Kathie DeNosky - The Kincaids - Southern Seduction

When she drove around her parents’ home to the carriage house in back, she found Daniel waiting for her. Parking her Mini Cooper next to his white Mercedes, her heart sped up. “Speak of the devil,” she murmured.

“Don’t you have to work today?” she asked as they both got out of their cars. Opening the back of the Mini to remove the box of Bubble Wrap, she started toward the front door. “I thought you had another meeting with the dockworkers.”

“It was canceled,” he said, walking over to take the box from her. “We were able to get things resolved late yesterday afternoon.”

“It must be a relief to have that over with.” She knew from listening to her father and brothers how disruptive the labor force walking off the job could be to an international shipping company.

“But don’t you have other duties to attend to as CEO of Addison Industries?” she asked, not at all pleased with herself for being so happy to see him.

The trip to the aquarium and the kiss they shared at the mansion were wonderful, but they changed nothing. He was still a man who was completely turned off by commitment and having children. And she still wanted the happily-ever-after—a loving husband, marriage and a big family.

But it was going to be a serious test of her willpower not to fall for him all over again. He just looked so darned good. In a suit and tie, he was drop-dead gorgeous. Daniel Addison wearing blue jeans, a black T-shirt and a brown leather blazer was positively devastating. It was all she could do to keep from abandoning her resolve and throwing herself into his arms.

“That’s the beauty of being the boss,” Daniel said, oblivious to her inner struggle. Easily handling the lightweight box with one arm, he held up a sack from a nearby Chinese restaurant with the other. “I can take off for an early start to the weekend whenever I want to.”

Opening her front door, Lily led the way into the apartment, then took the box of Bubble Wrap from him. “As you can see, everything is in a state of total chaos right now,” she said, finding an empty place next to a bouquet of flowers on the coffee table to set the box.

“I see you have quite a few things packed.” She watched him look around at the cartons and boxes already sealed and stacked for the move. “You aren’t taking the furniture, are you?”

Lily shook her head. “Since Daddy had the mansion fully furnished, there wouldn’t be anywhere to put any of it.” She threaded her way around a pile of empty containers to the dining table on the far side of the room. “I thought I would leave my furniture here in case Momma wants to let one of the servants move in or if she decides to rent it out to someone.”

He set the sack of takeout on the table. “When do you plan on moving?”

“Over the next three days.” She walked into the kitchen to get a couple of disposable plates and plastic cutlery. “I thought I would take the lighter boxes over there tomorrow and Sunday. Then, when the movers get the heavier things on Monday, all that should be left to do is find where I want to put things at the mansion.”

“I have an idea,” he said, taking food from the sack. “Why don’t we move some of this over there this afternoon. Since I’m off for the rest of the day, I can carry boxes inside while you start putting things away.”

Lily nibbled on her lower lip as she thought about his offer. “It would be nice if some of this mess was cleared out of the way.”

Daniel looked over at the tall stack of moving cartons in the living room. “I’m going to go so far as to say it would be a hell of a lot less dangerous, too.”

“It is going to take several trips,” she thought aloud as they sat down to eat. “My little car can only hold so much, even with the backseats folded down, and I’ll probably need the extra afternoon to get everything moved.”

“Do you actually enjoy driving that little toy?” Daniel asked, handing her a carton of sweet-and-sour chicken.

“You sound just like my brother,” she said, frowning. “RJ keeps telling me I should replace it with a real car.”

He raised one eyebrow. “I take it that isn’t something you want to do?”

“I love my Mini Cooper,” she said, defending her little car. “I could easily afford to replace it with a larger, more expensive model, but I don’t want to. It’s fun to drive and I think it suits my personality.”

“Okay,” Daniel said slowly, as if knowing he was treading on a sensitive subject. “We’ll use it and my car this afternoon, then tomorrow I’ll get one of my company pickup trucks to move what’s left.”

Having his help would greatly cut down on the amount of time it took her to move. But the more she was with Daniel, the bigger threat he posed to her peace of mind. If she continued to be around him, there was a very real danger of her falling for him again, and it would make things that much harder for her when she told him about the baby and he walked out of her life for good.

“I can’t ask you to do that,” she said regretfully. “I’m sure you have other things you need to be doing.”

“Nope. And besides, you didn’t ask.” Reaching across the table, he covered her hand with his, sending a tingling awareness spiraling throughout her body. “I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t want to help, sweetheart.”

“I don’t want—”

“Just say yes, Lily,” he commanded with the same smile that never failed to make her heart skip a beat.

Lily stared at him for a few seconds longer as she began to realize that she had already lost the battle she had been waging within herself. Sighing, she gave in to what they both wanted. “All right. Yes, you can help me move.”

Daniel carried the last box of art supplies into the studio in the Beauchamp carriage house just as daylight was starting to fade to dusk. He and Lily had made several trips from her parents’ place over to the mansion and reduced the amount of boxes piled in her living room to just a few. They had even managed to move most of her clothes and toiletries.

“It shouldn’t take long to move the rest of your things tomorrow,” he said, watching her lay out drawings of a mouse wearing a trench coat and fedora across her worktable. “We’ll be able to move twice as many boxes with the truck. You’ll probably even be able to cancel the movers for Monday.”

“Thank you for all the help, Daniel. I really appreciate it.” When she looked up, her vivid blue eyes brightened and he could practically see the wheels turning in her pretty head. “If I wanted to, I could even start staying here tonight.”

“You could,” he said, nodding. “But by the time we have dinner and you got back over here, it would be time for bed. Wouldn’t it be better to get a good night’s sleep at the apartment, then you’ll already be there to finish the move when I come by tomorrow morning with the truck.”

“I suppose you’re right,” she said, putting the last of her drawing pencils into a holder on the worktable.

Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her to him. “Why don’t we go back to your place, have a pizza delivered and open a bottle of wine to celebrate your move.”

“That sounds nice, but I think I’ll pass on the wine,” she said, resting her head against his chest. She was too tired to pull away and besides, it felt good to be in his arms. “I think I’d rather have the pizza and then a big bowl of ice cream with lots of chocolate syrup and peanut butter mixed in with it for dessert.”

He leaned back to see the expression on her face. “You’re serious?”

“Absolutely,” she said, grinning. “I’ve had ice cream, chocolate and peanut butter almost every night for the past few weeks.”