The Kincaids: Southern Seduction

“Your father needed a strong woman to guide him,” Charlotte said, unabashed by her son’s observations.

“Well, I don’t.” He glared at his mother. “I prefer a woman to be my equal, not one who tells me every move to make and how to make it.”

“Do you honestly believe that Kincaid girl is your equal?” Charlotte scoffed.

“Yes, I do. But that is absolutely none of your concern.” Daniel had heard enough and he didn’t think he could stomach much more of his mother’s arrogance. “I think I’ll take a rain check on that dinner, Charlotte.” He rose to leave. “And I’m giving you fair warning. In the future, you would do well to keep your nose out of my business and your opinions to yourself. I’ll see who the hell I want for as long as I want and I don’t intend to listen to another word about it from you.”

Without waiting for his mother’s reaction, he walked out of the room. On his way through the kitchen, he apologized to Rosemary for skipping her delicious meal, then headed home to the peace and quiet of his condo. Eating alone was preferable to listening to Charlotte extol the virtues of his cold, intractable ex-wife’s pedigree, while running down a warm, caring woman like Lily.

To keep from saying anything against his mother, Lily had simply stopped seeing him rather than cause a rift between them. That was the kind of class and breeding Charlotte should applaud and strive for—not run down.

Lily Kincaid was twice the woman his mother or his ex-wife would ever be and if he hadn’t known that before, he certainly did now.

“Are you sure that living in that huge house all by yourself is what you really want?” Kara asked, clearly worried.

“Yes.” Lily knew her sister was voicing the concern of her entire family when she stopped by to pick up some extra rolls of Bubble Wrap Kara kept at her shop. “I’ve always loved that house and now that I’ve seen the inside, I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather live.”

“I haven’t driven up to Hilton Head to see about my property yet,” Kara said, handing Lily a box filled with several rolls of the packing material. “I’ve been so busy trying to get everything ready for Laurel and Eli’s wedding, I just haven’t had the time.”

“Has Laurel chosen the colors she wants to use for the wedding and reception?” Lily asked, hoping her sister chose a shade for the bridesmaids’ dresses that didn’t clash with red hair.

“She’s leaving it up to me and Eli to decide.” Kara shook her head. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a bride who didn’t care what color scheme was used at her wedding or who encouraged the groom to help the planner make all the choices for her.”

“Well, she is rather busy now that she’s handling the press releases for the family, as well as public relations for TKG,” Lily said, wondering if that was all there was to Laurel’s disinterest. At times it seemed that Kara was more excited about their sister’s wedding to Eli Houghton, owner of a luxury resort on Seabrook Island in the Outer Banks, than Laurel was.

“I’m sure that her hands are full,” Kara agreed. “But still—” When the phone rang, she stopped and held up her finger as she picked it up. “Prestige Events, may I put you on hold for just a moment?”

“I’ll let you get back to work,” Lily said, smiling when her sister muted the call. “My dishes and I thank you for the Bubble Wrap.”

“If you need more packing materials or someone to help you move, just let me know,” Kara said, already pressing the button to return to the call.

As Lily drove back to the carriage house from Kara’s shop, she went through a mental checklist of all that she wanted to accomplish for the day. She needed to sketch out a few more scenes for the new children’s book she was illustrating and pack more of her things for her move to the Beauchamp mansion. And, of course, somewhere between drawing a mouse wearing a fedora and wrapping china with Bubble Wrap, she would need to take a nap.

She smiled as she turned into the driveway leading back to the carriage house. Once filled with almost boundless energy, since becoming pregnant she required a nap around the same time every afternoon. The doctor had told her that the fatigue was common and would probably disappear after the first trimester only to return during the last few weeks before giving birth. But as out of character as it was for her to sleep during the day, she fully intended to enjoy every minute of her pregnancy even if she had to do it without the baby’s father.

Thinking about Daniel, she sighed wistfully. She hadn’t seen him for the past week, and whether it was smart or not, she had missed him. He had called her as often as he could and sent flowers every day, but it wasn’t the same as being with him. And that was dangerous to her peace of mind.

She wished things could be different—that he wanted what she wanted. But he didn’t, and all the wishing in the world wasn’t going to change that. She was going to have to tell him about the baby, and as soon as she got moved into the Beauchamp House, that was exactly what she was going to do.

When she drove around her parents’ home to the carriage house in back, she found Daniel waiting for her. Parking her Mini Cooper next to his white Mercedes, her heart sped up. “Speak of the devil,” she murmured.

“Don’t you have to work today?” she asked as they both got out of their cars. Opening the back of the Mini to remove the box of Bubble Wrap, she started toward the front door. “I thought you had another meeting with the dockworkers.”

“It was canceled,” he said, walking over to take the box from her. “We were able to get things resolved late yesterday afternoon.”

“It must be a relief to have that over with.” She knew from listening to her father and brothers how disruptive the labor force walking off the job could be to an international shipping company.

“But don’t you have other duties to attend to as CEO of Addison Industries?” she asked, not at all pleased with herself for being so happy to see him.

The trip to the aquarium and the kiss they shared at the mansion were wonderful, but they changed nothing. He was still a man who was completely turned off by commitment and having children. And she still wanted the happily-ever-after—a loving husband, marriage and a big family.

But it was going to be a serious test of her willpower not to fall for him all over again. He just looked so darned good. In a suit and tie, he was drop-dead gorgeous. Daniel Addison wearing blue jeans, a black T-shirt and a brown leather blazer was positively devastating. It was all she could do to keep from abandoning her resolve and throwing herself into his arms.

“That’s the beauty of being the boss,” Daniel said, oblivious to her inner struggle. Easily handling the lightweight box with one arm, he held up a sack from a nearby Chinese restaurant with the other. “I can take off for an early start to the weekend whenever I want to.”

Opening her front door, Lily led the way into the apartment, then took the box of Bubble Wrap from him. “As you can see, everything is in a state of total chaos right now,” she said, finding an empty place next to a bouquet of flowers on the coffee table to set the box.

“I see you have quite a few things packed.” She watched him look around at the cartons and boxes already sealed and stacked for the move. “You aren’t taking the furniture, are you?”

Lily shook her head. “Since Daddy had the mansion fully furnished, there wouldn’t be anywhere to put any of it.” She threaded her way around a pile of empty containers to the dining table on the far side of the room. “I thought I would leave my furniture here in case Momma wants to let one of the servants move in or if she decides to rent it out to someone.”

He set the sack of takeout on the table. “When do you plan on moving?”

“Over the next three days.” She walked into the kitchen to get a couple of disposable plates and plastic cutlery. “I thought I would take the lighter boxes over there tomorrow and Sunday. Then, when the movers get the heavier things on Monday, all that should be left to do is find where I want to put things at the mansion.”

“I have an idea,” he said, taking food from the sack. “Why don’t we move some of this over there this afternoon. Since I’m off for the rest of the day, I can carry boxes inside while you start putting things away.”

Lily nibbled on her lower lip as she thought about his offer. “It would be nice if some of this mess was cleared out of the way.”

Daniel looked over at the tall stack of moving cartons in the living room. “I’m going to go so far as to say it would be a hell of a lot less dangerous, too.”

“It is going to take several trips,” she thought aloud as they sat down to eat. “My little car can only hold so much, even with the backseats folded down, and I’ll probably need the extra afternoon to get everything moved.”

“Do you actually enjoy driving that little toy?” Daniel asked, handing her a carton of sweet-and-sour chicken.

“You sound just like my brother,” she said, frowning. “RJ keeps telling me I should replace it with a real car.”

He raised one eyebrow. “I take it that isn’t something you want to do?”

“I love my Mini Cooper,” she said, defending her little car. “I could easily afford to replace it with a larger, more expensive model, but I don’t want to. It’s fun to drive and I think it suits my personality.”

“Okay,” Daniel said slowly, as if knowing he was treading on a sensitive subject. “We’ll use it and my car this afternoon, then tomorrow I’ll get one of my company pickup trucks to move what’s left.”

Having his help would greatly cut down on the amount of time it took her to move. But the more she was with Daniel, the bigger threat he posed to her peace of mind. If she continued to be around him, there was a very real danger of her falling for him again, and it would make things that much harder for her when she told him about the baby and he walked out of her life for good.

“I can’t ask you to do that,” she said regretfully. “I’m sure you have other things you need to be doing.”

“Nope. And besides, you didn’t ask.” Reaching across the table, he covered her hand with his, sending a tingling awareness spiraling throughout her body. “I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t want to help, sweetheart.”

“I don’t want—”

“Just say yes, Lily,” he commanded with the same smile that never failed to make her heart skip a beat.

Lily stared at him for a few seconds longer as she began to realize that she had already lost the battle she had been waging within herself. Sighing, she gave in to what they both wanted. “All right. Yes, you can help me move.”

Daniel carried the last box of art supplies into the studio in the Beauchamp carriage house just as daylight was starting to fade to dusk. He and Lily had made several trips from her parents’ place over to the mansion and reduced the amount of boxes piled in her living room to just a few. They had even managed to move most of her clothes and toiletries.

“It shouldn’t take long to move the rest of your things tomorrow,” he said, watching her lay out drawings of a mouse wearing a trench coat and fedora across her worktable. “We’ll be able to move twice as many boxes with the truck. You’ll probably even be able to cancel the movers for Monday.”

“Thank you for all the help, Daniel. I really appreciate it.” When she looked up, her vivid blue eyes brightened and he could practically see the wheels turning in her pretty head. “If I wanted to, I could even start staying here tonight.”

“You could,” he said, nodding. “But by the time we have dinner and you got back over here, it would be time for bed. Wouldn’t it be better to get a good night’s sleep at the apartment, then you’ll already be there to finish the move when I come by tomorrow morning with the truck.”

“I suppose you’re right,” she said, putting the last of her drawing pencils into a holder on the worktable.

Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her to him. “Why don’t we go back to your place, have a pizza delivered and open a bottle of wine to celebrate your move.”

“That sounds nice, but I think I’ll pass on the wine,” she said, resting her head against his chest. She was too tired to pull away and besides, it felt good to be in his arms. “I think I’d rather have the pizza and then a big bowl of ice cream with lots of chocolate syrup and peanut butter mixed in with it for dessert.”

He leaned back to see the expression on her face. “You’re serious?”

“Absolutely,” she said, grinning. “I’ve had ice cream, chocolate and peanut butter almost every night for the past few weeks.”

“Really?”

She nodded. “Why do you think I keep that large carton of vanilla ice cream in the freezer?”

“Okay, I’ll give it a try. We’ll have ice cream to celebrate,” he said, laughing. He kissed her forehead. “Then I’ll run an extra couple of miles tomorrow morning just to work it off.”

Ten minutes later as they turned the corner onto the street where the Kincaid home was located, Daniel slowed the car to a stop and swore under his breath at the sight a couple of blocks ahead. “What the hell’s going on?”

Lily gasped. “Are all those vans and cars parked in front of my mother’s house?”

“It looks that way,” he said, deciding to drive on past the media circus. “Why don’t you call to see what’s up before we try to get past them to your apartment.”

“I’m almost afraid to.” When she took her cell phone from her purse, he noticed that her hands were shaking. “I’m not sure I want to know.”

He could understand her apprehension. Although he hadn’t been with her when the family had been notified of her father’s death, Daniel had seen the news-footage reporting from in front of the Kincaid mansion. He imagined it had to have been something like the scene up ahead of them.

“The line is busy. I’ll try RJ’s number,” she said as they sped past the reporters and cameramen from all the area television stations. “RJ, what on earth is going on at Momma’s?” she asked when her brother answered.

Daniel had a gut feeling that whatever was going on, it wasn’t going to be good news.

“Oh, my God! You can’t be serious.”

One glance at Lily and Daniel steered the car over to the curb. Her peaches-and-cream complexion had bleached to a ghostly white and her eyes were bright with tears.

Looking over at him, she nodded. “Yes, I’m with Daniel. We moved most of my things to the mansion this afternoon.” She paused. “Yes, of course. I’m sure I’ll be fine at the Beauchamp house tonight. Do you think the media will be gone by morning?” She paused for her brother’s answer, then added, “I promise I’ll wait for you to call tomorrow before I try to go back to the carriage house.”

“What’s happened?” Daniel asked when she ended the call.

“The police just released a report stating that my father’s death has been ruled a … homicide,” she said, the single word catching on a sob. “RJ strongly suggested that I stay at the Beauchamp house tonight if I want to avoid being accosted by the media when I try to get back home.”

“You could stay at my place,” Daniel offered.

“I’d rather not,” she said, shaking her head. “It wasn’t a secret that we were seeing each other before Christmas and I’m not entirely certain some photographer trying to get a story won’t be lurking in the shadows.”

What she said made sense. They had been featured on the society page of the newspaper more times than he cared to count during their three-month affair, and with the breaking news that Reginald Kincaid had been murdered, there was a very real possibility that his condo would be on the media’s radar as well.

“I’m staying with you,” Daniel said, steering the car back onto the street. “I don’t want you being alone until things quiet down.”

“I’ll b-be okay,” she said through chattering teeth that had nothing to do with the mild winter temperature. “I don’t w-want—”

“This isn’t negotiable,” he said firmly. “If you’re concerned about the sleeping arrangements, don’t be. I understand that things between us moved a bit fast when we first started seeing each other. We haven’t been intimate for several weeks and you’re not ready to make love with me again. I get that. But there are five guest bedrooms in that house and I’m sure I can find a comfortable place to sleep.”

When she fell silent, he took that as a yes, and after a quick detour to his condo for a change of clothes, Daniel drove them back to the Battery and, parking at the rear entrance of the house, used Lily’s key to let them in the back door. He didn’t want to use the front entrance for obvious reasons. It wasn’t common knowledge that Lily had inherited the mansion, but he wasn’t going to take any chances that a stray member of the paparazzi had recognized his car when they drove past her mother’s place and followed them.

As soon as he had the door secured behind them and the alarm system turned on, Daniel took Lily into his arms. “I’m so sorry all this is happening, sweetheart. If I could make it all go away, I would.”

“I can’t believe someone … murdered my father,” she said, wrapping her arms around his waist as if he was a lifeline. “Who would do that? Why would they do that?”

“I don’t know.” He held her close. “But I’m sure the authorities will find whoever it is and bring them to justice.”

“I hope so,” she said, trembling against him. “RJ said that after the police interview the security team at TKG and get preliminary results from the autopsy, they’re going to interview each member of the family. Does that mean we’re all under suspicion?”

Daniel didn’t want to tell her that was most likely the case. She’d had enough upset and he wasn’t going to cause her more by confirming her assumption.

Thinking quickly, he shook his head. “It’s probably just a matter of investigative procedure. There might be something that you or one of your siblings could tell the detectives that would give them a lead to follow or a clue who the killer might be.”

“I suppose you’re right,” she said, sounding emotionally spent.

“One of those boxes we brought over contained towels, didn’t it?” he asked. When she nodded, he guided her toward the back stairs, leading from the kitchen to the second floor. “Let’s go upstairs and get you into a warm bath. Maybe it will relieve some of the tension and help you sleep.”

While Lily took a nice soaking bath in one of the two master bathrooms, Daniel took a quick shower in the other. As he toweled himself dry, he wondered who could have killed Reginald Kincaid and why.

It was a fact of life that men in high corporate positions weren’t without their share of enemies. Whether it was a disgruntled employee, a business rival or a radical member of a special interest group, there was always someone who didn’t agree with the way a CEO conducted business and the decisions he had to make for the welfare of the company. But who would have taken their grievance to the extreme and resorted to murder?

Pulling on a pair of boxer briefs, Daniel walked into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the king-size bed as he waited for Lily to finish her bath. He didn’t like that she was having to relive the loss of her father. She had just started to adjust to losing the man and now the uncertainty of what had happened, and why, was starting all over again.

But he liked even less that there was an unknown murderer on the loose and there was no way of knowing if he intended to target another member of the Kincaid family.

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