Page 27 of Baby Perfection

“If you wouldn’t mind.”

He started in that direction, his stride catching in a brief hitch when he caught sight of Angie. To Lucius’s amusement, he gave her a quick, flirtatious wink before continuing on his way. He made short work of setting up their meal, then returned with the empty box. “Nice one, Mr. D.,” he murmured under his breath. “I live to be you.”

He handed the kid a generous tip and jerked his head in the direction of the elevator. “Just live to be yourself, Tucker,” he advised.

“That was my second choice,” the teen replied. Hopping onto the elevator he punched the button for the lobby. Just as the doors slid shut he waggled his brows in Angie’s direction and gave her a low wolf whistle.

“Interesting character,” she said with a laugh.

“He takes a little getting used to, but he’s harmless.” Lucius led the way into the dining room and held the chair for Angie. “Smart, too. He received a full scholarship to U-Dub. Wants to be an engineer.”

“Did you attend the University of Washington?”

“Yes. Or I did until my father died,” he qualified. He selected a bottle of chilled white wine that would mate well with their meal, made short work of opening it. “I dropped out at that point to salvage what I could of his business. Not that there was anything left to salvage. Lynley had gotten it all by then.”

“And then you started Diablo, Inc.,” she prompted.

“That took a few years to get off the ground.” He transferred some chicken stir-fry to her plate. “I think you’ll like this. They use an excellent blend of spices.”

She took a bite, her startled gaze flashing to his. “Oh, wow.”

He smiled. “Told you.”

They ate in silence for a few minutes. Drank wine. He watched while she pushed a bite of dinner around her plate, working up the nerve to speak. Finally, she glanced at him and caught him looking. She released a low laugh. “Aren’t you going to say, ‘Out with it, Colter’? You don’t normally show such patience.”

He shrugged. “I knew you’d work up to it in a bit. It gave me a chance to eat before you grilled me again.”

“I’m not going to grill you. To be honest, I just wondered… Where do we go from here?”

Back to bed, he almost replied, but refrained. She must have guessed the direction of his thoughts, though, because warm color swept across her cheekbones.

“Other than there,” she added drily.

He sipped his wine. “Tomorrow’s Saturday. We’ll spend the day picking out an engagement ring. Make it official. We’ll break it to the Ridgeways when we pick up Mikey on Sunday.”

“We?” A part of her loved the way he connected them with such ease. Another part struggled to deal with the speed with which they were moving forward. “You want me to come with you?”

“From this point forward, we’re joined at the hip,” he confirmed. “We present a unified front in every regard. Got it?”

It made perfect sense. The Ridgeways needed time to assimilate the changes. Even more important, they needed time to buy into those changes. To believe without question that she and Lucius were a couple, and would make excellent parents for Mikey. Although, no question, that would take quite a bit of convincing. She nodded in agreement. “Got it.”

“Excellent.” His cell phone rang just then. He checked the number and frowned. “I better take this. It’s the Ridgeways.” He connected the call. “Benjamin? Oh, Tabby. Is there a problem? Mikey?”

To Angie’s concern, his expression closed over and she stood, crossed to where he sat. Unable to help herself she slid a supportive hand onto his shoulder, praying nothing had happened to the baby.

“We’ll be right there.” He snapped the cell phone closed. “She thinks Benjamin has had a heart attack. They’re at the hospital and she’s requested that I pick up Mikey.”

“Let’s go,” she said simply.

“One quick adjustment first.” He stood, ran his gaze over her in a manner that had her stiffening. “I’d hoped to have this weekend to set the stage a little better.”

For some reason she found herself falling back a step. “What does that mean?”

“It means, when we get to the hospital, try gazing at me adoringly rather than like you are now.” At her look of utter confusion, he clarified, “As though I’m about to steal your chastity, run off with the family jewels and give a boot to your little pet dog on my way out the door.” He approached, looking entirely too dark and dangerous. “From now on you need to look a bit less professional and a hell of a lot more like my future wife.”

Her breath quickened. “Perhaps the engagement ring we purchase tomorrow will be sufficient. Besides, Mrs. Ridgeway will be too distracted by concern for her husband to pay attention to me.”

“Don’t be so sure, not when it comes to Tabby. She might not consciously notice, but in retrospect she’ll pick up on the clues. Assuming we give her a few to pick up on.” He paused in front of Angie, so close she could feel his warmth and catch a hint of his scent, a scent he’d somehow imprinted on her in those hours they’d shared in his bed. Before she could stop him, he reached for her hair, tumbled it free of the tidy knot she’d settled for after her shower. “Better.”

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