“The wedding was perfect,” Lucas said evenly.
Marc watched as he removed the ribbon and opened the box. Lucas’s only reaction was an arching of one eyebrow.
“I’m impressed. I was just searching for a nice Bordeaux.”
“The 2010 Grand Vin de Chateau Latour is my personal favorite.”
“I’ve heard that. I’ve also heard that you managed to get your hands on two cases of this particular year.” Lucas held up the bottle. “From your personal reserve?”
“It is.”
“Thank you. I think I’ll save it for our first wedding anniversary.”
It was on the tip of Marc’s tongue to ask if Lucas’s husband would appreciate the two thousand dollar bottle of wine, but he knew he was being unfair. He’d never met Andrei Vallois. Just heard vague rumors that the man was a former fighter turned bodyguard. Not exactly the silver-spoon set that Marc was accustomed to, but then neither was Lucas Vallois, technically, and the man gave off every air that he’d been born to it.
“But I think we are even more grateful for the generous donation you made this December to our children’s charity.” Lucas lifted his strangely colored eyes to Marc, pinning him. “Thank you, Marc.”
An awkward uneasiness filled Marc’s chest and he looked away first. He didn’t like to talk about his charitable donations or any volunteer work he secretly did. He didn’t like the vulnerability it touched off inside of him. The weakness. But Lucas’s gaze made it clear that he meant what he said. The stilted dance had stopped for a moment.
Marc gave a little shrug. “I figured it was either the wine or a bassinet, but I wasn’t sure if you were rushing headlong into kids now that you’re finally married.” He fully expected Lucas to laugh and deny the idea of kids, but the man just gave Marc a little smile that simply floored him. “Are you kidding me? Adopting?”
The smile Lucas gave him was a real one at last. “Surrogate,” he confirmed. He glanced down at his desk, his cheeks flushing slightly. “But it will take some time. We need to find the right surrogate, the right donor egg. We have to agree on who will be donating the sperm as well.”
“He’s not ready for a little Lucas Junior?” Marc teased.
“I’m not. Andrei has not yet come to accept that our first child will be his. It’s not negotiable.”
Marc shook his head as he paced away from Lucas and over toward the large boardroom table that ran along one side of his office in front of the massive windows. Lucas Vallois, settled down and happily married. Lucas Vallois, father. Those were some scary thoughts. The man was the king of the nightclubs in Cincinnati. He wasn’t known as a playboy, but he’d been linked to several wealthy, attractive women over the years before he finally came out and then publicly announced his engagement to his former bodyguard. He had it all…and Marc felt jealous. No, envious.
His gaze caught on the white bandage again, and he frowned. Lucas’s life would never be his life.
“When is Ward getting here?” he asked a little more harshly than he’d intended.
“Rowe is actually out of town at the moment. Personal vacation with his boyfriend. I’ve invited Ward’s COO to meet with you.”
Marc clenched his teeth and shook his head. “That’s not going to work for me. I need to keep this quiet.” He started to turn and walk back toward the door. This had been a mistake. He’d known it was a mistake from the start. Hated the idea of turning to Vallois and Ward in the first place, but he’d been desperate.
He didn’t get more than a couple of steps before there was a quick knock at the door, and then it opened to reveal Andrei Hadeon, now Vallois. Marc stopped dead in his tracks. Holy shit. He got it now. Pictures didn’t do the man justice—didn’t capture his intensity. Andrei was gorgeous in a sleek, almost predatory way. He didn’t walk through the room, but rather, prowled like some dangerous animal. And he had eyes only for his mate.
“I’m sorry I’m late. Traffic was worse than I expected for this time of day,” he said as he walked straight to Lucas. One hand slid along Lucas’s lower back as he pressed a lingering kiss on his lips.
Lucas simply smiled at him, pure contentment beaming straight from his soul. “Marc and I were just chatting about the wedding and our plans for a surrogate.”
Andrei snorted, his lips twisting into a wry smile. “Did you mention that you’ve rejected every woman as being unsuitable to carry our child due to questionable lifestyle choices?”
“I want the mother and child to be healthy.”
“The occasional pizza and chocolate ice cream is not a detriment to the baby.” Andrei turned to Marc finally, rolling his eyes. He crossed and extended his hand. Marc didn’t miss the tightening of the muscles in his face when he saw the white bandage. Those dark eyes then swept over him, and Marc swore he could hear the calculations going through the man’s head.