“I see.”

He didn’t think he imagined the doubt in her tone and it annoyed him. He turned to face her. “Look, I’ve spent the last ten years taking care of my brother and my two sisters. Sometimes, I’m in a better position to know what’s best for them. In Greg’s case, he has trouble committing himself. If he can find a way to screw this up, he will.”

“Do you think he’ll make Lauren happy?”

“Yes.”

She frowned again. “Will he cheat on her?”

Max studied her for a few seconds, cursing the man who’d put that pained look in her eyes. Evidently, the memories of her first marriage still stung. She knew firsthand just how devastating infidelity could be. “No. He won’t.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I wouldn’t let him.” His voice held a note of iron resolve, the same tone he used when he made reckless business decisions and dared his staff to question him.

“You couldn’t stop—”

Max shook his head. “That’s not what I mean. I mean Greg knows that no one in this family would tolerate it if he cheated on his spouse. We’re not that kind of people, Sidney. He’d have hell to pay if he decided to wander, and Greg’s not extremely fond of paying consequences.”

She studied him. “That’s an interesting theory.”

He wasn’t going to argue with her. She couldn’t possibly understand. “It’s the way I do things.”

As if she sensed the challenge in the words, she gave him a short nod. “I understand.”

“Then we’re clear on that?”

“Absolutely. I’m here for you.”

The slight emphasis nearly undid him. Could she even suspect the effect she was having on him? He searched her expression and found it stubbornly unreadable. Setting his glass on the desk, he leaned toward her. She smelled like chocolate. He found it more arousing than any designer perfume.

Carefully holding her gaze he said, “I’m counting on it.”

FROM THE adjacent room, one of Max’s maids, who’d spent an hour on the phone with Philip Grant earlier that evening, smiled as she flicked the lamp on and off three times. She watched her contact, the young bartender near the fountain, for a response. He glanced around, then carefully selected a champagne glass to polish with a soft, white cloth. Understanding the message, the maid nodded to the other young woman in the room before she headed off to intercept Max’s sister Colleen, who was at that moment, according to the bartender, on her way to find Max in his third-story office. Philip had made it quite clear that Sidney and Max weren’t to be interrupted.

The other woman, one of Max’s chauffeurs, picked up the telephone to place a call to Philip Grant. The senior butler had asked for complete information on the weekend’s events. He would, no doubt, find this bit of news especially intriguing.

“I don’t know, Philip,” Gertie said as she discarded the king of hearts. “If Sidney finds out what you’re up to, she’ll strangle you.”

Philip Grant picked up the king and added it to his hand. “She’ll never suspect. Besides, Max needs her.” He discarded the three of spades.

Sam Mitchell, Max’s groundskeeper, pulled a card from the draw stack. “That’s for sure. Last month, I was scared to death he was going to give in and marry the Barlow woman—” He snapped his fingers. “What’s her name?”

“Constance,” Elena Garcia, who kept the exotic plants blooming in Max’s greenhouse, said with disdain.

“Yeah.” Sam nodded. “Constance—as in constantly annoying. She’s taken on becoming the answer to ‘Who Gets To Marry Max?’ as a personal project.” He tapped his blunt fingers on his fanned cards. “Can you imagine life with her running Max’s house?”

Elena clucked her tongue. “I tell you one thing, if he brings home that Barlow woman, I’m going to quit.”

Gertie grunted. “You’re not the only one. The minute he hints there might be a wedding, I’m giving him my resignation.”

“You, and all the rest of us,” Sam agreed, tossing the five of hearts onto the discard pile. “Except maybe Philip. What would it take to make you leave Max, Philip?”

“I don’t know,” he said blandly. “Are you going to take that card, Elena?”

Elena gave him a dry look. “Don’t think you’re going to distract me. You may think you’re going to force Max and Sidney together, but what will you do if your plan backfires? Greg Loden isn’t exactly oblivious to Sidney’s obvious charms, you know?”

Sam nodded. “That’s true. And with Max breathing down his brother’s neck about an engagement to Miss Fitzwater, I suspect Greg’ll be looking for some diversion this weekend.”

“He won’t find it with Sidney,” Philip assured them. “I’ve already told her what Max is expecting from Greg. She’ll see that it happens.”

“He’s a charmer, that one,” Gertie mused. “I’ve seen him turn heads before.”

“Not Sidney’s. She’s immune to him.”

“But not to Max,” Elena prompted.

Philip shook his head. “Sidney and Max—” he searched for the right word “—communicate.” He glanced at Elena. “If you’re not going to take that card, I am.”

She clucked her tongue as she reached for the card. “You can’t expect to win every game, Philip.”

While she studied her hand, Philip decided not to ask what she meant by that. Instead, he wondered how Max and Sidney were faring at the estate. He’d seen Max grow from a lonely young boy, who gracefully bore the pressures of the world on his shoulders, to an even lonelier man whose friends and family expected him to solve all their problems. Isolated in a tower of emotional distance, Max Loden was in serious danger of losing his heart. To hear some tell it, he was already past saving. Philip didn’t believe it.

Elena dropped a card onto the discard pile. Gertie reached for it. “No matter what you say, Philip, if Sidney finds out you’re not really sick, she’ll kill you for this.”

Philip suppressed a smile. Long ago, he’d given up trying to understand the strange connection between his niece and his employer. But of one thing he was certain: Max needed rescuing. Always the savior, always the one his family relied on in a crisis, always the hero, Max had learned to depend on no one—for support, for help, or even for love. While Sidney, his brave, talented, headstrong niece, had learned to keep the world at arm’s length. Hurt one time too many, Sidney allowed no one to penetrate her inner world.

As Gertie studied her cards, Philip considered the niece he loved like a daughter, and the employer he considered a close friend. Only Philip had breached their collective defenses. And while he didn’t begin to understand why he’d been blessed with such a role, he took the responsibility seriously. They needed each other. And since the two of them were too thickheaded to know it, he had no choice but to take matters into his own hands.

Gertie discarded the jack of diamonds. Philip picked it up with a feeling of satisfaction. Eventually, he reasoned, Max and Sidney would understand that he was acting in their best interest and forgive him for meddling. He discarded, then set his cards down on the table. “Gin.”

Sam grumbled as he began tabulating the score. “One day, I’m going to figure out how you manage to cheat.”

Elena dropped her cards to the table with a sigh of disgust. “He marks the cards. He has to. Nobody has his luck.”

As Philip piled the cards into a neat stack, the phone rang. Gertie frowned as she reached for the receiver. “Well, let’s hope his luck is holding. Sidney already called once this morning. I hope she’s not suspicious.”

“She’s not,” Philip assured her.

“Hello?” Gertie answered the phone. Philip carefully watched her expression change from polite inquiry to unabashed delight. She covered the receiver with her hand. “It’s Mary Beth,” she said, identifying the young woman who’d called last night with news of Max’s third-floor rendezvous with Sidney. “She says Max is teaching Bailey how to dive this morning.”