Page 51 of Lucas
I know what it’s like to feel inadequate. To feel you’re constantly falling short, no matter how hard you try. It’s a bitter, relentless pressure. The weight of expectations bearing down on you until you feel you can’t breathe.
Maybe Ava and I have more in common than I realized.
But before I can examine that thought, she’s straightening in her chair, the moment of weakness vanishing as quickly as it appeared. The mask of cool composure slips back into place, hiding any hint of the turmoil beneath.
“My turn,” she says. “Truth or dare?”
I look into her shimmering eyes. “Truth.”
“What’s your biggest regret?”
“I don’t believe in regrets,” I say. “What’s done is done. No point dwelling on it.”
“And still?”
I think about all the less-than-successful things I’ve done. “I suppose I should have been more careful with my extracurricular activities,” I say.
Ava tilts her head, a curious look on her face. “Why?”
“If I hadn’t ended up in the gossip columns so many times, none of this would be happening. I wouldn’t need a fake marriage and pretense. Dad wouldn’t have forced me to get married to get his role.”
She looks at me with an almost disappointed expression. My stomach clenches. “You don’t like my answer?”
“For a moment, I thought maybe you were sorry for your behavior, but you’re only sorry you got caught.”
“Looks like you had a wild night.” Logan’s voice drips with amusement as I enter my office.
My brother is lounging in one of the plush armchairs in my office, his long legs stretched out before him.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, irritation prickling under my skin. I shrug off my suit jacket and hang it on the brass coat rack, standing sentry in the corner.
“Is that any way to greet your brother after I’ve been gone for so long?” Logan stands, straightening his tie. “And here I thought you’d be thrilled by the honor of my presence.”
“My apologies. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company, Dear Brother?” My words drip with sarcasm as I cross to my desk.
“I wanted to go over some Valeur business with you. Things you need to know now that you’re stepping up.” Logan’s gaze follows me, zeroing in on my neck. With a smirk, he reaches out and tugs at my collar, exposing the angry red scratches decorating my skin. “Your wife decorated you nicely, I see.”
I jerk away from his touch, heat crawling up my throat. “Is that what it looks like? That explains the stares and snickers I got on my way in.”
Better they think the marks are from a passionateencounter. It only reinforces my reputation as a shameless playboy. Far better than the humiliating truth—that I lost to a demon with feathers.
“You’re saying that’s not the reason?” Logan quirks a brow, curiosity and amusement warring in his expression.
“No.” I snap, my temper fraying. “I haven’t touched her.”
Logan’s eyes widen before he schools his features into a mask of nonchalance. “I don’t understand. You’re not sleeping together? Are you getting it elsewhere then?”
“No.” The word is a snarl, torn from my throat. The vein in my temple throbs, pulsing with barely leashed frustration. “I’m not cheating on her if that’s what you’re implying. I’m many things, but an adulterer isn’t one of them. You know how I feel about infidelity.”
Logan holds up his hands, palms out in a gesture of surrender. “Yeah, yeah, I know your theory about Dad’s affair.”
“It’s not a theory,” I say, my voice hard. “It’s fact.”
Logan sighs, running a hand through his tousled hair. “Okay, let’s not get into that now. Look, I get it. I know what a long dry spell feels like. Before Sloane, I went months without sex, and it never bothered me. But you... You’ve never been able to go without for long.”
I scowl, dropping into my leather executive chair. It creaks under my weight, the sound loud in the sudden stillness. “You all make me out to be some kind of insatiable sex maniac.”
Logan snorts. “And you’re not?”
