"Luc, darling." Marguerite kissed him on both cheeks, then pushed past him into the house. "Are you alone, dear? I thought I'd drop in for a spot of tea." She didn't wait for his answer, but followed her maternal instincts to the door of the living room and smiled brightly when she spotted Kate. "Well, it looks like I'm just in time. No doubt you two could use a break, too."
Lucern closed his front door with a resigned sigh, and his mother sailed fearlessly into his cluttered living room. The woman never simply stopped by for tea. She always had a purpose. And Luc very much feared he wasn't going to like her purpose in stopping by today. He just hoped to God she knew better than to try any of her matchmaking nonsense on him and Kate.
Chapter Four
"Why, you could be Luc's date!"
"Er…" Kate cast a frantic glance Lucern's way at his mother's suggestion, only to find him sitting with eyes closed, a pained expression on his face. She suspected he was begging for the floor to open up and swallow him whole, or even to swallow him in pieces, so long as it swallowed him. It almost made Kate feel better. It was nice to know that she wasn't the only one with parents who managed to humiliate her at every opportunity.
Still, Marguerite was really something else. Kate had spent the better part of the half hour since the woman's arrival merely gaping at her. This exotic and beautiful creature was Lucern's mother? Oh, certainly, the resemblance was there. And he was equal to her in looks, but Marguerite Argeneau didn't look a day over thirty herself. How could she possibly be Lucern's—or Luc, as everyone seemed to call him—mom?
"Good genes, dear," had been the woman's answer when Kate had commented.
Kate had sighed miserably, wondering why such genes couldn't run in her family, too. After that, she'd merely stared at the woman, nodding absently at everything said, while trying to spot signs of a face lift. She obviously should have been paying more attention to what Marguerite was burbling on about. Lucern's brother's wedding had been the topic of conversation. Kate wasn't quite sure how that had led to the last comment she had heard.
"Date?" she repeated blankly.
"Yes, dear. For the wedding."
"Mother." Lucern's voice was a warning growl, and Kate peered over to see that his eyes were open and sharply focused on his mother.
"Well, Luc darling. You can hardly leave the poor girl here alone tomorrow night while you attend." Marguerite laughed, apparently oblivious to her son's fury.
"Kate has to return to New York," Lucern said firmly. "She won't be here tomorrow ni—"
"That sounds like fun!" Kate blurted. Lucern fell silent and aimed his gimlet eye at her, but she ignored him. There was no way she was leaving without first gaining his agreement to at least an interview with one of the newspapers clamoring to speak to him. And falling in with Marguerite's suggestion meant that not only could he not force her on a plane back to New York, but by the time the wedding party was over, it would be too late for Kate to fly home the next night as well. Which gave her until Sunday to work on the man. That thought made her beam happily, and she silently thanked Lucern's mother.
The only thing that worried her was that Marguerite Argeneau was looking rather pleased in return. Kate had the sudden anxious feeling that she'd stepped neatly into a trap. She hoped to God that the woman didn't have any matchmaking ideas about her and Lucern. Surely Marguerite realized what a cantankerous lout her son was and that he wasn't Kate's type at all!
"Well, wonderful!" the woman said. Ignoring her son's scowl, Marguerite smiled like the cat who got the cream, then asked, "Do you have something to wear to the wedding, dear?"
"Oh." Kate's smile faltered. She'd packed something for every possible occasion except a wedding. There'd been no way to see that coming, and Kate didn't think the slinky black dress she'd brought to cover the possibility of an evening out would work.
"Ah-ha!" Lucern was now the one looking pleased. "She hasn't anything to wear, Mother. She can't—"
"A quick trip to my modiste, I think," Marguerite cut him off. Then she confided to Kate, "She always has something for just such an emergency. And a visit with my hairdresser will work magic on your hair, and we'll be set."
Kate felt herself relax, and could have hugged the woman. Marguerite was wonderful. Much too good to have a son like Lucern. The woman was clever, charming and a pleasure to be around. Unlike a certain surly man. Kate's gaze slid to Lucern, and she almost grinned at the misery on his face. She supposed she should feel guilty for forcing herself into his home and staying there, but she didn't. He was in serious need of assistance. He was terribly lacking in social skills and obviously spent way too much time alone. She was good for him—she was sure of it.
"Well, now that it's all settled, I'll be off." Marguerite was quickly on her feet and heading out of the kitchen—so quickly that Kate nearly got whiplash watching.