Free Fire & Desire (Hero Series) by Yvette Hines, Monique Lamont Page B

her third child and couldn’t accompany him.” Her voice was
laced with disgust.
    He was quite positive that, if she were ever to become pregnant,
it would be by accident, and it would probably only happen once.
    Trevor loved kids. He didn’t get a chance to be around his
sister’s four children as much as he would have liked, but he knew one day he
would have a few of his own.
    “Do you need to tell him you’re leaving?”
    “Nope, I waved good-bye to him about thirty minutes ago.”
     “Oh,” was all he could say. He knew that meant he was stuck. He
was too much of a gentleman to leave a woman stranded. He had no doubt that
Miss Matrix was very resourceful and would easily find a willing guy to give
her a lift .
    He escorted her to his BMW and assisted her into the car.
    She babbled on about a party she was invited to the following
weekend and how everyone who was anyone would be there. Attendees consisted of
politicians, musicians, actors and, most importantly, people whose pockets were
laced with old money.
    As she continued without pause, except when she was giving him
directions, it gave him a chance to think about Tiffany and their situation.
    Only a week since the last time he saw her, tonight was a welcomed
surprise. His being there was strictly for business, to network. The tickets
had been a gift from one of his clients.
    Hours ago he had decided to attend.
    He was glad he did. He’d made some good contacts and expected
several opportunities to open up.
    When he saw Tiffany, his body had responded instantly. Just like
Saturday when he’d shown up unannounced. Since the day they had met, he was
drawn to her, and he wanted to get to know her better. But it seemed like his
hormones kept getting in the way. He knew there was a lot more to Tiffany Selina-Wayne
than what the world knew and much more than what she wanted to admit.
    From everything he’d learned about her, she was a woman who needed
to let herself go and stop living for everyone else, always in the camera’s
eye, standing proud and faithful by her father’s side. Even tonight he caught
the subtle touch she gave her father, making sure the governor stayed on task.
Tiffany was so immersed in her father’s career, he wondered if she even knew
where her life began.
    If he did nothing else, before they divorced, he would make it his
personal mission to ensure Tiffany learned what it was like to let go and live.

Six
     
    “Hi, Marti. Is there a table available for a hungry man to have
lunch?”
    “Mr. Wayne, there is always a table available for you.” Marti was
the headwaiter at Gilligan’s, a small seafood restaurant in D.C.
    Trevor had enjoyed lunch at the place at least once a week for the
past five years, when he could pull himself away from one project or another.
He and his staff frequently worked through lunch while sitting in front of a
sick computer.
    Marti escorted Trevor to a small table located in the back next to
the kitchen. How is this, Mr. Wayne? We’re a bit busy today; otherwise, I’d
have found you one by the window so you could have a better view.”
    “It’s perfect. As hungry as I am, I need to be as close to the
kitchen as possible.” He smiled, hoping to ease Marti’s mind.
    “Great, I’ll tell Cliff to come quickly to take your order.”
    Without another word, Marti weaved through the tables toward
Cliff. When Marti reached the other man, he leaned forward and whispered in his
ear, then was off to greet more waiting guests.
    Cliff crossed the room moments later. “Good afternoon, Mr. Wayne.
Do you know what you’re having or would you like to see the menu?” Cliff stood
poised to write on his little tablet.
    “No menu, Cliff, what’s the special for today?” Trevor was too
hungry to peruse a menu.
    Last night’s dinner was the last meal he remembered eating. If
they were serving nails covered in a light peppercorn sauce, he would have
eaten it.
    “Crab cakes, rice pilaf, your choice of vegetable and a