But then, maybe she’d never really known him. And maybe the love had been an illusion, too.
His secretary had informed her that he had a civil case on the court docket for two p.m. and that he’d planned to go there right from lunch. It was now three o’clock.
“Sylv!” Luc said on noticing her. “I was going to call you later today.”
Hah! Likely story!
There was surprise and pleasure on his face, not the anger she’d seen the last time they’d met. Things must be going well with the oil-pollution case, or he would be upset over her making contact with him.
“Can we talk in private?” she asked, sidestepping his arms, which had been about to pull her into an embrace. The guy had no problem with public shows of affection in front of his staff, apparently. Was it just her, or every woman he treated thus?
In particular, how about Jolie Guillot?
His brows lifted in question at her avoidance of his touch, but he nodded. Tossing some court documents on his secretary’s desk with instructions on letters to be written, he then opened his private office door, motioning for her to enter in front of him.
Sylvie should have known better.
No sooner had the door shut behind them than Luc had her pinned to the wall and was kissing her ravenously. So much for the love potion wearing off!
At first, she succumbed to the delicious play of his lips on hers. It had been a week, and she had missed him tremendously, and he was such a good kisser. But she was here for a purpose, she reminded herself. A serious purpose.
Shoving against his chest, hard, Sylvie moved to the other side of the room, putting a desk between them. “I have something to ask you,” she said without preamble.
“Will it involve tape measures and body fluids?” He was grinning at her, even as he approached in a slow, predatory manner. Just as he feinted one way, then the other, trying to grab for her, she moved behind his desk. Luc continued to grin, obviously enjoying this stalking game.
Well, she wasn’t. And it was time to straighten out a few important matters.
“Is Tee-John your son?” she asked bluntly.
Luc stopped in his tracks, and the grin evaporated from his mouth. “What did you say?”
Sylvie sank down into the desk chair and put her face in her hand for a moment. Once she was calm, she repeated her question. “Is Tee-John your son?”
His silence was damning, and the bleak expression on his face was downright alarming. “I don’t know,” he admitted softly.
“You don’t know?” she practically shrieked. “How could you not know such a thing? Is it even possible?”
“Yes, dammit, it’s possible.”
Sylvie put both palms to her abdomen. She felt as if she’d been kicked in the gut.
“Eleven years ago, I came home from college during my senior year. I was drinking at a Christmas party, and she was there.” He lifted his palms in a weary fashion. “I just don’t know.”
“Did it ever occur to you to ask?”
“Of course I asked.”
“And?”
“Jolie laughed.”
“She laughed?” Sylvie repeated. “Couldn’t you have had DNA tests done?”
“Not without the mother’s permission, and Jolie prefers having my father’s purse strings than mine.”
“Well, I’d say it’s about time you found out for sure. Tee-John has overheard too many things. He’s suspicious.”
“Oh, God!” The look of horror on Luc’s face had to be genuine. “He thinks it’s me?”
“No, no, no! He just suspects that Valcour isn’t his father.”
Luc tilted his head and stared at her. “Then how did you make the connection?”
“Because he looks just like you. Because some of his mannerisms are identical to yours. Because, in retrospect, I realized how green you turned at times when I mentioned Valcour being his father.”
He nodded.
“I just don’t understand you, Luc. How could you have let that boy stay in the same house with Valcour LeDeux, knowing that he might be yours?”
Luc’s chin lifted in defiance. “You can’t think any less of me than I have for years. The ‘bad boy of the bayou’ appellation has been well-earned. Sleeping with my father’s common-law wife! Talk about trash! But I’ve looked out for Tee-John all my life. Don’t you insinuate otherwise.”