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ork.”
    â€œIs that all you can do to help my sister, Ms. Diamond ?” He leaned back in the chair and casually folded his hands toge ther.
    Lucy hated when someone pushed her to her limit. Jordan had pushed beyond and blasted into Holy Shitville. Though the circumstances with the death of his parents never left her mind, she had to call it like she sa w it.
    â€œLet me ask you this, Mr. Kincade. What are you willing to do to help your sis ter?”
    â€œW hat?”
    Yeah. Gotcha, bu ster.
    â€œYou question my intentions and accuse me of making a play for your brother—­or you—­but let’s be honest,” she said in an amazingly cool tone. “Maybe you’re not really the right person to deal with Nicole’s probl ems.”
    His eyes narrowed just enough to let Lucy know she’d hit a nerve. Lucy folded her arms, steeling herself against the possibility of an explosion. “In fact, do you really even know her?”
    â€œOf course I know her.” His jaw clenched. “She’s my sis ter.”
    â€œIs that so? Then who’s her best friend?” Lucy a sked.
    â€œ Her—­”
    â€œWhat’s her favorite co lor?”
    â€œSh e’s—­”
    â€œWhat does she like on her pi zza?”
    â€œ For—­”
    â€œWho’s her latest cr ush?”
    His hands curled into fists. “Are you going to let me ans wer?”
    â€œBe my guest.” Lucy leaned back in her chair and waited. Due to the current circumstances she hated to point out the obvious, but her main concern had to remain with Nicole. If he genuinely wanted to help, Lucy was prepared to do what needed to be done. But if his only plan was to march in here, make demands and accusations, and then go back to his life status quo, that wouldn’t fly. She wouldn’t bail on a young girl in need. Teenagers dealing with depression often took drastic measures, and Lucy had to do whatever she could to save this girl.
    Seconds ticked by without Jordan’s response. She could see him mentally grasping at st raws.
    She’d made him s weat.
    Made him t hink.
    Now it was time to throw out the life prese rver.
    â€œI understand you probably have a very busy life,” she said in her most understanding tone. “One that hasn’t allowed much time for getting to know all of Nicole’s likes and dislikes. But I really am very concerned for her. This problem didn’t just begin. It’s been brewing for a while. I promise I’ll do whatever I can to help find out the cause and do my best to get her back on track. I will stand by her and I will let her know she can trust me and feel free to discuss any matter with me.”
    This time his smile came with a sigh of re lief.
    After all these years and all she’d been through, Lucy really thought she’d be immune to someone like him. She’d learned her lesson, right? But something inside told her Jordan Kincade might very well be swimming in the same deep waters as his sister. And that concerned Lucy even more.
    â€œYou’re a very generous wo man.”
    â€œThank you.”
    He stood as if to l eave.
    â€œThank you for coming,” she said. “And since you probably need to get back to your job, have your brother contact me next week and I’ll give him an upd ate.”
    â€œI’m in town for a few more days, so I’ll have a talk with my sister.” He settled his big hand right next to where her arm rested on the desktop. When he leaned that six-­foot-­plus body down so they were nearly face-­to-­face, a spiral of heat shot right through her core.
    Get it together, Lucy.
    A flicker of something flashed in his eyes.
    â€œAs for you and me, Lucinda ?” One dark slash of brow lifted. “I don’t think we’re done at all. So you can stop acting like we’ve never met.”
    The acknowledgment hit her with a jolt, and a gasp