Page 38 of Some Like It Secret

Perhaps, in another lifetime, yes. He could only hope they’d made enough progress, she’d forgive him. “I will handle it, Armand.” It was what he did. “Have you told Alyx whether or not the baby will have a title?” It was after all, at his brother’s discretion as it had been at their father’s when his sister married a military man—their daughters were all princesses.

“Not yet. They’ve only just reached the end of the first trimester and Anna told me you don’t discuss such things until well after.” His brother’s voice softened at the mention of his wife. “She also told me not to get any ideas yet.”

Sebastian laughed. “You want children.” It wasn’t even a question.

“I do, but I am a selfish man and Anna will be a devoted mother. I worry about being jealous of my own children.”

It was a sentiment Sebastian could sympathize with. “You mean like Father.” Though he’d been a good man, he’d possessed a few flaws, one of which included the need to have their mother’s full attention.

“I don’t think he meant to be.” Armand didn’t dispute the charge. “I never quite understood the position he was in until recently.” The sigh he released echoed across the secure connection. “Sometimes I wonder how different our lives would have been, had he not died.”

Sebastian wondered the same thing every damned day. “We can’t change the past.”

“No. We can’t.”

The echo of a half-forgotten conversation in the weeks following their father’s death drifted into his recollection. “Do you resent not understanding before you inherited what a burden it would be?”

“I did once, but I don’t think anyone—not even Father—could have explained to me what to expect. The responsibility. The need to not fail and the desire—every once in a while—to merelyhave anormallife. But you and I, we know very little about normal.” The maudlin conversation must have weighed on his brother because he changed the subject. “I want to meet your Meredith, and I don’t want to wait several months to do it. You will bring her to Los Angeles or make arrangements to send her here. We can use Daniel and his company as cover, since they have every reason in the world to talk. It won’t make a ripple in the press.”

“You’re worse than Mother—” A knock at the door had Sebastian looking up. “One moment, Armand. Come in.”

Vidal opened the door and Meredith peeked in. She wore a camel-colored pullover sweater—one she’d pilfered from his side of the closet—and slacks. He really did need to take her somewhere warmer so she could wear less—their cabin, for example. “Am I interrupting?” she asked

“Not at all,” Armand answered before he could. “Come in, Miss Blake.”

Her gaze landed on the phone on Sebastian’s desk and then switched to him. The hesitation while she sought his approval rather than just taking his brother at his word gratified him. “Come. He will be cross if you turn him down and he has always been a bit of a poor loser.” The comment had a dual effect. Meredith smiled and Armand snorted.

The bodyguard closed the door as Meredith crossed the room and took his hand. Tugging her down to sit on his lap, he smiled at her, and nodded toward the phone. “Meredith, may I have the honor of introducing you to my brother, Armand? Armand, this is my Meredith. Be polite.” The last two words were delivered as a tight warning.

His brother didn’t miss a beat, though humor infused his words. “It is a pleasure tomeetyou, Meredith, however unusual the venue. You must be a remarkable woman, indeed, as Sebastian has never been so enthusiastic about another.”

“Hello.” She laughed then mouthed,this is weird.

“He tells me you’ve been teaching. I hope you’ll forgive an interfering older brother, but I did some research on you.”

Sebastian flexed his grip on her hip, but Meredith raised her eyebrows. “Well, I suppose that’s fair. I did some research on you, as well.”

“Indeed.” For a moment, his brother demonstrated a glimmer of hesitation. “Dare I ask what you discovered?”

“Depends. Did you like what you found out about me?” The corners of her mouth curved. His woman’s intelligence was never a question, but if she felt uncertain addressing a member of his family, it didn’t show.

“Tell me, you don’t gamble at all. Why?”

Sebastian actually started laughing at the question, but Meredith shrugged. “Most games of chance rely on certain percentages and statistics. Cards are pretty boring because the number of possible combinations declines with every play. It’s too easy to know when to bet and when not to. I do like slot machines, though, particularly the animated ones.” She waited a moment and pressed her cheek to his. “Sebastian, however, loves to gamble though I’m afraid I make it pretty boring for him.”

“What about billiards?” Where was Armand going with his line of questioning?

When Meredith cast him a questioning look, Sebastian shook his head and mouthedI have no idea.

“Billiards is simple geometry, so not a challenge.” If her reply didn’t throw down a gauntlet, Sebastian didn’t know what would.

His brother didn’t hesitate to scoop it up. “Do me a favor? Keep that bit of information to yourself. When you come to Los Angeles in a few months, I want you to play with Richard.”

Meredith blinked. “In a few months?”

“Time to go, Armand.” Sebastian reached out and hung up on his brother. Rude, but effective. Meredith shifted in his lap and stared at him.

“What did he mean, a few months?”