"Acrobatics?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Drink up. You'd have figured out that was a joke if you were awake."

"It's not me," she protested. "It's you. You don't joke."

"Rarely," he conceded.

But it had happened, she remembered. A few times, in fact.

"We're all meeting at my mother's house around eleven. I thought you might want to go and grab a bagel and a cappuccino to hold you until then. There's a small place a few blocks away. It's overcast, so it's a nice day to walk."

"Sounds perfect." She liked the idea of getting out of the house, having something ordinary to do after everything they'd been through. And it would keep her mind occupied, allowing her less time to stress out about meeting his family. "Will Erin be there?"

"She'll be dying to see you, I imagine."

"So she knows? About us, I mean."

"We had a family conference call yesterday morning. I'm surprised she hasn't called you."

"So am I." Soon, everyone would know. "My mom sent me a text last night. She can see us this afternoon if that works for you."

"Name the time."

"How about two? Will that give us enough time?"

He nodded.

"I'll let her know."

"Good. Now breakfast. Can you be ready to go in fifteen minutes?"

"If I can shower and put on my makeup after we get back."

"Deal."

She excused herself and returned to the bedroom to get dressed in a pair of yoga pants and a T-shirt emblazoned with the Houston city skyline. She was tying her athletic shoes when she heard him enter the bathroom then, almost immediately afterward, the sound of the shower. He was already done by the time she went to pull her hair into a ponytail. "I think you take the fastest showers known to mankind."

"It'd be different if you were in there with me."

Her p.u.s.s.y tingled at the thought.

Five minutes later, they were walking side-by-side down the street. This was the kind of relationship she'd been looking for, something easy, where two people were working toward the same goals, pa.s.sion...

She looked over at him. Sungla.s.ses shaded his eyes. A dark golf shirt showed off his biceps and his lean torso. His pants conformed to his muscular thighs. He hadn't taken the time to shave, and the shadow on his jaw appealed to her. Connor Donovan was a mouth-wateringly handsome man.

This weekend, she'd had a glimpse of what a life together might be like, waking up in his bed, having coffee together, watching him work out, sharing breakfast, spending time together. If this were real, it would be so good.

As he held open the door to the coffee shop, she shook off her melancholy. This whole thing had been her idea, and she had to deal with the consequences.

He selected a healthy power bagel, loaded with nuts, fruits and seeds. She went straight for the maple scone iced with maple frosting.

"The biscotti should have clued me in to your sweet tooth," he said.

"Not only that, but I don't share." She broke off a piece and popped it into her mouth, savoring the bite.

The barista called out their order and he went to claim it before returning to the table with the drinks.

"I think your definition of submission is different from what I expected," she told him after she'd taken a sip.

"How so?"

"I guess I thought you would have expected me to go get the drinks. Maybe to have brewed the coffee this morning." She shrugged. "I'm not sure. It seems like you're always doing little things for me."

"First of all, it makes sense that the first person out of bed would make the coffee."

She shook her head. "It makes more sense to set it up the night before, put it on a timer and have it waiting when you get out of bed."

"I forgot I was dealing with an expert. We should do that." He took a drink from his smoothie. "Back to your question. Some relationships include that, certainly, just like many vanilla relationships do. But we're both busy executives. Working together will make our lives together easier. To me, the most important part of the D/s dynamic is the respect. When something matters to me, I want you to very carefully consider what I say. And s.e.xually..." He looked at her.

She felt the full force of his personality.

"I think you know what I expect."

"To be in charge."

"That has enormous responsibilities with it. I take them seriously. Your safety and well-being are paramount."

She'd already seen the proof of that.

"But if you ever feel the overwhelming urge to get up before me, after I work out, I have coffee and an omelet, three eggs, fresh veggies, including onions and green peppers. Red ones are nice for color. Heat them in olive oil before adding the eggs."

"I keep telling you that you have the wrong woman."

He took the final bite of his bagel. "Couldn't hurt to ask."

Her phone rang and she checked the caller identification. "Erin," she said.

"Surprised she waited this long."

"Uhm..."

"Go ahead and take it. I'm sure I have email, and I've got newspapers to read." He pulled out his own phone.

She left the coffee shop and moved to a shady area beneath a tree, away from potential eavesdroppers.

"What the h.e.l.l?"

"Good morning to you too, Erin."

"Are you kidding me? You're marrying my brother and I have to find out from him? And I've been waiting twenty-four hours to hear from you. Isn't that cruel and unusual punishment? What about chicks before d.i.c.ks? Hmm? I'm not waiting another minute. Spill it. Now. Every detail."

She stood and began to pace. "Nothing much to tell. There's been no decision yet, and I'm not sure we'll be able to come to terms."

"What, did you two sign a blood oath to stick to the same story?"

Lara laughed. "It's the truth."

"Okay, fine. I'll pry. Who proposed?"

"I did."

"What? Did you at least buy him dinner first before frying his male mind?"

She shook her head. No matter what was happening, Erin kept her outrageous att.i.tude. Lara was reminded of their times in college where Erin would dramatically enter their dorm room, throw herself on the bed, hug a pillow and regale her with stories. "Nothing like that. After I met with you-"

"So you weren't playing it cool on Wednesday night? It was my idea all along?"

"I went back to the office after I had dinner with you. I ran into Connor. He was getting on the elevator as I was exiting."

"So you knew he visited your dad?"

Her breath froze. "You knew?"

"No! Are you kidding me? Me? Keep a secret? Come on, Lara."

That much was true.

"I didn't find out he had any interest in BHI until Thursday when we had our monthly meeting. I've missed some updates, so I wasn't in the loop. Your dad kicked Connor out, right? My big brother wouldn't have liked that much."

"I started thinking about what you'd said."

"And...? Give me the details. Where are the negotiations stalled?"

Lara remembered what he'd said about loyalty and protecting their relationship. Keeping it from Erin was a huge test. She settled for telling parts of the truth. "He wants me to live with him."

"He's a neat freak, but other than that, he doesn't do anything weird like leave toenail clippings in the bathtub."

Erin had had a boyfriend in college who'd done that. After she'd seen it, she'd been unable to shower. After putting her clothes back on at two a.m., she'd called Lara to pick her up. Since then, they'd judged all men by that standard.

"So why can't you live with him?"

"The marriage will have an end date."

There was so much silence that Lara thought the call had dropped.

"So you don't mean for this to be a long-term thing?"

"No. I never did. He's okay with that. But I thought we'd live separately."

"He wants the appearances. s.h.i.t, Lara."

Erin understood. Over the years, they'd shared their frustrations. Erin knew her better than anyone else did.

"I was hoping you'd cracked his sh.e.l.l, that he wanted to have a real marriage."

"No. He was clear that there's no love involved. But he wants me to move in."

"This is kind of like putting your life in limbo, isn't it? You can't date anyone else, and you have to be with a man who doesn't love you but acts like he does."

"That's a good way to explain it."

"Well, c.r.a.p. So you're thinking about BHI and nothing else."

"And it will be good for Donovan Worldwide. Connor will buy the communications division, at a more than fair price. And the patents."

"You know, Lara, you've made a lot of choices in your life because they were the best for your dad. Maybe you should start making ones that are the best for you. There's a whole world out there. You don't have to do this. Don't set yourself up to be miserable."

"On the other hand, it's only for a few years," Lara replied, serving as her own devil's advocate. "Fewer years than college."

"But no spring breaks," Erin quipped.

"It's not like I've been dating much anyway."

"So? That doesn't mean you should put your life on hold. This didn't work out the way I envisioned it," she said. "I'm not happy."

Lara agreed with that. Then she saw Connor coming in her direction. "I need to go."

"I'll see you at my mom's later. Oh, by the way, did you know your mother called my mother? This is getting really weird."

"Yeah. Sorry about that."

"It's your fault?"

"Not intentionally." She paced beneath some shade trees as she explained about the Friday Afternoon Soiree and the fact her mother was spearheading membership growth.

"If she gets Mom out of the house and ripped-a.s.s drunk, that would be great."

"I'm not even sure how to say this, but they're planning to invite men to future events."

"Even better."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Mom needs to stop hanging around the house. The more incentive, the better. Before she gets a yippy dog and a Prada to put it in."

"Ouch," Lara said.

"Yes," Erin said unapologetically. "I was talking about your mother's pampered princess."