dating again, but if youâve discovered something about Landry I should knowâ¦â
Tracker studied his friend, but there wasnât any sign that Lucas had seen him kiss Sophie. Good, he told himself. The kiss had been a mistakeâone he wasnât going to repeat. âNo. Landryâs background checks out. Thereâs nothing to show that heâs after Sophieâs money.â
Jealousy had a bitter, coppery taste, Tracker discovered. Landry was the perfect man for Sophie; he wasnât. That simple fact had been a lot easier to live with before heâd kissed her. Ruthlessly, he shoved the memory aside. âMac looks fine. Whatâs the emergency?â
Lucas leaned closer. âShe has to change because she just popped a button on her skirt. The babyâs growing.â
Tracker studied his friend. There was no mistaking the pride in his voice or the joy in his eyes. A stab of envy pierced him. âYou hit the jackpot, didnât you?â
âYeah.â Lucas threw an arm around Trackerâs shoulders. âCâmon, letâs go into my study for a minute and we can drink to that. Plus, I have a surpriseâan old friend you and I havenât seen for a long time.â
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âT HERE , I might look like Iâm wearing pajamas, but I feel much better.â Mac pressed her hands against her rounding stomach as she studied herself in the full-length mirror. Sheâd changed from her two-piece evening gown into a white silk pantsuit in a stretchy fabric.
âYou look beautiful,â Sophie said. âAnd you have no need to worry that your husband is going to develop a wandering eye just because youâre having a baby. Heâs totally besotted with you.â
âItâs mutual.â Mac smiled as tears began to fill her eyes. âAnd Iâm not worried. Heâs throwing this party and taking me back to the island where we spent our honeymoon to let me know that even though I look like a blimp, nothing has changedâheâll be with me forever.â
Sophie felt a knot of envy tighten in her stomach.
âNo one has ever done anything like that for me,â Mac continued. âAnd I have you to thank for it. If you hadnât pushed me into using my research on Lucas last yearâ¦â
Taking Trackerâs handkerchief from her evening bag, Sophie handed it to Mac. âYeah, well, my motives were not entirely altruistic.â
Sophie remembered quite clearly how sheâd felt at the time, fresh from the humiliation of having her brother and Tracker McBride prove to her that her fiancé was only interested in her money. âI used you. I was more than a little annoyed at Lucas, and I thought having you practice your sexual fantasy research on him would get me out from under his constant surveillance.â Plus, it had given her great pleasure to outwit Tracker McBride.
Mac took Sophieâs hands. âYou insisted that I use Lucas as a guinea pig to test my research on sexual fantasies because you didnât want me to practice them on a stranger. Not only that, when I wanted to cut and run, you gave me the courage to stick it out. You were my role model. And I owe you for that.â
âThatâs nonsense,â Sophie said. âYou and Lucas were made for each other.â
Mac shook her head. âBeing meant for each other isnât enough. Take it from an expert on the subject. I wouldnât be here today if you hadnât nudged me into flying out to that island in your place. The last thing Lucas was looking for was a relationship. And I wasnât even the type he preferred to date. He told me that heâd decided never to marry.â Mac waved a hand. âI wouldnât have all this if you hadnât badgered me until I worked up the courage to tell Lucas just why I was there.â
âMac, Iââ Embarrassed, Sophie tried to pull her hands away, but Mac held