Molly pulled the keys out of the ignition. Her palms were sweating and she wiped them of the fronts of her jeans as she got out of the car and then slung her bag over her shoulder, letting out a nervous breath.
“Maybe we should wait,” Lucian said from across the car after he climbed out.
“It’ll be fine,” she assured him. “My father is just a big old Teddy Bear.”
“Maybe he is to you but I doubt I will have the same effect…” Lucian mumbled.
“Don’t worry. He will love you as much as I do.”
Lucian gave her a look that said otherwise. “Yeah, I won’t be holding my breath on that one.”
Molly laughed. “Come on. He’s not that bad.”
“I think your opinion may be a bit biased.” He tugged on his leather jacket and raked his hand through his hair.
Molly watched him, it was hard not to. He was so damned sexy. Lucian looked like the quintessential bad boy, the one every woman dreams of—and he was all hers—and she still couldn’t believe it. She would have pinched herself to make sure this was real and not some fiction conjured from her overactive mind but was afraid she would wake up from the best damn dream she could have ever had. She walked over to the other side of the car, grabbed hold of Lucian’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
He looked down at her with heavy lidded gaze, as his lips tugged upward into a slow sexy grin, squeezing her hand back. “I think I’m ready.”
“Good.” She tugged on his hand and pulled him around to the back entrance to the lodge.
“Did you tell your father about the mine?”
“Not yet.”
“Oh.” Lucian stopped abruptly.
Molly looked up at him. “What’s wrong?”
“Whose car is that?” Lucian asked when he saw the Cobra sitting in a parking space near the door.
“I guess it’s my father’s. Why?”
His brows creased. “My brother has a car like that, too.”
“Really,” she choked, finally remembering something.
Lucian reached out and patted her back. “You okay?”
“Yep. I’m good.”
He gave her strange look. “You don’t look too good.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“You know what I mean,” he said, opening the door for her.
“I’m fine,” she assured him stepping inside, even though she was freaking out. Molly usually kept out of her father’s affairs but she remembered quite clearly when he got that car and where he got it from. And more importantly, now she knew why the name Ravenhurst seemed so familiar when Lucian had brought it up…
Before she could make up a viable excuse to leave, the door to her father’s office opened up and out stepped Cuthbert, her father’s right-hand man.
“Hey boss man,” Cuthbert called over his shoulder into the office. “Come and see who the cat dragged in.” Turning back around, he held out his arms for Molly. “You are a sight for sore eyes, baby girl,” he said. “Come give your uncle a hug.”
Cuthbert wasn’t really her uncle but she had called him that since her mother left. Hoping to delay the inevitable, she walked forward into his outstretched arms, giving him an obligatory hug. “It’s good to see you.”
He released her and held her at arm’s length. “Let me look at you,” he said, smiling, revealing a few new teeth that hadn’t been there before. “I think you have gotten taller.”
He always said that.
“No, I haven’t,” she assured him.
Lucian was frozen in place. He couldn’t breathe. How? It was the only word his mind could register he was so in shock.
Bishop’s imposing frame filled the doorway. His eyes settled on his daughter, noting immediately that she seemed in good spirits. He had his doubts since he knew that dipshit Dan had dumped her, again. When that happened, she was usually a basket case until Dan wormed his way back into her life again regardless of his warnings.
“Daddy.” Molly broke away from Cuthbert and ran to her father, wrapping her arms around his waist.
Bishop hugged her back, stroking his hand down her hair, like he had since she was a little girl. “You seem happy,” he warily said, testing the waters.
“I am,” she assured him as she pressed her head against his chest, inhaling his comforting scent.
Lucian finally got his feet to move. Acting quickly, he stepped back into the shadows hoping to be unobserved until this little reunion was over and he could get the hell out of here before he was noticed.
It was too late though. Bishop’s dark gaze settled on him. “Long time no see,” he said, disentangling his daughter’s arms from around his waist.
“Oh, Daddy,” she said. “I want you to meet my fiancée, Lucian, the love of my life,” Molly said thinking fast, hoping to head off any kind of confrontation between Lucian and her father.
Bishop did a double take. “What did you say?” He looked pointedly at his daughter.
“That’s my Lucian, Daddy,” she said. “I finally took your advice.” She smiled.
“What advice might that be?” His eyes landed back on Lucian.
Lucian tensed. If looks could kill he would already be dead, he thought.
“That I should stay away from Dan and find someone else—I found him.” She walked over to Lucian and put her arm around his rigid body.
Bishop blinked a few times and then rubbed his brow.
Cuthbert was the first to react. He got into a defensive stance, and cracked his knuckles. “What the bloody hell are you doing here?”
Lucian opened his mouth and closed it again.
“I already told you,” Molly interjected. “This is my fiancée’,” she said, laying her left hand on Lucian’s chest reassuringly, showing off her emerald engagement ring.
“Sir,” Lucian began…
“No.” Bishop lifted his hand. “Not yet.”
Lucian swallowed hard and nodded.
“Molly would you be a dear and get me a drink?”
Molly looked between her father and Lucian. “Daddy, you better be nice,” she warned.
“Of course, sweetheart,” he assured her. “Cuthbert go with Molly and get yourself a drink.”
Cuthbert was about to object but one look from Bishop made him hold his tongue. He walked towards the bar in the adjoining room.
“Do you want me to stay?” she asked Lucian.
“No.” He shook his head. “Go get your father his drink.”
Molly narrowed her eyes at her father. “You better be nice,” she warned again as walked across the room.
“I already told you I would.”
Once Molly and Cuthbert were out of earshot, Bishop smoothed a hand over his inky black hair. “How do you know my daughter?”
“I didn’t know she was your daughter.”
“Obviously,” Bishop said. “But how did you meet her?”
“She ran out in front of me on the road.”
“She what?”
“She was trying to flag me down—her car broke down.”
Bishop shook his head. “I’ve been telling her to get rid of that death trap for years…”
“And she asked me to be her date for her friend’s wedding.”
Bishops brow lifted. “She did?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Did she have a good time?”
“Yes, I believe so.”
Bishop frowned. “I see.”
“About the money…” Lucian began.
“It’s already been taken care of.”
It was Lucian’s turn to frown. “How?”
“Your brother paid your debt some time ago. Didn’t he tell you?”
A wave of relief washed over Lucian. “I haven’t spoken to him.” He couldn’t believe it. Was that why his brother was trying to get in touch with him?
“I was wondering where you ran off to,” Bishop said. “And now I know.”
“I wasn’t trying to avoid you…”
“Let’s cut the bullshit. I know you ran. Luckily for you, your brother had the means to fulfill your debt or we would be having a very different conversation right now.”
“I’m sure we would,” Lucian agreed.
“Do you care about my daughter?”
“Yes.” He nodded.
“What do you plan to do?”
“I’m sorry. What do you mean?”
“Do you plan on sticking around?”
“Of course, I wouldn’t have asked her to marry me…”
Bishop cut him off with a look. “You still need money, I assume?”
“Yes, I do, but I am willing to work for it.”
“That’s new. Have you turned over a new leaf, then?” His brow hitched up. “Given up gambling, have you?” he poked.
“Yes, Sir, that’s the plan.”
“And what if I offered you money to leave? Would you take it?”
Lucian was about to answer…knowing the shortfalls of himself better than anyone. He had always taken the easy way out—to hell with the consequences—which he had learned the hard way on more than one occasion that there really was no easy way out—you would have to pay your dues at some point but he could take the money and put off the inevitable for a bit longer…couldn’t he?
“It’s a substantial amount that I am offering.” Bishop added, “For you, it could mean beginning again somewhere else, or going back home a very wealthy man.” Bishop pulled out a checkbook from the breast pocket of his impeccably tailored suit jacket. “Name your price.”
Lucian looked at the checkbook, a battle waging in his mind. In another time, his answer would be a no brainer—he would take the money and run. But could he leave Molly? The old Lucian said yes, but the new Lucian wasn’t so sure…