Four

      It already felt like the longest day of Darius’s life, and he still had a few hours of work ahead of him. He settled behind the glass-and-steel desk in the office of his rental home and prepared for yet another conference call. This one with his production manager and a few key members of the production staff.

      The preparations for LA Fashion Week had to go off without a hitch. This would be Thr3d’s first runway show at the event. And he was determined it wouldn’t be the last.

      It was an honor to get a runway show for his athletic gear. One he wouldn’t squander. And if everything went as expected, buyers in untapped markets would order the Thr3d fall line for their stores. So despite the issues with his paternity and his biological father’s estate, he wouldn’t allow himself to be distracted.

      Fifteen minutes into the conversation with his team, he heard water splash.

      Darius walked over to the bank of windows along the back wall of the office and stared down. There was a woman swimming in his pool.

      “Boss? Boss?” His production manager Leeson Brown was saying.

      “Oh… I…uh…” He cleared his throat. “Sorry. Didn’t catch that last part.”

      “I said unless you have something else for us, that pretty much covers everything,” Lee repeated. “Don’t worry. The entire team understands the importance of this show. We won’t let you down.”

      “I know you won’t.” Darius watched the woman’s movements. There was something oddly familiar about her strong, elegant strokes.

       Who is she and what the hell is she doing here?

      “The team is doing a great job,” Darius assured Lee. “I’ll touch base soon. But if you run into any problems…”

      “We won’t hesitate to call,” Lee assured him.

      “Day or night,” Darius told the man as his gaze followed the woman swimming laps in his pool.

      “I promise. In the meantime, I know it’s a tall order for you, but try to relax.”

      Darius promised he would try. Then he slipped the phone into his pocket and headed down to the pool to find out who was trespassing on the Blackwoods’ property and distracting him from his work.

      As he made his way across the patio, the woman climbed out of the pool in a tiny bikini that showed off her delicious curves. She tugged the cap off her head and tossed it on a lounge chair and bent over to grab her beach towel.

      Good. God. Almighty.

      This woman’s behind was a museum-worthy work of art.

      “Excuse me,” he said, finally.

      Startled, the woman dropped her towel and whipped around, her eyes widening.

      “Darius?”

      “Audra?”

      They spoke simultaneously. Then Darius added, “Did you follow me back here?”

      She propped a fist on one generous hip, drawing his attention to her belly button piercing and the connected gold chain looped around her waist. “Do you honestly believe I need to resort to following random dudes home?”

      Ouch.

      She’d just called him a random dude. As if he didn’t matter to her and never really had.

      Audra didn’t wait for his response. She snatched the towel off the lounge chair and dried herself. Doubtless, the pool was heated, but the temperature outside had cooled considerably. She was shivering.

      He couldn’t help thinking of the last time he’d seen her shivering. She’d been lying beneath him, gloriously naked. He swallowed hard. Heat crawled up his neck and face.

      “Does that mean you’re renting this house now?” She pulled a short, black cover-up over her head and slipped her arms inside before plopping down on the end of the lounger to dry her hair. “Because it was empty when I went for a swim this morning.”

      “My business will keep me here a few more days.” He shoved a hand in his pocket. “Miranda offered me this place for as long as I need it.”

      Darius surveyed the well-manicured patio with its lovely landscaping and the pool complete with a hot tub and water feature. He’d paid little attention to the backyard during the cursory tour Leslie had given him when she’d deposited him here a couple of hours ago.

      He’d been in the office, sifting through emails or on one call after another, ever since. Starting with the call he’d placed to his attorney, apprising him of the situation and charging the man with exploring his options.

      Darius didn’t need Buckley Blackwood’s money. His athletic clothing line was one of the fastest-growing companies of its kind in the US, and it was already making millions each year. If Thr3d maintained its current trajectory, it was positioned to climb its way to being one of the top ten athletic wear companies in the country within ten years.

      Still, Darius felt compelled to fight for some portion of the estate—to demand acknowledgment as a Blackwood heir. Even if he simply donated the money to a worthy cause. But he wasn’t prepared to tell Audra any of that. There was no reason for him to tell his pedigreed ex that he was a bastard child. The product of an illicit affair between an asshole banker and a failed actress. An inconvenience neither of them had planned for or wanted.

      “How long will you be in Royal?” Audra stood, her towel folded over her arm. She didn’t sound happy about him staying in town.

      “It’s hard to say right now.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the edge of the hot tub. “You?”

      “Same.” Audra slipped her feet into her bejeweled flip-flops. “But my client Sophie and her fiancé are back in town. I should be able to make some serious progress in the next week or two.”

      He