conclusion. I’d been having a hard time reconciling Damian and that scandal myself.
“But here’s the thing…” Kylie said thoughtfully. “You and I spent all day today trying to dig for information on the Lancasters on the net. We did our research, and we pretty much came up empty-handed. Yeah, we ran into a few innocuous things about Leo and Damian’s mother, but for the most part, I have to assume they live very private lives most of the time. And what kind of dirt did we dig up about Damian? Absolutely nothing except for that orgy picture and article, and some painfully dry business articles. Nic, doesn’t it seem a little strange to you that if Damian really is a man-whore, that we didn’t see a single thing about his past indiscretions on the internet? Doesn’t that make you think that maybe this was all a setup?”
I nodded slowly. “It is strange.” I’d thought the same damn thing after the two of us had spent so much time today chasing every single mention of the Lancaster family for the last two years on the net. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I hadn’t really looked for other possible scandals, things that might pop up while we were in London. Oh, there was plenty of information about Lancaster International, but very little personal stuff about the man who owned it, Leo, or Damian’s mother. Strangely, I hadn’t been all that surprised that nothing more had popped up. So maybe I did believe some of the things Damian had told me over the last several days.
It was probably true that his mother hadn’t ventured out much, or attended events since his father had died.
And it could also be true that Leo was considered way too boring for the tabloids.
Okay maybe, just maybe, the whole orgy situation was a setup, and Damian generally lived a workaholic life that wasn’t exactly newsworthy. I certainly hadn’t found a single shred of evidence to the contrary today.
Although Damian could be charismatic, he never acted like a man-whore. It was obvious that he took his responsibilities to his business and his family seriously. In fact, Damian was…too serious most of the time.
Kylie shrugged. “I think it was some kind of setup, and Damian was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Has he made a move on you?”
“He hasn’t even tried to kiss me again,” I admitted. “He acts like he’s trying to get me to trust him.”
That damn kiss was always dancing around in my head every time I looked at Damian, no matter how much I tried to forget it.
Not that he hadn’t gotten as close to me as possible when we’d had dinner together, but he’d settled for putting his arm around me, and inundating me with sexy innuendos that never saw follow-through.
I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or disappointed that he’d been all talk and no action.
Kylie smiled. “He probably is trying to gain your trust.”
“Ha! Or he could be a serial killer trying to lull me into a sense of security before he pounces,” I countered.
I had to keep reminding myself that there was a side of Damian I hadn’t seen. Even if the whole scandal was a setup, he wasn’t completely innocent. He’d obviously made himself a target by getting drunk enough to allow somebody to spike his drink.
But is that really fair, though? I got shitfaced myself on an airplane with a complete stranger.
The only difference was that Damian Lancaster was a billionaire duke who was in the public eye, and I wasn’t. If I wanted to believe he’d been tricked, I really couldn’t blame him for something that could happen to almost anyone.
Kylie refused to give up. “He’s really attracted to you, Nic. And I think you’re equally attracted to him. Why not give the guy a chance? We all do stupid things sometimes. God knows I have.”
“He’s a client, Kylie,” I reminded her sternly.
She raised a brow. “Not technically. You could have a fling before you sign that contract.”
I shook my head and blinked back the tears that were beginning to blur my vision. “I can’t. I think I’m actually starting to like him.”
I was discovering that there were too many things to actually admire about Damian, and some of those things really touched me.
As much as he reminded me that he was born to privilege, and had no idea what a normal life was like, I was starting to think that his wealth and