It was quiet again, and Kate didn’t even dare to swallow in case she missed something.

“What do you . . .” The rest of Lucas’s words were muffled, like he’d turned away. Kate heard a creak and knew he’d leaned against his old metal desk.

“ . . . like the way . . . very nice . . . .” Kate didn’t like her tone, even muffled through the ductwork.

The sound of heels clicking on the floor reached Kate’s ears. Was the woman walking toward Lucas? Away from him? She didn’t hear his footsteps, though his sandals were soft soled.

Then there was nothing but quiet from below. The silence unnerved her. What were they doing down there? Her imagination filled the gap. She imagined Red approaching Lucas, placing her long, slender fingers along the side of his neck. Was he wrapping his arms around the woman even now? Was he kissing her the way he’d kissed Kate the week before?

Heat prickled the back of her neck.

That’s silly. If he were seeing someone else before he married me, he wouldn’t have married me.

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t interested in the woman now.

Maybe he’d met her after they married and was pursuing the relationship. Did Kate really have any rights to him? Any say in what he did in the privacy of his own workshop?

He’s married to me. Even if it is in name only, he owes me the respect of keeping his vows.

She had kept hers, after all. It wasn’t her fault that Bryan called sometimes.

She sighed. Though now that the cramped stiletto was on the other foot, she realized it was unfair to take Bryan’s calls. “He has no right to call my house,” he’d said. Maybe it was just caveman tactics that inspired the words, but followed so closely by those other words—the ones she’d repeated in her mind ever since—his anger took on a different meaning.

“What if I want you to stay?”

Had he meant it the way she thought? Did Lucas want their marriage to be real?

That’s crazy. Although the notion held more appeal than was healthy for two individuals so incompatible, Lucas had never given any other indication he considered the marriage binding. Except, well, the fact that he’d kissed her. And boy, had he kissed her. Her stomach fluttered now just thinking about it. Maybe he did want more.

Yeah, Kate, that’s why he’s alone downstairs with that beautiful, leggy redhead.

And why was it so quiet down there? Kate pressed her ear on the vent and listened.

Twenty

Twenty

Love doesn’t have to be complicated.

—Excerpt from Finding Mr. Right-for-You by Dr. Kate

“It shouldn’t be too long.” Lucas opened the door for Sydney. “I’ll call you when it’s finished.”