“Not tonight.”

She frowned. “We have a deal.”

“You’ve done enough, Lexi. I can meet the senator on my own.”

“I don’t understand.”

Probably because he didn’t either. Nothing had changed, yet he didn’t want her providing introductions anymore. He would make his own way. Find his own connections.

“Let it go,” he told her.

“But…”

He kissed her on the mouth. “Come on. Let’s dance.”

“Okay.”

She didn’t sound convinced, but she went with him. She trusted him. They had a good partnership, he thought. They complemented each other.

That’s what Margaret saw, he told himself. Not love. A different kind of connection. He and Lexi understood each other. They were good together. So why was he interested in finding anyone else?

Cruz turned the question over in his mind. Lexi was exactly what he was looking for. A woman with good bloodlines and family connections who would allow his children to have a much easier beginning than he’d had. She was intelligent, beautiful, funny, smart. She drove him wild in bed. Hell, she even liked Kendra.

Why hadn’t he considered her before? He wasn’t planning on finding the love of his life. He was looking to make a deal. Who better than Lexi?

He led her to the dance floor. The music was slow and sexy. He pulled her into his arms.

She felt good next to him. He liked her curves and the way her body melted into his.

“At least you’ve met Senator Vantage,” she said. “He’s thinking of running for president. That would be very cool. You could get an invitation to the White House.”

“Have you been?” he asked.

“Only on the tour, years ago. Our high school class went.”

“Of course they did.”

She laughed. “What does that mean? Are you saying I lived a life of wealth and privilege?”

“Uh-huh.”

“You’re right, I did. On the surface everything was perfect.”

He knew that behind the facade, there had been problems. Jed might not have hit his children, but he was no less a bully.

“You’d never let that happen to your kids, would you?” he asked. “You’d get between them and Jed.”

She stumbled. “Ah…Of course I would. Why are we talking about children?”

Because she would be a good mother, he thought. She led with her heart. She tried to be tough and the world saw her as capable and cool. The ice princess. But underneath, she was just like everyone else. Good at some things, terrified of others.

“We’re not,” he said, wondering the best way to approach her about changing their arrangement. Would she be interested? There were advantages to her-unless she wanted romance and false promises of love. He wanted to say Lexi was too practical for that, but women were different. And in many ways, she remained a mystery to him.

“You’re a very good dancer,” she said as they moved to the music. “You slept with your instructor, didn’t you?”

Now it was his turn to stumble. “What? Why would you ask that?”

“Because there’s an element of sexuality to the way you dance. A sense of claiming your partner. You’ve danced to seduce and you’ve never forgotten the lesson.”

He had slept with his dance instructor. She’d been a fiery beauty who warned him not to fall in love with her. He’d enjoyed all that she offered and when it was time, they’d both walked away satisfied, but untouched.

“You’re more than a pretty face,” he said.

“So I’m right.”

“Words every woman longs to say.”

“It does make me feel special.”

He leaned in and kissed her. He kept the contact light, but was unable to resist claiming her as his. His woman. His…wife?

He straightened.

Lexi looked at him and for a second, he thought he saw tears in her eyes.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Nothing. I’m fine.”

I love you.

The words appeared without warning. He took a step back. He didn’t love anyone. Not ever.

Lexi didn’t notice. She touched the corner of her eye. “I, um, need to visit the ladies room. Can you entertain yourself for a few minutes?”

“Yes. Are you sure you’re all right? I can take you home.”

“No. I just need to…” She smiled. “Don’t worry about it.”

He watched her walk away. Should he go after her? Find Margaret and ask her to check on Lexi?

Before he could decide, he felt a hand on his back. The hand slid down as a familiar perfume surrounded him.

“Hello, Sabrina,” he said without turning.

“Cruz.” The other woman stepped in front of him. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Sabrina looked good. Her dress hugged every impressive curve and her breasts seemed to be fighting to free themselves. There was a time when the sight of her lushness would have had him searching for somewhere private to indulge them both. Now he couldn’t stop thinking about Lexi and wondering what was wrong.

“I see you’re still engaged,” Sabrina said. “How sad. I was hoping that was just a phase.”

“I’m not interested in being your next husband.”

“Maybe you could be my last.”

“Only if you’re going to start murdering them instead of divorcing them.”

She laughed. “Are you saying I have a short attention span?”

“Yes.”

She drew in a breath. Her breasts quivered. The fabric was cut so low, he would swear he could see a hint of her nipple.

The orchestra began again.

“You’re really saying no to me?” she asked. “As in you want me to stop asking?”

“That would be best.”

“All right. But I insist on one more dance.”

Sabrina had been good to him. They’d parted as friends and she’d introduced him to a few influential players. One dance was little enough repayment.

He reached for her hand.

She stepped into his arms, but didn’t move too close. There was space between them. He relaxed.

“You’re going to find marriage messy,” she said. “It’s not the sameness that wears you down, it’s always having to remember there’s someone else who has an opinion. You can’t go and do what you want. There always has to be a conversation about it.”

“I think I can handle it.”

Her eyes were blue. Lighter than Lexi’s but still pretty. She wrinkled her nose.

“You say that now, but talk to me in a few years. When you’ve gotten tired of the demands. Most women can be very demanding.”

He remembered Lexi’s insistence that he give her more when they made love. She lost control and then demanded. It was heaven on earth. She could demand all she wanted.

“Why are you trying to scare me away from getting married?” he asked. “You’re looking for husband number three.”

“Four, but let’s not count. I miss you. I want things the way they were between us.”

Sex and nothing else. Not even a lot of conversation. Had that really been enough? He glanced over her shoulder, hoping to catch a glimpse of Lexi.

She sighed. “You’re not even paying attention.”

“Sorry.”

“You’re not. You have it bad. I should have recognized the signs.” She stopped dancing. “Okay, I’ll give up. Begging isn’t good for the skin, anyway.” She cupped the back of his head and drew him toward her. “Good luck with everything. Goodbye, Cruz.”

Her lips were familiar, but no longer exciting. He kissed her out of habit, because he’d done it a hundred times before and it still didn’t mean anything. But when he started to straighten, she hung on and parted her lips.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and held her in place while he pulled back. “So much for giving up,” he said, not even surprised by the attempt to get him interested in-

She was talking, maybe saying how she had to try one more time, but he wasn’t listening. Instead he stared into Lexi’s shocked eyes.

Sabrina turned. “Oh, dear. This can’t be good.”

Lexi looked him up and down. “I can’t even say I’m surprised,” she told him, then walked away.

He stood in the center of the dance floor, watching her go. Beside him, Sabrina gave him a poke in the back.

“If she matters at all, you’d better go after her. She’s not the type to forgive you kissing another woman. Tell her it was all me. Tell her you’re sorry. It’s true.” Sabrina sighed. “Cruz, I didn’t mean for her to get hurt. Now go on.”

Follow her. Apologize. Show weakness.

He couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

He left the room, going in the opposite direction.

“DO YOU WANT TO talk about it?” Dana asked.

Lexi would rather have walked through hot coals. Only her friend had come to pick her up at the party within ten minutes of getting the call and was entitled to an explanation.

“It’s Cruz.”

“Not a big surprise. What did he do?”

Lexi didn’t want to tell her. Not because she wasn’t going to talk about all of it but because speaking the words made the moment real. Right now she felt a cold, almost numbing kind of shock that made it tough to breathe, but kept the worst of the pain at bay.

“He was kissing someone else.”

Dana glanced at her. “I’m sorry.”

Tears burned hot in her eyes. “But you’re not surprised. It’s a deal, right? Nothing more than an arrangement. I got engaged for money. He didn’t leave cash on the nightstand, but that’s just semantics. He bought me, so what right do I have to complain?”

“Lexi, don’t beat yourself up. You’re hurt enough and I don’t want you kicking someone I care about when she’s down.”

Lexi leaned back in the truck seat and closed her eyes. “I’m the poster child for stupid,” she whispered. “Why did I think there was something between us? Why did I think I could hope? I knew who and what he was when we got involved. Everything was clear. He would give me the money I needed to pay back the loan and I would give him access to the Titan world. And me.”

“You did what you thought was right at the time.”

“Did I? Or did I take the easy way out?”

“Nothing about this is easy.”

Lexi agreed. She felt emotionally ripped apart. “All I ever wanted was for my dad to love me for me. Not because of what I’d done, but because of who I am. I knew my mother didn’t. She’d proved that when I was still a toddler and she walked away. But Jed was always there on the fringes, making me believe that someday, maybe, if the stars lined up and I was perfect, he would finally see me and realize he’d loved me all along.”

“He’s a bastard, Lexi. I know he’s your dad and you love him, but he’s a total bastard. I’ve studied the mentally disturbed. From a psychological perspective, using intermittent reinforcement is powerful. You see a hint of what you desperately want, of what you think you can get, so you keep trying.”

Lexi opened her eyes and tried to smile. “I’ll take your comment in the spirit in which you meant it, but it sounds like you’re referencing experiments with rats in a lab.”

Dana shifted uncomfortably. “I say it with love.”

“I know. Maybe I’m more like a lab rat than I want to admit. It’s just…” She wiped away tears. “Cruz is so like him. He walked away from Kendra. He buys what he wants, even people. I kept seeing the truth and wanting to avoid it, but why? It is what it is. He is who he is.”

Dana pulled up to the keypad by Cruz’s double gate. Lexi gave her the code. They drove to the front of the house and climbed out.

“You didn’t tell me you’d fallen in love with him,” Dana said as she followed her into the house.

Lexi didn’t bother to deny it. What was the point? “I only realized it recently. There was just enough there to make me fall.” She opened the front door and stepped inside. The beautiful house no longer seemed welcoming.

“I can’t win with either of them, can I?” she asked, determined to be rational when all she wanted to do was scream at the heavens and demand justice and fairness. “It’s not even about me.”

Dana hugged her. “I’m sorry.”

Lexi held on to her friend. “He didn’t care about kissing her. I could tell. He wasn’t into it. It was just habit or reflex. I don’t feel betrayed. It was like someone turned on a light and suddenly I could see everything going on.”

She straightened and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I’m in this for real and to him it’s just a game. I have to get out before I get more hurt.”

“I really want to beat the shit out of him,” Dana said, “But have you thought this through? Don’t you want to talk to him first?”

“And say what? ‘Jeez, Cruz, while I wasn’t paying attention, I fell in love with you?’ Talk about awkward. I don’t want his pity and I don’t want a deal. I want him to care about me because of who I am. It’s just like with my dad. I probably need therapy.”

“We all do,” Dana told her.

“I shouldn’t have to win his heart,” Lexi said, feeling herself start to crumble. “I shouldn’t have to earn it. Not from either of them.”