Page 53 of Angel In Armani

Did she want to be one more ball in the air for him?

One more ball that was probably the easiest to drop if push came to shove? It was clear he was a guy who was devoted to his work—both medicine and the Saints. Which didn’t leave much room for romance.

And here she was jumping the gun again. Maybe he just wanted another night or two of sex. Maybe he thought they could burn each other out of their systems or something.

Though he could’ve just knocked on her hotel door back in Orlando if that was the case. But no. He’d waited. Asked her out for dinner. In a helicopter, true, and that made it clear he wasn’t exactly your run-of-the-mill date. Of course, she’d already known that. But rich guys didn’t have to play by normal rules. So maybe it really was just about scratching an itch.

“You’re thinking very hard over there,” Lucas said. He looked down at her plate. “And not eating. Is something wrong?”

“No.” She forked up some lamb hastily, chewed, and swallowed. “It’s great. I’m just…”

“Just wondering what my intentions are?” Lucas asked.

She nodded. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not expecting you to get down on one knee or anything, but this is complicated. So I want to know just how complicated it might be.”

“You like to be in control, don’t you?” He leaned back in his chair a little, lifted his wineglass, and sipped.

“I have a lot on my plate. Things are easier to deal with if I have all the facts.”

“I’m not sure what facts come into play when you’re talking about attraction. Other than the chemistry. I think we’ve already dealt with that part back in Sag Harbor. Our chemistry works just fine.”

“Chemistry is the easy part.” She and Kane had had chemistry. But once the initial heat had died down, there’d been nothing left other than that they were both pilots in the army. No commonality. And Kane had been someone a lot more like her than Lucas Angelo was.

“Why does there have to be a hard part?”

She frowned at him. “Because, like I said. This is complicated. You’re technically my boss. You’re rich. And I’m me. Not rich. Very far from rich.” Their worlds were, well, worlds apart. It was like an Austen novel. Only she was the poor chauffeur and Lucas was the out-of-reach titled object of her affections.

“I don’t care about that,” he said.

“That’s because you don’t have to.”

“No, I don’t. So problem solved. Money isn’t an issue.” Lucas said. He took another mouthful of wine, and she found herself fascinated by the play of muscles in his neck as he swallowed.

Good grief. She was losing it.

“Okay,” Lucas said. “Here are some facts. One. I don’t cheat. If I want to sleep with someone else, then I’d tell you. Two. I don’t want to be complicated. You don’t need complicated. You need easy. You need some fun in your life.”

“My life is fine,” she said.

He shook his head and put down his glass. “I have a mother, a sister-in-law, and about twenty female cousins. Not to mention many aunts and about half a hundred female colleagues. Not one of them has ever used the word fine in that tone and actually been fine.”

She scowled at him.

He laughed. “And that expression just proves it. People who are having fun do not scowl like that.”

“I hardly see how your life leaves much time for fun, ether,” Sara said.

“Ah, but you see, I love baseball. Sure, the travel is killer, and turning the Saints around isn’t easy. That doesn’t change the fact that it makes me smile every time I think about owning a baseball team. It’s one of my childhood dreams come true. So it’s fun. And surgery is fun, too.”

“Cutting people up is fun?”

“Fixing people is. Seeing someone walk again or compete again because of me, that’s better than fun. So here’s what I’m proposing. You need some fun. You need something that makes you happy. I can help you with that.”

“Oh, so you’ll sleep with me to make me happy?”

“Well, based on past experience it will make me pretty happy, too. It’s a win–win situation. But I’m not just talking about sex. You’re so busy running around trying to fix everything for everyone and keep control. You need someone who wants to make your life easier for a change.”

“You think you make things easier?”

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