain awake at night imagining that scent, pretending she was by his side.
“Oh, Luc.”
Her gasp was enough to have him smiling. “Looks a little different, doesn’t it?”
He watched her survey the newly designed, open floor plan. Thick columns stood as support beams, but they didn’t take away from the romantic ambience, they merely added to it. He’d left the back wall of patio doors open, to put the Mediterranean on full display.
“It’s gorgeous,” she exclaimed, running her hand along the marble-topped table behind the sofa. “This was all done so fast.”
“I wanted it done before I invited you back.” He remained in the doorway, but kept his eyes on her as she walked through the living area and kitchen. “I even helped the contractors and learned how to do more than tear things down.”
She stopped by the old dining table and her eyes landed on the yellow vase, then darted across the room to him.
“I couldn’t get rid of either of those,” he told her. “We shared too many meals at that table, and even though it’s not new, it reminds me of you. Every time I see that vase I think of how excited you were that day at the market.”
She picked up the vase, running her hands around it. For a moment Luc worried she might launch it at his head, but she finally set it down and turned back to face him. With her arms crossed over her midsection, she let out a sigh.
“What do you want, Luc?”
Her eyes held his. Now that they were face-to-face, he couldn’t deny the force that hovered between them.
“Are you feeling okay?” he asked, taking slow, cautious steps toward her. “Everything all right with our baby?”
“We’re both doing great,” she informed him. “And you could’ve texted or called or replied to the emails I sent.”
“You sent final work emails through your father.”
She nodded. “That’s because I quit, remember? I’ve outlined your next year of engagements. I’m assuming you came up with a way to secure your title? Is that why you can bother with me now?”
“No. I didn’t secure the title.”
Kate gasped. “Your birthday is only weeks away.”
“I’m aware of that.” He stood directly in front of her, so close she had to tip her head up to look him in the eyes. “That’s why you’re here.”
Her lips thinned as she narrowed her gaze at him. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You brought me here to use me? You still think I’m going to swoon, fall at your feet and marry you so you can get a shiny new crown?”
Just as she started to push past him, Luc grabbed her arm and halted her escape. “No. I think you’re going to listen to me and look in my eyes when I tell you how much I love you.”
Those dark eyes held his, but he saw no emotion there.
“Did you hear me?”