The Tycoon And I: Safe in the Tycoon's Arms / The Tycoon and the Wedding Planner / Swept Away by the Tycoon

“No. Don’t keep pushing this. Carrie is happy without you.”

A loud click resonated through the phone. His teeth ground together at the nerve of his ex-wife hanging up the phone while he was trying to reason with her.

The kitchen chair scraped over the smooth black-and-white tiles as Lucas swore under his breath and jumped to his feet. He paced the length of the kitchen. The sad thing was Elaina meant her threat. She would make his life hell if he didn’t play by her rules. She’d done it once by skipping town with their daughter and leaving no forwarding address. This time he didn’t even want to think of the lies she’d tell Carrie about him.

This was the reason he’d decided to let his daughter live in peace without the constant shuffle between two warring parents. He wanted a better childhood for Carrie than he’d had.

His thoughts drifted back to his childhood. He’d hated being a pawn between his parents and being forced to play the part of an unwilling spy. Those two were so wrapped up in knowing each other’s business and with outdoing the other that, in some twisted way, he figured they never really got over each other.

But if that was love, then he wanted no part of it. That’s why he’d decided to marry Elaina. They had a relationship based on friendship and mutual goals, not love. A nice, simple relationship. Boy, had he made a huge miscalculation. Even without love things got complicated quickly. Now he couldn’t let his daughter pay the price for his poor decisions.

Lucas stopped next to the table and stared down at the unfinished email. The cursor blinked, prompting him for the next words, but he couldn’t even recall what he’d written.

Nothing was going right at the moment. First, his ex-wife declared war if he pursued his right to spend time with his little girl. Then there was the San Francisco expansion, which was hemorrhaging money. His only hope was the launch of his newest line: Fiery Hearts—brilliant rubies set in the most stunning handcrafted settings.

The launch of this line had to be bigger and better than any other he’d done. Fiery Hearts had to start a buzz that would send women flocking to Carrington’s, infusing it with income to offset the cost of getting the West Coast showroom up and running. He raked his fingers through his hair, struggling for some innovative, headline-making launch for the line. But he drew a blank.

He closed the laptop and strode over to the counter. He went to refill his coffee cup only to find the pot empty. The thought of brewing more crossed his mind, but he had a better idea—getting away from the house by going to a coffee shop. Between the hum of conversation and his laptop, it’d keep him occupied. And if Kate needed her suitcase, she had his number.

Satisfied with his plan of action, he grabbed his keys and wallet when his cell phone buzzed. A quick glance at the illuminated screen revealed it was his aunt.

“Aunt Connie, I’ve been trying since last night to get you. Are you okay?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I’m not used to you being out so late and not taking my calls.”

“Sorry. I was at the hospital, sitting with a woman whose husband underwent emergency surgery.”

“Did everything go well?” he asked, already having a pretty good guess at the answer. His aunt was too upbeat for things to have gone poorly.

“Yes, the man has a good prognosis. So, dear, how are things going in San Francisco?”

This was his opening to find out what exactly was going on here. “I got back late last night.”

There was a quick intake of breath followed by silence. He wasn’t going to help his aunt out of this mess. She owed him an explanation of why a stranger was living here in his home without his permission. He might love his aunt dearly, but this time she’d overstepped.

“Oh, dear. Umm...I meant to call you—”

“So you’re admitting you invited Kate to stay here without consulting me?”

“Well, yes. But I knew you’d understand.” Uncertainty threaded through her voice.

If Connie were an employee, he’d let her have an earful and then some. But this was his aunt, the only family member who’d ever worried more about his happiness than the company’s bottom line...or having the Carrington name appear on the society page with some splashy headline. He couldn’t stay angry with her, even if he tried.

“It might be best if you ask in the future, instead of assuming.” He made sure to use his I’m-not-messing-around voice.

“I’m sorry. She doesn’t have any family for support or anywhere to go. And I would have sent her to my place, but you know after the last person I took in, my roommate insisted I never bring home anyone else. How was I to know that woman liked to borrow things?”

“Without permission and without any intention of returning them.”

He was so grateful that his aunt had Pauline to look after her. If it weren’t for Pauline, he’d never feel comfortable enough to leave town on business. His aunt was too nice, too unassuming. As a result, people tried repeatedly to take advantage of her to get to the Carrington fortune.

“Kate isn’t like the others,” Connie insisted. “She has a good heart.”

“Still, you shouldn’t have sent her here. This house...it’s off-limits.”

“I thought after all of this time you’d have let go of the past.”

He’d never let go. How could he? It’d mean letting go of his little girl. A spot inside his chest ached like an open, festering wound every time he thought of how much he missed seeing Carrie’s sweet smile or hearing her contagious laughter. But he didn’t want to discuss Carrie with his aunt...with anyone.

Hoping to redirect the conversation, he asked, “What do you know about Kate?”

“Didn’t she tell you?”

A knock at the back door caught him off guard. He wasn’t expecting anyone as he never had visitors. And if it was some sort of salesperson, they’d go to the front door.

“I’ve got to go. Someone’s at the door. I’ll call you back later.”

“Lucas, be nice to Kate. She has more than enough on her plate. She can use all of the friends she can get.”

And with that the line went dead. What in the world had that cryptic message meant? He didn’t have time to contemplate it as the knock sounded again.

He let out a frustrated sigh as he set his phone on the center island. So much for getting any answers about Kate. Now all he had were more questions.

The knocking became one long string of beats.

“Okay! I’m coming.”

Lucas strode over and yanked open the door. A cold breeze rushed past him. His mouth moved, but words failed him.

There standing in the rain, completely soaked, was Kate. Her teeth chattered and her eyes were red and puffy. This certainly wasn’t the same determined woman he’d dropped off at the hospital. Where her hair had once been styled, the wet strands clung to her face. What in the world was going on?

Without thinking he reached out, grabbed her arms and pulled her inside. His mind continued to flood with questions, so many that he didn’t know where to start. But finally he drew his thoughts into some semblance of order and decided to start at the beginning.

“Why didn’t you call?” He slipped her purse off her shoulder and set it on a kitchen stool. “I’d have picked you up.”

Were those tears flowing down her cheeks? Or raindrops? He couldn’t be sure. Obviously he’d have to hold off getting to the bottom of this. His first priority was getting Kate warmed up.

“We need to get you in a hot shower.” She started to shake her head when he added, “No arguments. You’ll be lucky if you don’t catch pneumonia. If you hadn’t noticed, it’s awfully cold to be walking around in the rain.”

He helped her out of her jacket, which definitely wasn’t waterproof. Next, he removed her waterlogged red heels. When he reached for her hand to lead her to his bathroom, he noticed how small and delicate she was next to him.

She looked so fragile and his instinct was to protect her—to pull her close and let her absorb his body heat. He resisted the urge. It wasn’t his place to soothe away her worries. When it came to relationships, he should wear a sign that read Toxic. And that was why he intended to grow old alone.

In his bedroom, he had her wait while he grabbed a towel and heated up the shower. When he returned, she was still standing there with her arms hugging herself, staring at the floor. What in the world had happened? Did she have bad news at the hospital? Had someone died?

Not that it was any of his business. He wasn’t a man to lean on. He had no words of wisdom to share to make whatever problem she had go away. If he had, he’d have used it to fix his own messed up life. He’d have gotten his family back. The house would be filled with the sounds of his daughter’s laughter. Instead the silence was deafening. He shoved the troubling thoughts away.