Family Man

Luke said behind her, “but I'm going to give you some anyway. When you resign from Gilchrist, Inc., get out of the business world entirely. You're too emotional for it.”
    “Me? Emotional? That's ridiculous coming from someone who can hold a grudge for thirty-six years. You may feel free to shove your advice where the sun doesn't shine, Mr. Gilchrist. I certainly am not interested in it.” Katy wrenched open the front door and stepped out onto the porch.
    Rain thundered on the porch roof and cascaded off the edge. There were already several puddles between the steps and her car. She was going to get drenched. A fitting end to a wasted day.
    “It's pouring out there,” Luke said behind her. “Hang on a second and I'll get an umbrella.”
    “Forget it. I don't want to hang around you or your vicious dog that long.”
    Katy stepped off the porch and was soaked instantly. Her hair turned into a sodden mass that clung to her neck and hung in front of her eyes.
    She had been too angry even to think of putting on her jacket. The rain promptly rendered her yellow silk blouse virtually transparent. The thin fabric of her bra and lacy camisole were not proof against the torrent, either. She realized with deep chagrin that she probably looked half naked.
    “Hell,” Luke muttered as he followed her down the steps. “This is stupid. You'd better come back inside the house and get dried off before you leave.”
    Katy swung around to face him. She held her rain-streaked briefcase protectively in front of her so that he could not see the way her nipples were puckering against the wet fabric of her blouse. “I've told you once, and I'll tell you again. When I want your advice, I'll pay for it. Until then, kindly shut up.”
    “If that's the way you want it.” Luke opened the car door for her and offered her a mocking bow. He was just as drenched as she was. His hair hung in wet clumps, and his black sweater was saturated.
    There was no way to get into the car without putting aside the briefcase. Katy tossed it angrily onto the front seat. Then she hunched her shoulders and leaned forward in a vain effort to shield herself from Luke's gaze as she climbed behind the wheel. She fumbled quickly with the keys.
    “Drive carefully.” There was a distinctly sensual curve to Luke's mouth as his gaze went to the front of her blouse.
    Katy felt an outrageous thrill shoot through her. This was crazy, she told herself. No man's gaze had ever affected her this way. He was casting some sort of spell on her.
    She shoved wet hair out of her eyes and glared up at him. Suddenly the dam holding in all her frustrations burst. “I hope you enjoy your miserable existence up here on this godforsaken bluff. I hope you really love every single minute you spend brooding over your hoard of gold.”
    “Thanks.”
    “I hope you get a real kick out of knowing that when your family needed you, you turned your back on them the same way Justine turned her back on your father all those years ago.”
    “I'll do my best.”
    Katy was raging now. “I hope you enjoy your revenge, but I warn you, it's going to feel very cold in a few years. Your grandmother has already learned that lesson.”
    Luke's eyes suddenly glittered with something more dangerous than amusement. Holding the car door open, he braced his fist on the roof and leaned down.
    “Who the hell are you, anyway, Katy Wade, and why are you so concerned about my family's future? You must have done something real bad in a previous life to get yourself appointed guardian angel to the Gilchrist clan.”
    “I told you, I owe your grandmother. I always pay my debts.”
    “Just why did she give you that job when you were nineteen? And don't hand me that crap about doing it out of the kindness of her heart. I know too much about her to fall for it.”
    Katy turned the key violently in the ignition. The engine started with a shriek of protest. “She gave me the job because she's a woman with a strong sense of family pride and responsibility. She saw an opportunity to make up for what your father did to my mother, and she took it.”
    Luke went still. “What the devil are you talking about?”
    “Haven't you figured it out? My mother was the woman your father stood up at the altar when he decided to elope with his secretary.”

CHAPTER

TWO
    L uke braced his hands on the porch railing and watched until Katy Wade's car vanished from sight. Then he swore softly, turned, and stalked back into