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

Kate straightened her shoulders. “That’s what I’m told.”

He wondered if Molly was the spitting image of her mother. Did her eyes light up like her mother’s when she was excited? Did her cheeks fill with color when paid a compliment? And when she was concentrating while working with her hands, did the tip of her tongue press against her bottom lip?

Lucas drew his thoughts up short. He couldn’t believe in the limited time he’d spent with Kate that he’d gotten to know so much about her.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Kate exited the elevator and turned back to him, still leaning against the handrail. “Are you coming?”

He swallowed hard and stepped out onto the pediatrics floor. There was no doubt about which unit they were in as a painted yellow giraffe with brown spots covered the wall, stretching from floor to ceiling, followed by a hippo, tiger and zebra. Large, leafy trees and tufts of grass were painted in the background. Someone had spared no expense in giving the tiny patients the feeling they were anywhere but at a hospital.

His thoughts took a sudden turn back to his own daughter. Would she like the painting? Did she like giraffes? What was painted on the walls of her bedroom?

The fact he knew none of these answers angered him. He should know. Any father worth the name Dad should know this about their child. Yet, Elaina had stolen those moments from him. And worse yet, he’d let her.

He used to think it was the sacrifice he had to make, but being around Kate and listening to her talk about her daughter, he had to wonder if there was another choice he could make.

“Molly’s room is at the end of this wing.” Kate pushed open one of the double doors.

He followed her past the nurses’ station in the center of the floor. A collective buzz of children’s voices filled his ears. He’d made sure to avoid kids since he’d come back from California—since he’d confronted his ex-wife.

His steps slowed. The distance between him and Kate widened. The giggle of a little girl filled his head. He paused and glanced as the child sat on the edge of her bed. She had curly blond locks like Carrie’s and was smiling at someone. His daughter had never smiled at him like that. The knowledge stabbed him in the chest, robbing him of his breath.

“Lucas,” called out Kate.

He meant to keep moving, but he was drawn by this little girl. Her sweet smile threw daggers into his heart. Instead of smiles, Carrie had looked at him with tears in her eyes as Elaina raised her voice, shook a finger in his face and insisted he leave.

Pain churned inside him as though someone had reached down his throat and ripped out his heart. A cold, aching spot remained. He closed his eyes and turned away from the little girl. He shouldn’t have come here. This was a mistake. He needed to leave. Now.

Kate reached out and touched his arm. “Molly’s room is just a few more doors down this hallway.”

The heat of her touch seeped through his suit coat. He glanced at Kate. Her eyes pleaded with him. He wanted to do this for her more than he could say, but the trickle of the little girl’s laughter was his undoing. He needed to get out of there. He needed to breathe.

“I’m sorry. I can’t.”

With that he turned, jerking his arm from her touch. He could feel her lethal gaze shooting daggers into his back. He deserved her anger and so much more.

He’d failed Kate and he hadn’t even had the nerve to explain it to her. Although it wasn’t as if she’d understand. Her daughter loved her. Looked up to her. Trusted her.

He inwardly groaned as the thought drove home the pain and guilt. If he was doing the right thing for Carrie, why did it feel so wrong?

Unwilling to wait for the elevator, he took to the stairs. He raced down them as though the hounds of hell were nipping at his heels.

Kate would think he was a total jerk. And maybe she was right. Perhaps there was something inherently wrong with him that drove away his ex-wife. And now his child.

CHAPTER TEN (#ulink_777e93be-9f58-5491-8296-257cb2582649)

KATE SWUNG THE hammer with more force than was necessary, missing the nail and putting a small half-moon indentation in the plaster. Just what she needed, something else to fix. It’d been two days since the incident at the hospital and she was still fuming. It was Lucas’s fault. He’d made a point of avoiding her, rushing off to the office early and receiving an urgent phone call and hurrying out the door just as she returned home for dinner. He assured her it was important business, but she didn’t know if she believed him.

Her mind warned her that Lucas was a typical man—unreliable. Why in the world had she let herself believe that he’d be any different than the other men who passed through her life? They said what they thought she wanted to hear and yet when it came to following through with their promises, they never did.

Lucas might clean up nice with his tailored suits and polished dress shoes, but beneath all of that varnish, he was just another lying man. She grabbed a nail, positioned it along the new chair rail and swung the hammer. Hard. Once again, she’d let her guard down and thought she could trust him. She swung the hammer again, hitting the nail dead center. When would she ever learn not to trust men?

She took another whack at the nail, shoving it further into the wall. Not about to ruin the chair rail with a ding from the hammerhead, she looked around for a nail set. Not finding one handy, she grabbed a scrap piece of wood from the floor, positioned it over the nail and swung again.

“What did that piece of wood do to you?”

Lucas. She’d know his deep, rich voice anywhere. Any other time it’d have washed over her like warm maple syrup—sweetening her up. But not today.

She didn’t bother to stop and face him. Another couple of taps and the nail was flush with the wood. “It got damaged from the leaky roof and had to be replaced.”

“That isn’t what I meant. Seems like you’re taking your anger out on that nail. Did something go wrong with the renovations?”

“No.” The fact that he was acting all Mr. Innocent drove her nuts. “I have everything under control.”

“Listen, I know I’ve been busy, but it couldn’t be helped. With the party coming up, we’ve had to kick up the media blitz for the new jewelry line.”

So that was how it was going to be. Act as if nothing happened. She should have predicted this. Her ex swept any trouble under the carpet and pretended as if it never happened. Well, not today. Something had happened and she wasn’t about to forget it.

She set aside the hammer and stood. “Don’t do this.”

“Do what? Ask about the progress on the house?”

“No. Avoid me and then act like there isn’t a problem between us.”

A muscle twitched in his cheek. “I wasn’t avoiding you. Honest. My marketing director went on an early maternity leave and everyone is pitching in to pick up the slack with the upcoming campaign—”

“Stop. This isn’t about your business. This is about you skipping out on me at the hospital without so much as an explanation.”

“I...I’m sorry.” He looked as though he was searching for the right words. “I wanted to meet your daughter but...”

“But what?” He seemed sincere and she really did want to understand. “Talk to me.”

“I can’t. Not now. Just please believe it had nothing to do with you or Molly. I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”

The little voice in her head said not to believe him, but her gut said something else entirely. Not sure which to trust, she decided she needed time to think without him clouding her thoughts with the pleading look in his blue-gray eyes.

“Thank you for your apology, but I don’t have time to talk now. I need to finish replacing this chair rail.”

“It looks like you’ll have this place in tip-top shape in no time.”

“I wouldn’t jump to any conclusions yet. There’s a lot to do and if we’re going to showcase the tunnel, we’ll need every single minute before the party.”

“The tunnel?”

Kate made a point of inspecting her handiwork. Finding a nail that wasn’t quite flush, she grabbed the hammer and the scrap piece of wood and gave it a whack. “Surely you know about the prohibition tunnel beneath the house.”

“Of course I do. But my family liked to pretend it didn’t exist. I’m surprised you know about its existence.”

Kate cocked a smile. “You really need to read more often. You’d be surprised what you learn.”