Key to Love Read Online Free Page A

it out. You guys were acting like baboons back there. In triplicate.” She felt her mental energy waning. The disagreements with Levinson, Winston, and Sanders, and the flight out were beginning to wear on her.
    “We have a problem.” He returned her stare. “I’ve been staying at the farm with your father for the last few weeks.”
    She studied him a moment. His jaw, now rigid, gave him an almost defiant appearance in a handsome sort of way. “That’s the problem?” Actually, it was, she thought, as she saw all hopes of an uninterrupted, peaceful evening fly out the window.
    “It’s not a big deal with me, but your brothers seem to think it might be with you.”
    “Hey, I don’t own the place.”
    “So you’re not concerned?”
    “About what?”
    Lucas scowled. “Your reputation, I imagine.”
    This time she laughed a musical laugh. It rippled outward into the car and night air. “Lucas, the only reputation I’m concerned about is becoming a noted architect before my hair turns gray, or God forbid, falls out.”
    “Don’t you want to ask why?”
    “Why what?”
    “Why I decided to come back to the area?” he asked.
    “No, it would be prying.”
    His face split into a grin. “It’s never stopped you before, Miss Curiosity.”
    “Okay, what are you doing back in the Scranton area?” Elise smiled.
    “I’m moving here and opening a specialty restoration and auto center in Scranton, a spin off from my business in Atlanta. I’ll be selling and leasing high-end used vehicles combined with a restoration facility for collector cars. I’ve hired a manager to run my Chevy dealership in Atlanta.” The engine came to life, and he shifted the car into reverse and eased out of the parking place. “I would have stayed at my grandmother’s house, but it needs lots of work and the utilities haven’t been turned on yet.”
    “That’s a pretty big undertaking. Why here?” She remembered his grandmother’s house. It was more a cottage than a house. She had been inside it only once, her first summer back from college, but she had barely noticed any of the details, except it was quaint and situated in a magnificent rural setting with its own little lake.
    Lucas shrugged, frowned, and gripped the wheel tighter while he concentrated on the road ahead.
    Elise had learned many things working with people. It wasn’t always what was said, but sometimes what wasn’t said. A subtle body movement, a certain look, a slight hitch of a shoulder often revealed more than what the ear heard.
    “It’s...it’s...” He groped for the right word. “It’s complicated. Very complicated.” His face was grim, and she could see he was struggling with something. Inner demons, perhaps.
    Elise leaned back, resting her head against the seat and closed her eyes. She sighed. “Hey, we can talk about it later. After all, it’s not like we’re going to have to make an appointment to see each other.”
    “True enough,” he agreed in an exhausted but appreciative tone.
    ****
    Lucas wrapped his fingers around the steering wheel and gave his full attention to the road, listening to the soothing hum of the motor. He loved the sense of control an automobile provided. The speed. The motion. It was all part of a glorious, cleansing experience.
    Monique, unfortunately, had not shared his love and interest in cars. Monique DuBois. The name tumbled in his head like some ancient dream, flimsy and without substance. Hell, he and Monique had not shared much, except her perfect body on occasion, when she was between modeling engagements. How had he ever believed he could sustain a lasting relationship with someone whose most important concern each day was selecting which outfit to wear?
    Bile rose in his throat when he thought about the day his brother had died. He had been chasing after Monique in the Caribbean, and it had taken the authorities four days to track him down.
    He had flown directly to Scranton where Mike had been assigned to