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said... earlier, that I fascinated you.”
    He nodded his head. “You do. It’s been a long time since I’ve been around someone willing to say what they mean, regardless of how they think I’ll react to it.”
    “You’re attracted to my bluntness?” Kate asked skeptically, hand on her hip.
    He laughed at her. “Yes, among other things.”
    “Well, that’s good,” she admitted. “’Cause that’s not likely to change. Three older brothers, a mechanic daddy, and no mother in sight tends to make you a little tougher than the average girl.”
    Lucas moved on to chopping lettuce and tomatoes for a large crystal salad bowl—she bet that cost a small fortune. “I’m sorry that your mother wasn’t in the picture,” he said sincerely. “However, I can’t help but be grateful that you had such a strong influence in your life. It seems to have benefitted you tremendously.”
    Kate shrugged. She hadn’t really thought of it that way, though maybe she should have. It was what had made her determined and fearless, to shoot for her goals even when they seemed unattainable. To not back down from a fight, no matter how scary the other guy was. Really, they had made her the brilliant reporter she was.
    They had also gotten her in trouble, but you got to take the good with the bad, right?
    “And what about you?” she finally asked. “What kind of family life leads you to become a cooking, billion dollar corporate CEO?”
    Her tone had been light, but his face grew serious as he considered her question. “My father died when I was young. He had been a hardworking man, but spent so much of his time in the mines that he grew sick. When I was fifteen, he passed away, leaving me to take care of my mother who took it pretty hard. She didn’t want me to start working so young, but what choice did we have?”
    Kate paused mid-drink, surprised by both his candid answer and the seriousness of it. “I’m so sorry.”
    He shrugged, continuing his story. “I worked from the ground up in a shipping yard, eventually getting my shot at a corporate job. I excelled. By the time I was nineteen, I began my own business. It was small, but profitable. And its success gave me the chance to join Blaine Enterprises.”
    “Back when it was still James Incorporated?” Kate added.
    Lucas gave her a surprised look. “Yes. Done a little research?”
    Kate froze. She had slipped up and she was worried that he might get suspicious. “I, uh, might have looked you up when I started working for you.”
    “I’m flattered.”
    Hiding her relief, Kate finished her glass. Lucas poured her a little more and, having finished cooking, took the food to the table. They ate in silence, sharing heated looks across the table. The food was delicious and Kate added it to the mental list she’d been keeping of his skills.
    When they had finished, Kate began to gather the dishes. “Leave them,” Lucas insisted and they went together into the living room to finish their wine.
    Lucas motioned for her to have a seat on a plush looking couch, while he sat across from her on a large easy chair.
    They talked casually, mostly about the paintings hanging around his house. Kate carefully avoided discussion of both their earlier topics of family and of his office, mostly because she was worried it would remind him of catching her earlier.
    Her efforts failed, however, and he brought up the inevitable.
    “What were you really doing in my office that night?” he asked her, amusement in his eyes.
    She didn’t want to bring up what had happened in his office—not the heavy petting session, that she no longer had a problem bringing up. But the interrogation? That was going to be difficult to explain, and he just seemed determined to bring her attention back to that evening.
    She tried to remain calm and answered as smoothly as she could, “Just what I said. I was dropping off a document for you to—”
    “Sign, yes, I remember. But why wait until I was