“Get out.” Lucy pursed her lips.
Artemis frowned. “You are asking me to leave my bedroom?”
“The room, my apartment, the country…whatever.”
His frown deepened. “But why?”
“You didn’t have to lie to me.” She glared at him. “Fine, don’t tell me the reason you have that scary gun you’ve hidden somewhere, or why there was some team responding to a simple burglary. Be a secretive ass, but don’t lie. I hate liars.”
He ran a hand through his close-cropped dark curls. “I’m not lying, Lucy. Your father was Frederick Winchester, Duke of Salisbury.”
Overwhelmed, her mind focused on one fact. “Salisbury? Like the steak? Of course. That is the perfect title for a fat girl’s father.” She laughed, though there was an out-of-control edge to her amusement, and she could feel herself losing it as the chuckling progressed.
Looking concerned, Artemis took out his cell phone and dialed a number.
“Calling your team to take me away?” She barely pushed out the words through her giggles, but she wasn’t actually feeling amused. Euphoric, nauseated, and anxious were all better descriptors.
“Mrs. Cardann?”
Lucy froze at the sound of her surname.
“This is Artemis Shaw. The situation we’ve prepared for is upon us, and Lucy could use some reassurance.” After listening to a reply, he held out the phone.
She stared at it and crossed her arms over her bosom. With a determined shake of her head, she refused to accept it. He wiggled it slightly, and she shook her head again. However, she couldn’t ignore the sound of her mother’s voice over speakerphone after he pressed a button.
“Oh, Lucy, I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you sooner.”
She sagged. “No,” she whispered.
“It wasn’t safe. Freddy was a nice guy, but we always knew it would be a fling. You happened to be a happy reminder of our affair, but he wasn’t in a position to be your father.”
Wounded, her eyes sought Artemis’s, but the warm sympathy only made her hurt worse, and she jerked her gaze to the wall. “You lied to me.”
“No, not exactly. I just didn’t tell you who your biological father was. Sam was such a great guy—”
Lucy gasped, suddenly realizing the man she had always thought of as her father wasn’t really. He had passed away last year, and he had never told her the truth. Like everyone else in her life, he had lied to her. It was like being robbed doubly—first of a father, and second of the trust she had in him.
“Lucy, listen to me. Freddy provided financial support, but he couldn’t be there for you. Sam gave you all those things he couldn’t. He was at your softball games and dance recitals—”
“He lied to me. You lied to me.” She snatched the phone from Artemis’s hand. “You’ve all lied to me my entire life. I never want to talk to you again.” With a surge of anger, she tossed the expensive phone against the wall, satisfied when it shattered and hit the sagging hardwood floor with a gratifying thump.
“Lucy, will you please listen to me?”
She shrugged off his hand and turned away from him. “Don’t touch me. You’re a liar just like the rest of them.” Even as she pushed him away, Lucy couldn’t help melting into his solid, comforting embrace when he insisted on putting his arms around her. Tears streamed from her eyes as she cuddled against him, gasping with surprise when he lifted her onto his lap like she weighed nothing.
She sobbed until she had nothing left. Her eyes were red and dry, while his sweater was sodden against her face when she was emotionally spent. Exhaustion swept over her, and she let her eyes close, eagerly embracing sleep as a way to escape facing reality again for a while.
***
Lucy woke alone, this time properly tucked under the covers with her head resting on a memory foam pillow. Inhaling filled her nostrils with Artemis’s masculine scent, and she stretched, allowing a lazy yawn to escape. For a second, she wondered why she was in the bedroom in the bakery apartment, and then the previous night’s events returned, and she gasped.
Sitting upright, she got out of the bed and padded into the bathroom. His shower looked the same as it had when she’d been using the apartment, and she helped herself to it without a trace of guilt. If he could lie to her for two years, she could use his shower and his towel without asking permission. Feeling defiant, she even used his body wash, though sandalwood wasn’t really her favorite aroma. Except on him. He smelled so good…
She cut off that thought by reminding herself how he had deceived her. It was nothing like the way her parents…mom and stepdad?...had, but it still hurt to know he’d hidden something so huge from her.
Lucy was also annoyed to find out he’d been living in her apartment to keep a surreptitious eye on her and for no other reason. She mocked herself with the fantasies in which she had indulged, all featuring him. At least she knew definitively that he had no interest in her, and she could stop the silly wishing.
First thing she had to do was serve him an eviction notice. After leaving his shower and drying off with a towel that smelled just like him, even fresh from the tiny linen cupboard, she put on her clothes from yesterday and left the bathroom.
Back in his bedroom, she searched for her purse before remembering it was still downstairs in the bakery. A glance at the clock made her curse as she realized she had slept right through breakfast and the day’s preparations. There would be little point in opening the bakery today.
Lips tight, she searched his room for a pen and paper, having to settle for a sharpie and the back of an envelope she found on his dresser. Since it was an empty envelope for an advertisement, she figured it was safe to use. As neatly as she could with the wide-tipped marker, she wrote a notice of eviction before marching from his room, buoyed on a tide of righteous anger.
He was in his kitchen, and the incongruous sight of him in a tight black T-shirt, faded gray jeans tight enough to mold to his muscular legs, and a plain white apron made her skid to a stop on her bare feet. Mouth agape, she watched him expertly toss a pancake, complete with the hands-free flip in the air and effortless catch in the pan.
Damn, he looked good like that. He looked good any way she’d seen him.
That didn’t excuse lying to her, and she forced her gaze from his heavenly body to the back of his head as she padded into the kitchen. She didn’t think he’d seen her yet, so she jumped like a scalded cat when he said, “Have a seat. Breakfast will be ready in a moment.” He didn’t even look at her, and he’d known she was there. Damned spy.
Clutching her chest to still her racing heart, she glared at him as she sat down at the table. It was only after she was in the chair that she realized she had mindlessly obeyed him. “We need to talk.”
“Certainly, love, but give me a moment to finish breakfast.”
“I…” She trailed off, unable to argue with the request—mainly because he didn’t offer the opportunity as he kept his attention centered on the stove. Finally, he finished what he was doing and turned to set a plate before her. Artemis stripped off his apron with neat precision and hanged it on a hook.
Lucy’s mouth watered at the stack of fluffy pancakes and crisp bacon. When he poured real maple syrup over the stack, she feared he was the absolute perfect man, but she had to get rid of him. It was a matter of principal.
When he sat down, she was too busy savoring the first bite to pass him the handwritten eviction notice. Then she was too busy savoring the robust coffee spiked with cinnamon liqueur. Somehow, she found herself eating breakfast and chatting casually with him, as though nothing had changed.
As she finished off the last bite she could hold, pushing the plate slightly away from her, along with her unfinished pancakes, her gaze fell on the envelope again. Anger stirred anew, and she picked it up before slamming it on the table beside him. Tapping it with a finger for emphasis, she said, “Read that.”
He leaned over slightly to look at it, his brow furrowed in concentration. “What is this?”
She glared at him. “What does it say?”
He shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure, Lucy. It’s difficult to read. Is it an evacuation plan?”
She threw her hands into the air and cursed. “No, it’s not a frigging evacuation plan. It’s an eviction notice. I want you out of my apartment. Your assignment is terminated.”
Looking calm, he wiped his mouth on a napkin before nodding. “Of course I can move out, and I will if you insist, but the assignment hasn’t terminated. If you persevere on forcing me to watch you more discreetly, I will have to do that, but I’m not authorized to leave you here without protection.”
“Whoever thinks they have the authority to watch over me is wrong. Who do I speak with to get this nonsense finished?”
He arched a brow. “It won’t matter if you talk to the queen herself and get the assignment terminated.”
She scowled at him, leaning forward without thought. “And why the heck not?”
Artemis gave her a small smile. “Because I have no intention of leaving you, Lucy. Now that you know the full truth of why I’m here, I can do what I’ve been dying to for the past two years.”
Brow furrowed with confusion, she asked, “And what’s that, Artemis?”
With a motion so fast she barely saw him move, though she heard the chair topple to the floor, Artemis was suddenly leaning over her, pressing her back into the seat. His hands clutched the arms of the wooden kitchen chair, and even bending down, he still loomed over her.
Instead of being frightened, a thrill of anticipation shot through her. “What are you going to do?” she asked softly.
“This.”Artemis tilted his head slightly, forcing her neck backward, and angling his lips over hers.