And she happened to be two months pregnant. Those teenage years fighting cancer had seemed surreal at times, but she’d frozen some of her eggs before treatment, just in case. Her oncology specialist had called on a counselor to help her through so many decisions during that frightening experience.
Now she was ready to be a mother. She was through waiting around for a mythical Mr. Perfect. She’d started this journey with her career as a lawyer and her connections to her family as a solid foundation, but she’d since had her world turned upside down. With her father’s engagement and the two rival companies merging, everyone was fighting for a place. And just as she had when she was a child, she needed to prove her place. For her child. For her sister who’d died. She blinked back tears.
Pregnancy hormones.
Of course. That must be the explanation for her off-the-charts reaction to a total stranger.
That stud muffin stranger adjusted his hold on the shotgun. “Let’s get inside to talk before the bear comes back—or we’re buried in a snowdrift.”
“Oh, yeah, right.” Another second staring at him and she could well have drool freeze to her face. She needed a level head to stay one step ahead of him. Royce wasn’t just smart. He was genius smart—and eccentric.
Locating the recluse at all had taken Herculean detective work, employing the best of the best private investigators she’d used in her legal practice.
Detectives known for their discretion.
If the search gained her access to his pipeline research, it would be worth every penny. If she could somehow accomplish the unimaginable and persuade this lone ranger researcher to sign on with her family’s oil company, well, that coup would be worth more than any amount of money.
She would finally win her family’s full approval by contributing more than her legal advice to the business. She needed this for herself and for her child, a stable future. Strategy mattered more.
Royce opened the door to the glass igloo—and a beast of another kind came bounding out. A huge Saint Bernard leaned into him, sniffing, taking in all the surroundings. The air was heavy with scents of pine, the lingering smell of the spent flare gun still carried on the blizzard breeze.
“Tessie,” Royce commanded in a soft rumble, “inside, girl.”
Panting, the Saint Bernard shifted away from the front stoop and let them enter.
Bracing a hand against the door frame for balance, Naomi glanced around the space and found it much like ones her family had vacationed in over the years. God, those were amazing memories, a time before her mother and sister had died in a plane crash. Before Naomi had gotten cancer. A time she’d innocently thought could last forever. But those times had ended prematurely, like a short Alaskan day.
She looked upward, tipping her face toward the sun’s rays. The igloo’s glass dome let in the last beams of light. Only one wall was opaque, a wall with a platform bed against it, and almost certainly the bathroom and closet tucked cubicle-style behind.
Half the room had a long, curved sofa along the glass. Tessie had taken up residence on the couch, watching Naomi and Royce with wide brown eyes. The rest of the room held a kitchenette and dining table that was currently being used as a computer desk. No doubt, the keys to his research kingdom were inside that computer. Not that she expected him to have anything less than the best security.
“So?”
Royce Miller’s voice pulled her back around.
“Yes, well...” She searched for the right words. She’d spent so much time figuring out how to find him and get here, she hadn’t given much thought to being here. With him. Alone. “Thank you so much for saving my life.”
He unloaded the shotgun with a swift efficiency that shouted his Texas upbringing, and pocketed the ammo. “What in the hell coerced you to venture out in this storm?”
“Whoa, hostility check, big guy. Is that any way to speak to the person who brought your supplies?” she asked with the charm that had won over dozens of tough-as-nails juries. “Without my trek up here, you could have starved, not to mention run out of deodorant.”
“Supplies?” He eyed her warily, shrugging out of his parka and shaking the snow onto the doormat.
He made flannel look good.
But she ignored that and kept talking. “Yes, that’s what I said. You have contracted a delivery service for your supplies while you’re isolated up here.” And she’d slipped the driver a hefty tip to let her bring the supplies up to her supposed boyfriend. The driver had been an old softie, a real romantic, and was easily persuaded. Lawyer skills with word craft came in handy out of the courtroom too. “And I’m here to restock your pantry. I thought I’d left in time to beat the storm, but it came on faster and heavier than expected. And, well, here I am.”
Sure, she’d quibbled, insinuating she worked for the rental company’s supply business. Truth be told, she hadn’t outright said so. She could talk her way around that equivocation later. Because if he knew she was a part of the oil mogul Steele family, he would have likely left her to the bear.
“And you are?”
“Naomi.” She said just her first name carefully, toying with her parka zipper. Then catching the nervous twitch, she stopped. No outright lies to backtrack from, she reminded herself.
She studied his face closely to see if her name sparked even a hint of recognition. Nope. Nothing. She didn’t doubt her read of him. She’d been top of her law school class and had yet to lose a courtroom battle.
“Naomi, thank you for the supplies that you drove here in the middle of a blizzard,” he said tightly, “but what do you expect to do now?”
“I expect for us to unload the supplies in my car before things freeze.”
Sighing, he reached for his parka and started toward the door. “Have a seat. I’ll get everything.”
She raised a manicured hand. “Don’t forget the flare gun in case our ‘friend’ returns.”
“Got it.”
“I can back you up with the shotgun if needed,” she added, already sensing he would insist no, no and hell no.
He paused at the door, hand on the knob. “I’ve got it,” he repeated, then stepped outside.
Ah, and just as predicted, he’d assumed she was as defenseless as she looked. For a smart man, he had a weakness and she’d found it fast.
He coddled women.
Some would think that rocked, and soak it right up. But she valued her independence. Her strength.
Her health.
She’d fought hard for her life, battling cancer as a teen, then battling all over again to elbow free of her family’s overprotective ways. And yes, she’d gone overboard at times asserting herself, pushing through boundaries, which gained her a wild child reputation. She’d been bold. She’d partied and lived every day to the fullest. And she’d let her reputation become larger than life, more risqué than reality.
A choice that was coming back to bite her now that she genuinely gave a damn about being a part of the family business.
Speaking of which, she needed to get her butt in gear before Royce returned. This window of time while he was unloading the supplies was precious. She could recon his cabin. She would need every clue at her disposal to get past his defenses.
Head ducked into the wind that was picking up speed and throwing icy dartcicles, Royce carried the last box inside—his fifth trip. This Naomi was one hell of a delivery