he knew he wouldn't. The idea of a stranger in his home, pawing through his things was not a happy one. That was the reason he still hadn't replaced his housekeeper, Mrs. Johnson. The woman had died in her sleep in 1995. Which was eight years ago, he realized with surprise.
Since, Lucern had hired a service to clean his home once a week, and he usually had his meals out or ordered them from a gourmet restaurant down the street. He'd intended to do that only until he found a replacement for the unfortunate Mrs. Johnson, which he'd never gotten around to. He'd think about it and all the trouble it meant, then would decide against it. Why go to all that time and effort only to have whomever he hired drop dead on him after ten or twenty years as both Mrs. Johnson and Edwin had done?
He muttered under his breath at the thought. Humans were so unreliable that way. They were forever dropping dead on you just when you had them trained.
He was pondering that annoying little habit of mankind when the front door of the house slammed. Kate was back from her shopping excursion. He ran his hands through his hair, brushed down his T-shirt and tried to look presentable. He sat up, peering expectantly toward the living room door and was just in time to catch a glimpse of Kate flying upstairs. At least he thought it was Kate. All he'd really seen was a godawful bundle of shopping bags with various designer names on them, and feet.
Oh, yes. She'd been shopping. He slumped back on the couch with disgust. She hadn't even noticed him. Women!
A cacophony of sounds followed from upstairsthe slamming of the guest room door, then all sorts of unidentifiable banging and bumping. It sounded as if the woman was jumping around and throwing things willy-nilly.
It went on long enough that Lucern became concerned. Then there was a sudden and utter silence. Standing, he walked into the hallway and peered anxiously up the stairs. A door opened and closed; then he heard the clicking of high-heeled shoes on the hardwood hall floor, and Kate appeared at the top of the steps.
She was a sight. A vision. Her golden hair was piled on top of her head with little ringlets dropping down to frame her pretty, flushed face. The gown she wore was a deep emerald green. It had a long skirt, a crepe neck, and was made of a soft-looking material that had a slight sheen as it draped gracefully over the contours and curves of her body. She was glorious. An angel. The most beautiful woman Lucern had seen in his life, and that was saying something. He was tongue-tied with amazement. He simply watched in awe as she descended the steps.
She was only halfway down when she spotted him. She immediately paused, blinked, then scowled. "You aren't ready!"
It was Lucern's turn to blink. His angel was bellowing. She was also frantic. The serene vision was gone.
"Lucern!" She glared at him with disbelief. "The wedding is at seven o'clock! It's six-fifteen now. We have to leave. You haven't even showered or anything! What have you been doing all this time?" She covered her lower face with horror. "We'll be late! I hate being late to weddings. Everyone will be seated in the pews, and they'll all stare and"
"Okay!" Lucern held up his hands, trying to soothe her as he started up the stairs. "It's okay. I'm fast. I'll be ready. Just give me ten minutes. We won't be late," he assured her as he moved warily past her. "Really. I promise."
Kate watched with exasperation as Lucern disappeared up the stairs. Once he was out of sight, her shoulders drooped unhappily. After all her efforts, he hadn't even commented on how she looked.
Disappointed, she continued downstairs and went into the living room to wait. She was all prepared to tap a hole in the floor with impatience. She didn't get the chance. Ten minutes after leaving her on the steps, Lucern came back downstairs all set to go. His hair was still damp from the shower and slicked back, and a tailored designer suit hung elegantly off his broad shoulders.
Ten minutes, Kate thought with disgust. Ten minutes, and he looked fabulous. It had taken her all day to put herself together, and it had taken him ten minutes! She glared at him as she joined him in the hall.
"See? I told you I'd