Forged in Desire (The Protectors #1)(22)

“He’s hot.”

Margo raised a brow. “Who?”

“Your Lamar. Who else?” Claudine asked, laughing.

My Lamar? Margo thought. Now, that was truly a laugh, although she could see how Claudine thought Striker was hot. But hers? Not hardly.

“How did the two of you meet?”

Margo hadn’t expected the question and knew she had to come up with an answer quick. She decided to go with how she and Scott had met. “At a party.”

“Have the two of you been seeing each other long?”

“No, only a few months.”

“I can see the two of you getting married one day.”

Married? It was a good thing she was already sitting. Otherwise, Margo was certain she would have fallen flat on her face. “Trust me. Getting married is not anything I want to do.”

“Oh.”

Margo hoped she hadn’t offended Claudine since it was obvious that getting married was something Claudine wanted to do. “What I meant is that marriage isn’t for everyone.”

“Yes, but I’m sure you’d feel differently if someone like my Stan came along. He is simply wonderful.”

So she’d heard. Plenty of times today, Margo thought. The woman had been singing Stan’s praises since she arrived. It was Stan this and Stan that. It was apparent Claudine thought her fiancé was the perfect man. “Yes, you’re probably right.”

“I know I am. When I met Stan, marriage was the last thing on my mind as well. I bet in another month or so, you’ll begin thinking of marriage.”

Don’t hold your breath for that to happen, Margo thought, but to Claudine she said, “Maybe.”

Claudine laughed again. “No maybe about it. I have a feeling I’ll be hearing about your wedding by the end of the year. This is February, so you have ten months to work on him.”

It was apparent to Margo that Claudine was a romantic. Margo didn’t want to burst the woman’s bubble. Although she couldn’t speak for Striker, she could definitely speak for herself—she didn’t have a romantic bone in her body. At least that was what her boyfriend in college had claimed. Brock Ford had been the romantic one and loved watching television while holding her hand. And he would often text her sappy romantic messages during the day. She had fancied herself in love with Brock until she’d discovered his true reason for romancing her. He’d found out about her family’s wealth and decided marrying her would assure him part of that wealth. That was the main reason she’d never divulged anything about her family’s wealth to Scott.

Now she was back in Charlottesville and focusing on doing the things that made her happy. And she was determined never to forget the lessons she’d learned from both Brock and Scott. They were different but life-learning lessons just the same. She had dated a few times since returning home. Most of the men she considered nothing more than friends who were her escorts to various charity events for the Connelly Foundation. The last thing she wanted right now in her life was any serious involvement. She refused to ever get tangled up with a man who wanted her money or thought she wanted his. Until she met someone who truly knew the meaning of love and commitment, she’d rather not bother. If Claudine thought her Stan was such a man, then Margo was happy for her.

“I need to run,” Claudine said, interrupting Margo’s thoughts as she stood. “I’m meeting Stan for lunch and I don’t want to be late. That’s the one thing he’s a stickler about—timeliness.”

“Okay, I’ll see you out,” Margo said, standing as well.

“How long will it take to make my gown?”

“If everything goes as planned, your dress will be ready in twelve weeks. Maybe sooner. I only take on one client at a time, so your gown will get my full attention.”

“That’s great. I’ve hired this photographer who wants to take a ton of photographs of me before the wedding. I’m glad my dress will be ready for him to do so.”

When they opened the door, Striker was standing right there. Margo frowned up at him. “Yes, Lamar?”

“I started a fire in the fireplace and was about to knock to see if you wanted me to order lunch.”

“Oh, how thoughtful of him. Eating in front of the fireplace is so romantic,” she heard Claudine whisper behind her.

Whatever. “Thanks for getting the fire started and, yes, ordering lunch now is fine. Claudine is leaving and I was about to see her out.”

“I can do that,” he quickly said, offering Claudine his arm. “I’m sure you want to finalize your notes from today’s meeting, Margo.”

Margo tried keeping the glare from her eyes when she said, “Yes, of course, Lamar. Thanks for being so thoughtful.” Turning to Claudine, she said, “You’ll call and let me know if you come across any material you see that you like for your lining?”

“Yes, most definitely.”

Margo then watched as Striker walked Claudine to the door.

*

“I’M GOING TO let you introducing me as Lamar slide.”

Margo glanced across the table at him as they ate lunch. “I assume that’s your name since it’s on your driver’s license. If you don’t like it, then change it.”

“Trust me. I would if I could.” He knew Margo was annoyed at him for how he’d handled Claudine. “You do know pouting won’t get you anywhere, don’t you?” he said, before taking a huge bite of his sandwich.