Billionaire's Bargain

Chuckling, he said, “Most of the women I know take more luggage than that for an overnight trip. I don’t even want to think about what they’d be hauling for two weeks.”

She grinned and a ball of fire flashed instantly to life in his gut. It was all too familiar to him. From the moment they’d first met, Adam had felt that jolt of something hot and dangerous. Naturally, he’d kept it on a tight leash, since she was his brother’s wife. Then when Devon and Sienna divorced, Adam had kept his distance because he’d figured she’d had enough of the Quinn family to last a lifetime.

Now here he was, taking her to his home. If he couldn’t find a way past the hard tug of desire, it was going to be a long couple of weeks. He would handle it, though. That’s what Adam did. When faced with a situation, he found a way through it, or around it. And if there was one thing Adam was good at, it was focusing. That’s all he had to do. Focus. Not on what he wanted, but on what he needed. And damn it, he needed Sienna’s help.

“Adam?” she asked, dropping one hand onto his forearm. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.” A light, friendly touch, and yet, it felt like lightning striking between them. She felt it too because she let her hand fall away. Brusquely, he stepped back from her. Distance would be key, he told himself. Best to stop now. “You’re sure this is it.”

“If I need something else, I can always come back here to get it. Not like I’m going to the other side of the country.” She smiled again. “Besides, I’m not like most women. I travel light.”

And a part of him was impressed by that. The women who came and went from his life were interchangeable in their attitudes toward clothes, jewelry and being in the right place at the right time. After a while, they all seemed to be practically clones of each other. None of them were interested in anything beyond the next society function or charity fund-raiser. They didn’t even care what the charity was for. It was mainly a chance to see and be seen and it bored Adam beyond the telling of it.

He couldn’t imagine Sienna bothering to put on makeup before she so much as left her bedroom in the morning. Hell, all she was wearing now as far as he could tell, was a little mascara and some lip gloss. And damned if she wasn’t the most beautiful thing he’d seen in a long time.

“You really didn’t have to come pick me up,” she was saying, and Adam paid attention. “I’ve got my own car and I remember where your house is.”

“I don’t know,” he mused. “Car is a pretty generous description of what’s parked out in your driveway. I doubt you’d have made it all the way to Newport.”

His home in Newport Beach was fourteen miles from Seal Beach, but as far as neighborhoods went, it might as well be light-years from here. Adam frowned at that random thought and wondered when the hell he’d become a snob.

“Hey.” Insulted, she insisted, “Gypsy is a great car.”

“Gypsy?” he snorted. “You named your car?”

“Don’t you?” She shook her head as she swung a giant brown leather purse onto her shoulder, then wheeled the suitcase closer.

“No.”

Now she shrugged. “Cars are people, too. We yell at them, bargain with them—‘please don’t run out of gas here’—why shouldn’t they have names?”

“That is possibly,” Adam said thoughtfully, “the weirdest argument I’ve ever heard.”

“Think about it the next time your car doesn’t start and you’re cursing it.”

“My cars always start.”

“Of course they do.” She laughed. “No adventure in that, is there?”

“Adventure?” This was the strangest conversation he’d ever had with a woman. And Adam realized that he was enjoying himself more than he had in a long time.

“Well sure,” she said. “If everything goes right all the time, where’s the fun in that?”

“I don’t consider a car breaking down to be fun.”

“It can be.” She dug in the oversize bag and came out with a set of keys. “The last time my fan belt snapped, I found the greatest bakery/coffee shop. I waited for AAA there and had an amazing slice of German chocolate cake.”

“Fascinating.” And she was. Not only did her looks appeal to him, but the way her mind worked intrigued him.

“You just never know. One time I got a flat tire and took the most amazing sunset pictures.” She sighed a little as if remembering. “I was on my way to an appointment and never would have seen it if I hadn’t been forced to stop.”

So, in Sienna’s world, a flat tire or a snapped fan belt was a good thing. “You’re an interesting woman.”

Her smile brightened. “Isn’t that a nice thing to say?”

A laugh shot from his throat, surprising them both. “Only you would find a compliment in there.”

“I’d much rather be interesting than boring,” she quipped. “So maybe you’re hanging out with the wrong women.”

“Maybe I am,” he admitted. Hell, he hadn’t laughed with a woman in far longer than he liked to think about.

She tipped her head to one side and her blond hair swept out in a golden fall. A smile teasing her mouth, she looked up at him. “There may be hope for you, Adam.”

His gaze locked with hers. “Hope for what?”

“Well,” she countered, “that’s the question, isn’t it?”

His body stirred and his mind filled with all kinds of things he might hope for. Then he got control again and reminded himself that no matter how much he wanted her, Sienna West was off-limits. “Is every conversation with you going to be this confusing?”

“If we’re lucky.” Still smiling, she lifted her suitcase.

“I’ll get that.”

“Nope. You can carry the bag with my clothes. Nobody carries my cameras but me.”

“Cameras? Plural?” he asked, looking at the rolling suitcase. “How many do you need?”

“Well I don’t know, do I?” she said patiently. “That’s why I bring a selection.”

The tone in her voice was patient, as if she were talking to a three-year-old. Irritating. Amazing how quickly she could turn what he was feeling from attraction to annoyance. And it would be best all the way around if he just stayed annoyed. “Right.”

“And remember, I’ll be going to work when I have to, Adam.” She looked up at him. “You already agreed to that. I’ve got four appointments this week.”

He nodded. Safe ground. Hell, he was willing to compromise. After all, the baby wasn’t really her responsibility. No, little Jack Quinn was now Adam’s charge. Just for a second or two, Adam’s legendary self-confidence wavered. He knew next to nothing about raising children. Hadn’t exactly had prime role models in his own parents. He’d be feeling his way through this blind, but he was determined to succeed.