have a nanny,” he pointed out.
Devin tugged off Amelia’s stretchy pink pants, revealing a white diaper. “You don’t plan to change her diapers?”
Lucas turned away, gazing across the wooden deck and the sloped lawn to the calm waters of the lake. Devin’s neighbor had a dock with a sleek speedboat tied up. A few dozen houses were visible along the curve of the shoreline, front yards neatly landscaped, while evergreens covered the hillsides behind. It was actually quite beautiful here.
“Lucas?” Devin prompted.
“I don’t expect it to be necessary,” he said, answering her question. There was a very good reason why nannies were invented.
“There’s a girl,” Devin cooed, and Lucas dared to look back to where Amelia stood on chubby bare feet, hand grasping Devin’s hair for balance.
Devin tucked away the change pad and handed Amelia a bottle of juice. The baby promptly plunked down on her fresh diaper and popped the bottle in her mouth.
“Why do you want custody?” Devin asked, coming to her feet, brushing her palms across her backside and finger-combing her hair where Amelia had mussed it. Her T-shirt was wrinkled, and several damp spots dotted its front. It was no wonder she went for plain, serviceable clothing. He could only imagine the havoc Amelia would wreak on linen and silk.
Still, the plain clothing couldn’t hide her gorgeous figure. She was short, maybe five-five. And the absence of heels made her seem even shorter. But her legs were lithe and toned, her waist nipped in and breasts rounded and in perfect proportion to everything else.
He didn’t know what she did for exercise, but it was working.
“You don’t seem particularly interested in Amelia,” Devin continued.
“She’s a Demarco.” “So?”
“So, I have a responsibility—” “Can’t you at least be honest?”
“I am being honest.” He owed it to his brother to keep Amelia safe. If Lucas had died with a daughter in such a vulnerable position, he’d expect no less of Konrad.
“You want her ten percent of Pacific Robotics, Lucas, controlling interest. You don’t give one whit about Amelia as a person.”
“You’re dead wrong about that.”
“I’ll do whatever you ask for the company,” she pledged. “I promise I won’t interfere.”
He wished he could believe her. “What did Steve say?” “I can’t tell you that.”
Lucas threw up his hands. “I know what he said.” He’d offered her a deal. If she won guardianship of Amelia, Steve would make it worth her while to support his plans for expansion into South America.
“Then why ask me?”
“I wanted to know if I could trust you.”
She moved closer. “You’re lying. You’ll never trust me. You wanted information to use against me.”
She was close.
He’d wanted information to use against Steve. “I can see this is getting us nowhere.”
“I’m way ahead of you, Lucas. I’ve known for weeks that we were going nowhere.”
He gazed into her crystal blue eyes, unable to help noticing her dark lashes, prettily arched brows, small, straight nose, bow lips and creamy smooth skin. She was a beautiful woman. She was also feisty and passionate, making her a frustrating opponent.
But he’d defeated frustrating opponents before. And he’d win this battle, too. She might know how to change a diaper, but Amelia needed more than hugs and a fresh bottom. She was a Demarco. She would one day control a significant percentage of a corporation worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
She needed education, advice and experience, and she needed the security and savvy that went along with her future position in life. Lake Westmire might be a fine place to raise most children. But it wasn’t enough for Amelia.
Devin was more than pleased with the lawyer Steve had provided for the temporary custody hearing. The man made his points to the judge concisely and eloquently, describing Devin’s bond with Amelia, how Devin had been present during her birth and that Amelia had lived in Devin’s house since coming home from the hospital. He provided testimonial letters from friends and neighbors speaking of Devin’s parenting skills, the nursery she’d outfitted for Amelia and her attention to Amelia’s health and well-being.
He’d then contrasted Lucas’s lack of parenting experience, his plans to hire a nanny instead of being hands-on himself and the fact that he’d spent almost no time with Amelia since her birth. He acknowledged the security concerns around a child from such a wealthy family, but pointed out there were many options to ensure her safety.
Devin had to admit, she’d never thought about the potential of someone kidnapping Amelia for ransom. Did that even still happen in America? It had been a long time since the Lindbergh case.
She’d thought he’d done a stellar job, thought they were sure to win. But then at the last minute Lucas’s lawyer stood up to address the judge.
He acknowledged Devin’s bond with Amelia, talked about the portability of Devin’s career as a self-help book writer, then suggested what he called a compromise—that both Amelia and Devin take up temporary residence at the Demarco mansion. Amelia could be with Devin, but she’d also have the advantage of the Demarco security.
Devin’s gaze flew to Lucas’s face. His smug expression told her he’d planned this all along.
He’d known he couldn’t beat her in a straight-up fight, and he’d come up with an underhanded way to snatch her victory. By the time permanent guardianship was considered, Lucas would have built a bond with Amelia. And Devin’s best advantage would be gone.
She opened her mouth to protest, but she knew there was no way out. Any argument she put forward would make her sound unreasonable. This same judge would eventually decide permanent guardianship, and Devin couldn’t afford to yield the moral high ground to Lucas. On the face of it, he was offering a reasonable solution.
In reality, he had outmaneuvered her. Amelia would be under his roof, and under his care, and Devin knew he would pull out all the stops to make the Demarco mansion a perfect home for the baby.
“Ms. Hartley?” asked the judge, her hand going to the gavel.
Devin’s lawyer spoke up. “We can’t support that kind of disruption to Amelia’s life. She’s already lost her mother. Ms. Hartley’s house is the only home she’s ever known.”
The judge’s gaze moved to Devin. “You’re a writer? You work from home? “
Devin had no choice but to nod.
“Do you have other children?”
