“Let’s take a look at the cars parked nearby first,” he suggested, adjusting the rearview mirror for a better view of the street. “Make sure we don’t see one of your father’s vehicles, or anyone who looks like they’re sitting idle and keeping an eye on the place.”
Her stomach cramped; it worried her that she hadn’t thought to do so on her own. What if her memory loss was affecting her judgement more than she realized? The possibility made her think she might need to rely on Damon more, for Lucas’s safety. “Good idea.”
“I’m going to hire full-time security for you and Lucas as soon as we get home, but until I’ve got a team in place, we need to be careful.”
“Right.” She nodded, a fierce wave of protectiveness surging at the thought of someone trying to take Lucas away. “Thank you for thinking of that.”
“If I had any idea you might be at risk, I would have done it a year ago.” He let himself out of the SUV and came around to open her door.
She took the hand he held out to her and met his gaze as he helped her down to the sidewalk. A pleasurable frisson danced over her skin from the contact. Because he’d offered to protect her? Or maybe because for the first time since she’d returned to Los Altos Hills, she wasn’t keeping secrets from him?
Whatever it was, the sensation reminded her of a time before their relationship had become a casualty of her kidnapping. But telling Damon the truth about how she was hiding his son from him had driven a wedge between them, thwarting any attempt to salvage their marriage.
When Damon let go of her hand, he placed a palm on her back, guiding her up the stone path to the two-story brick carriage house. His touch was impersonal, perfunctory. It was the same courtesy he’d extend to anyone in a weakened condition. So she needed to stop feeling pleasure at the contact, and at the way his leg sometimes brushed hers.
Ahead of them, the blinds were all drawn on the oversize lower windows, as Caroline had requested. But her sister must have had a way to see outside because the heavy wooden front door swung wide open before they even had a chance to knock.
“Caroline!” Victoria wore black-and-pink plaid pajama pants and a gray Stanford tee, her dark brown hair in a ponytail drooping sideways, the tail tickling along Lucas’s forehead while the baby slept in her arms. “Thank God you’re here. I saw someone’s shadow near the kitchen window about an hour ago and I panicked, thinking Dad found us.”
Victoria gave her sister a one-armed hug, skillfully keeping her precious cargo safe on the opposite side of her body while she squeezed Caroline tight. Damon’s gaze went to the baby, but he didn’t reach for Lucas yet.
“I’ll go look around back. You should go inside and lock the door behind you.” Damon shifted away, taking another wary glance around the quiet yard. There were no houses close by, just the huge, three-story stone home that went with the carriage house. The property bordered a park with a playground on one side where a couple of young mothers pushed preschool-aged children on the swings.
“Oh, wow.” Victoria edged out of the doorway a bit to watch Damon as he strode away. “He’s even hotter in person.”
Too bad Caroline’s very hot husband had retreated from her in every way possible.
“Agreed,” she said, gently lifting her son from Victoria’s arms, savoring the warm weight of his tiny body wrapped in a blanket covered with elephants. “We can ogle him from a window though, once we’re inside.”
For a moment, Lucas’s face scrunched like he was about to cry, but then he settled in against Caroline’s chest, his tiny hand stretching and flexing before relaxing against his face. She kissed his temple, rubbing her cheek along the silky down of dark hair that covered his head. He smelled like baby shampoo.
While she cuddled him, Victoria watched Damon from one window and then another, discreetly peering through the blinds. The house had been beautifully restored, with the original pine floors buffed to glowing. A wrought iron chandelier hung from the exposed joist ceiling in the living room, where a fire burned in the stone hearth. Blue baby blankets and equipment were strewn around, making the place looked lived-in, but not messy. Then again, maybe seeing all of her child’s things simply made her happy, so she welcomed the sight of baby chaos.
When Damon came back around to the front entrance, Victoria was waiting to open the door again for him. Caroline watched him as he stepped inside and drew the bolt behind him.
“I’m Victoria, by the way.” Her sister stuck out a hand to introduce herself, planting herself in front of Damon. “Caroline’s sister. And I’m going to start packing so you can meet the kiddo.”