Lucian

I drop into my leather office chair, running my hand through my hair. It feels so fucking good to be home again, and the fact that Lia’s back in my bed is enough to bring me to my knees. For agonizing hours after I found her, I was afraid we’d never be here together again. Truthfully, I don’t know if I would have ever walked back through the door to this place if she had died. This might be my home on paper, but Lia now owns every square inch of it. There isn’t a room, nook, or corner I don’t feel her presence in. Maybe it stems from the fact that I’ve never had another woman here romantically. It scares the hell out of me to even try to analyze why I can’t imagine wanting her to leave…ever. Whatever the reason, I finally feel as if I can breathe again.

Even though I want nothing more than to go crawl into bed with Lia and feel her against me, I have business that needs to be dealt with. Aidan and Cindy have done a good job at handling the day-to-day operations at Quinn Software, but I cannot be away from the helm forever. There are always decisions to be made that are solely my responsibility.

I have been returning emails for an hour when the doorbell rings. “Fuck,” I hiss, hoping the sound doesn’t wake Lia. I can’t imagine who it could be since everyone I know would call before they dropped by. When I look through the peephole, I squint in surprise. I recognize the face; after all, I purchased this apartment from his company. It also explains why he made it to my apartment without my okay; I guess his employees don’t say no to the boss. Opening the door, I stand with my arms crossed, saying simply, “Jacks.”

“Quinn,” he answers back in kind, appearing amused by my resigned expression. I know it is obvious to him that his visit is no surprise to me. I’d known from the moment Max and I talked that he’d make an appearance at some point; I’m only surprised it has taken him this long. We hold a bit of a stare-off/male-pissing contest before I finally move aside and motion him into my apartment. There is no way he’s going to go away easily, and I’d rather get this over with while Lia is asleep.

He stands in the foyer, waiting until I close the door and motion him to follow me to my office. When he sits in the chair I’ve indicated in front of my desk, I take a moment to study him. Maybe I’m prejudiced by the information I have, but damn, he does look like Lia. Their hair and coloring are almost the same, but it’s the eyes that really give me pause. His eyes are the same brilliant blue as Lia’s. I realize that half of the people in the world probably have blue eyes, but there is just something about Lia and Lee’s eyes, which look almost identical. I scrub a hand over my forehead thinking that maybe I’m just seeing things that aren’t even there. I have a feeling Lee knows for sure one way or the other, so my curiosity has me asking, “So, what can I do for you?”

His lips turn up in a slight smirk as if to say, ‘so you’re going that route.’ I don’t intend to make this easy for him, though, so I wait. “When I was told you were asking questions about me, it didn’t cause much of a blip on my radar. After all, we have some similar business interests, and I figured you had some future venture in mind.” He pauses, crossing his legs before continuing. “What did surprise me was that the questions had nothing to do with business and everything to do with my personal life, or more accurately, my past. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, because it does…often. However, it’s usually by the same nosy crowd that wants to dissect me for personal gain. Your sudden interest in a period of my life twenty-some-odd years ago was enough to get my attention. So, I did a little digging of my own into your life.”

After delivering his last statement, he waits as if curious to what my reaction will be. I lean back in my chair, wishing for one of the nasty cigarettes that are in my desk drawer. I refuse to give him the satisfaction of acting like a pussy. Men like Lee Jacks only respect one thing: strength. Something tells me that how I react to him today will set the tone for our future relationship. If he is Lia’s father, and he deems me as weak, he’ll end up being a problem—a big one. Therefore, with a carefully blank face, I say, “I would have done the same. I’m only curious as to why it’s taken you this long to make an appearance.”

I think I must be imagining things when he looks almost guilty for a split second before wiping his expression clean. “I was out of town when I first heard of your unusual…interest in me. I just returned late last night. After I found out that you were at home instead of your office, I came straight here.”

Deciding to cut through the rest of the small talk, I ask bluntly, “Is she your daughter?”

He doesn’t bother to act ignorant; he simply says, “Yes.”

I have little doubt that he knows exactly what he’s talking about; this isn’t a man who would answer that type of question without facts to back it up. I feel rage rising to choke me as I snap, “Have you always known about her?”

“Fuck no!” He almost shouts the words, losing his composure for a moment before taking a breath. “The things you were asking made me dig. When I couldn’t find a connection between my past and yours, I had my men look at her. I knew when I saw her picture, but the first line of her background report confirmed it for me.”

“You don’t look that much alike,” I argue, not even sure why I’m protesting. Maybe because I think Lia deserves a parent who isn’t just as bad as her mother is. Without replying, he pulls his wallet from his suit pocket and takes a picture from it. When he tosses it in front of me, I gape at him. In the picture stands Lee Jacks with his arm around…Lia?

“What the hell?” I ask, staring at the picture in shock. Lia knows who he is.

“Pretty uncanny, isn’t it?” he asks as he hands me another picture. The same woman stands next to a man who closely resembles Lee, but clearly is not. “That’s my brother Peter and his daughter Kara.”

I take a closer look at both photographs, finally noticing a difference in the other woman’s hair color and height. At first glance, she could pass for Lia’s twin. However, upon closer inspection, knowing what I now do, I can see it is not her. It does seem to lend support to his statement of being Lia’s father. I hand the pictures back, saying, “This doesn’t really prove anything. Don’t they say everyone has a twin somewhere in the world?”

“Let’s not waste our time doing the denial dance, Quinn. Both you and I know I have more proof than this.”