by Kwan, Coleen
Carl nodded. “That’s how Lex won her back. He showed up outside her condo one night and started to serenade her. Can you imagine Lex singing his heart out in public? That takes a lot of guts.”
“Or desperation,” Kirk murmured.
“‘Hard to Say I’m Sorry’?” Holly snickered. “How does that song go again, Lex?”
Everyone was gazing at Lex with amused smiles, but his body was rigid against Jacinta’s and his discomfort was palpable. Oh dear, she hadn’t meant to embarrass him so much by that off-the-cuff story she’d invented.
“Lex only sings it for me,” she blurted out, squeezing Lex’s hand. “It’s our song, after all.”
“That’s very sweet.” Nana Alice took charge of the conversation. “Now, isn’t it time we all went into the marquee?”
The group broke up and began to move forward.
Lex held Jacinta back until his relatives had dispersed. “One of these days I’m going to strangle Carl.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, genuinely contrite. “I’ll ask him not to repeat that story again.”
“No, don’t do that.” He sighed. “Carl’s a great friend, and I have to admit your bullshit story would be pretty hilarious if it wasn’t about me. Hell, I’d be repeating it, too, if it involved one of my friends.”
“So you’re not mad at me?”
His gaze slipped over her face and lingered on her mouth. “I guess there’re ways you could make it up to me.”
She lowered her eyelashes. “Uh, let’s discuss that later.”
He grinned. “Maybe Carl’s done me a favor.” He linked his arm with hers. “Okay, we’d better go in.”
…
They followed the other guests streaming into the giant marquee, where rows of chairs had been arranged in a semicircle around a dais. Lex left her at the front row with Carl and Brooke while he joined his grandmother and the rest of his family on the dais. The marquee quickly filled up. When everyone was seated and the hubbub had died down, the speeches began. First Ralph, then Lex, Kirk, and Holly rose and delivered speeches that were short but filled with affection. Nana Alice watched on and drank in every word, and finally she stood up to give her own speech, her warm and witty words bringing a lump to Jacinta’s throat.
Then the stage was cleared, and Lex sat down beside her as the first of the performances began. There was a ballet recital, followed by a string quartet, and finally the star of the show, Alex Connelly, appeared to a burst of applause. His performance riveted the audience for forty minutes, and when he finished, he spent some time charming Nana Alice and the other fans pressing forward.
Jacinta stood back from the crush surrounding the dais. Everyone, it seemed, wanted to mob the singer. Lex was at his grandmother’s side in the middle of the mass. She’d lost sight of Carl and Brooke, so she made her way out of the marquee by herself. As she exited the tent, she spied Nancy Bird standing by herself. The assistant’s face was flushed beet red with anger as she scowled after a man striding away from her.
Jacinta blinked, wondering what was going on. The man who was stalking off looked suspiciously like Lex’s uncle Ralph. What had he said to make Nancy so furious? It was none of her business, but the woman looked so upset Jacinta couldn’t help approaching her.
“Nancy? Are you all right?”
“Of course,” she said. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“It’s just...” Jacinta gestured in the direction where Ralph had gone. “You seem to be upset about something Ralph Rochester said.”
Nancy pressed her lips together, her throat working. “He’s trying to intimidate me, but I won’t let him.”
“Intimidate you?” Jacinta started in surprise. “But that’s—there must be some mistake.”
“No, no mistake. And this isn’t the first time he’s tried to bully me. But I won’t give in. He can badger me all he wants but he won’t get it.” She clasped the strap of her purse tighter, as if she feared being mugged.
Jacinta was mystified. “What does Ralph want from you?”
The woman fished a cotton handkerchief out of her pocket and pressed it against her lips. “My clock.”
“Your...clock?”
“Yes.” Nancy sniffed. “The clock left to me by Mr. Rochester. Philip Rochester,” she added as Jacinta continued to gape at her.
“I don’t understand. Why would Ralph want your clock? He’s rich enough to afford any one he wants.”
“Exactly. That’s what I said to him, but he insists that his brother meant to leave him my clock. I won’t give it up, but it’s hard when he...” The woman faltered and dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief.
Jacinta reached out toward her. “Don’t upset yourself any further. It’s wrong of Ralph to bully you like this. You should talk to Lex. He’ll get his uncle to see reason. Or, if you prefer, I could tell Lex and—”
“No, I can take care of things,” the other woman said, shaking off Jacinta’s hand. “I don’t need your help.”
“Okay.” Jacinta stood back. “Um, well, at least the party will be over soon and you’ll be able to go home.”
Nancy blinked at her. “I’m not going home until tomorrow.”
“Oh, I see,” Jacinta replied, not seeing at all.
“The meeting. Tomorrow morning. I’m taking the minutes.”
“The minutes?”
Nancy’s lips twisted. “Yes, I’m here to take the minutes. God forbid I should be invited to Mariposa just to enjoy myself.” She frowned at Jacinta, as if remembering who she was talking to. “Excuse me, won’t you?” She hurried off, clinging to her purse and handkerchief.
A moment later, Jacinta was still gazing after Nancy when Lex appeared beside her. “Well, the famous Alex Connelly has left. Do you want to grab a drink?”
Jacinta turned to him. “I’ve just had the strangest conversation with Nancy Bird.”
“How strange?”
“She said your uncle has been pestering her to give up some clock your dad left her in his will.”
Lex’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh? First I’ve heard of it.”
“You didn’t know your dad left her a clock?”
“I know that. I didn’t know about Uncle Ralph wanting it.”
“She was acting very strange about the whole thing.”
“There was nothing strange about my father’s bequest.” Lex shrugged. “I only wish I could have found Nancy a better position than just being my second personal assistant, but that’s the best I can do at the moment. When my dad died, I thought she might take early retirement, but she didn’t, and she seems happy enough where she is.”
Jacinta pursed her lips as the memory of Nancy’s sour expression continued to nag at her. “I don’t think she’s very happy.”
“Well, she’s never been a barrel of laughs, I’ll admit, but she’s satisfied at work.”
A cold shiver ran down her backbone. She looked up at Lex. “It could be her.”
“What do you mean—” He broke off as her meaning dawned on him. “Nancy Bird? You think she’s the one who’s been...?” He stopped again to check if they were attracting attention. Taking her elbow, he shepherded her away from the crowd until they reached a secluded spot. “What makes you think Nancy is the one betraying me?” he asked in a quiet voice heavy with tension.
She swallowed. The scents of rosemary and lavender hung in the summer air. “It’s just the way she spoke to me. She sounded bitter, resentful.”
Lex shook his head. “I can’t understand what she would feel resentful about. She’s the only admin we invited to this party.”
“She said she’s here to take the minutes at your meeting tomorrow.”
“So? She usually takes the minutes of meetings.”
“Doesn’t that give her access to all your private discussions?”
“Yes, but...” His frown deepened before he shook his head again. “But she’s completely trustworthy. She was my father’s assistant for decades. She has nothing to gain b
y being disloyal. God, she used to give me money out of petty cash to buy candy when I visited my dad’s office. No, I just can’t see her wanting to sabotage the company.”
Doubt surged over Jacinta. She had no real evidence against Nancy, just intuition. She’d only spoken briefly to the woman a handful of times, so clearly she didn’t know her as well as Lex did. Maybe she had misinterpreted Nancy’s attitude.
“I guess she doesn’t have a motive,” she said. “She’d be shooting herself in the foot if she damaged the company.”
“She’s a tough nut, that Nancy. She had to be to survive for so long under my dad.”
“But still, you shouldn’t discount her. She’s had just as much opportunity as any of your family. I’m adding her to my list of suspects. In fact, when I get the chance, I’m going to audit the activity logs from her computer and logins and cross-check that with the dates of your meetings and the leaks.”
Lex still looked dubious. “Okay. But my money’s on Holly.”
“Why?”
“Because she and I never got along, and she’s always been on Kirk’s side. She’d think this was a brilliant plan to show up my incompetence and help Kirk take over. Plus, she wouldn’t waste any time crying if the company got into financial difficulties. Yeah, it’s just the kind of stunt she’d pull.”
Jacinta thought about his spunky, sassy cousin, how she’d spoken up for Kirk, and the obvious warmth between her and her brother. “I agree she has the chutzpah to do this, but I don’t know... I don’t think there’s that much malice in her.”
“So it’s just your feminine intuition telling you that, huh?”
“Oh yes.” She lifted her chin. “And it’s just as reliable as your good ol’ male gut instinct.”
“Huh.” He grinned briefly before sobering up. “Well, I did ask you here to help find the likely suspect, and if I can’t trust my family, then I shouldn’t trust Nancy either.”
Heavens, she didn’t want to make him more distrusting. “You were great on stage with your family all reminiscing about your nana. I’m convinced you could all get along one of these days.”
“You mean when I’ve uncovered the spy. But I wouldn’t count on it. Even if the company is saved, it’ll mean a huge disruption. It’s a lose-lose situation as far as family unity is concerned, but I’ll have to handle it. I’m going to get to the bottom of this and soon.”
Her heart sank. “I understand why you don’t feel you can trust your family.” She hesitated, plucking a leaf off a lavender bush, before deciding to plunge on. “Carl told me what your dad did to you—setting up your own friend to spy on you. That was a terrible breach of trust, but you don’t have to make the same mistakes as he did.”
She stopped, wondering if she’d said too much.
“Carl, huh?” he finally growled. “Christ, that guy’s been shooting his mouth off.”
She blew out a huff of exasperation. “Carl is your friend. He cares about you.” I care about you. She bit back the words just in time.
Lex made an impatient gesture with his hands. “Carl thinks he knows more than he does. My father was testing me, seeing if I was up to the task of leading the company. He didn’t want to leave it to me just because I was his son. I had to prove I was capable. And I did.”
And now? she wanted to demand. What about now, when the company was floundering after years of his father’s mismanagement? Lex didn’t want to share the problem because of some need to protect his father’s reputation, undeserved though it was. Despite everything his father had done to him, Lex was still determined to be the good son.
Jacinta sighed. Last night she’d shared such an incredible physical connection with Lex, but now he seemed too complex for her to ever fully understand. “Okay, obviously I shouldn’t have said anything.”
To her surprise, he shook his head slowly. “No, I’m glad you did. You don’t seem afraid to stand up to me on anything. I kinda like that.”
She pulled a wry face. “Do you? Even when I’m contradicting you?”
“It’s refreshing.” His lips edged up into a slow smile.
Not ten months ago, it wasn’t. She bit back the snarky comment. Ten months ago she thought she’d had him all figured out, but now she knew there were a lot of extenuating circumstances to his behavior.
She curled the lavender leaf around her forefinger. “That makes a change.”
“Speaking of Carl...” He took her hand and unwound the leaf from her fingers. “You still have to make it up to me for feeding him that serenade story he can’t shut up about.”
Her senses, ever alert to him, began to hum at his nearness. “I didn’t promise anything. I said we’d discuss it.”
“We are discussing it.” Holding her hand, he stroked the leaf back and forth across her palm. “I can’t wait until tonight.”
The warm huskiness of his voice started to unwind her senses. “I don’t know—”
“I do. It’s going to be even more fantastic than last night.”
The feel of him playing with her hand threatened to turn her brain to mush, but she managed to get out, “Aren’t you being presumptuous? Just because last night we, uh, we...”
“Had an amazing time?”
She flushed. “It’s not right. We’re not in a relationship. We told each other to go to hell.”
“We’re not cheating on anyone. We’re two consenting adults. I don’t see the problem.”
He drifted his fingertips up her arm, promising her Nirvana. Again. A deep ache started to build between her thighs, and she knew she was in trouble.
“Of course you don’t. No-strings-attached sex. What man would have a problem with that?”
His hands stilled before he slowly released her. “At least I’m honest about it, while you’re so busy running from the truth.”
The smell of lavender bruised her throat as she dragged in a gulp of air. The truth? He wouldn’t want to hear the truth from her—that spending another night in his arms would only make it harder for her to say good-bye to him. And maybe she wasn’t ready to face the truth about her feelings for him either.
“I’m not dodging the truth. I’m just trying to be practical,” she said, feeling anything but practical. “I mean, we both know there’s no future for us.” She paused, the breath trapped in her lungs. Was she waiting—hoping—for him to contradict her? To throw her a crumb of hope?
Something pulsed in the depths of his eyes, a dark spark of emotion gone before she could recognize it. “I’m only talking about tonight, Jacinta. One night.”
She released her breath, feeling foolish for harboring a scrap of hope. Of course Lex was only talking about tonight. Nothing more.
“One night.” Sighing, she forced her head high.
“Is that a yes?” His eyes glimmered again, hotter this time, the desire frank.
One more night with Lex. After last night, how much more damage could it cause? Her body was vibrating, every cell screaming yes. So why not give in, take what pleasure she could, and never mind the consequences?
“One night only. No more after that.”
A smile played over his lips as he reached out to sweep a stray hair from her brow. “I guess I’d better make the most of it, then.”
…
“Lex, want to play?”
Reluctantly Lex came to a halt in the hallway as his cousin Matthew called from the billiard room. “Another time, maybe.”
“Oh, come on. We need a fourth to make two pairs.”
“Sorry, buddy.” Lex was already heading down the hallway. “Not tonight.”
Not tonight when he had just one thing on his mind. Jacinta had already gone upstairs a few minutes ago. After the buzz of the garden party, everyone was winding down and doing their own thing.
He took the stairs two at a time. Upstairs, the corridor was deserted. He pushed open the door to their bedroom, aware that he was already erect, his body humming with the prospect of what was waiting for him.
The room was empty. For a second his breath caught as he surveyed the unoccupied bed. Then a muffled noise from the walk-in closet alerted him. He started breathing again as he stepped toward the closet and toed the door ajar. Jacinta was in there, slipping her dress onto a hanger. Clad in her cream silk underwear, she reached out to hang up the dress. The sweet curve of her bottom, barely covered by a film of silk, made his lungs constrict again.
Jesus, she was bad for his breathing.
As he entered, she turned. The filtered light from the bedroom glinted on her chestnut hair and glimmered on the smooth cups of her bra.
She licked her lips, surprise showing in her eyes. “I’ll only be a minute here. I’m just hanging up my dress.”
Unable to contain himself any longer, he stepped up behind her and ran his fingers down the sides of her body, exploring her undulating curves. “Take all the time you want,” he muttered. “I’m fully entertained.”
“What is it with you and dressing rooms?” she said, but there was a rosy tinge in her cheeks and a quiver in her body she couldn’t disguise.
“At least we don’t have a saleswoman outside the door.” He skimmed his fingertips up and down her torso, relishing the smoothness of her skin. “Let me be your assistant tonight.”
The creaminess of her skin had his pants straining at the zipper, but he was determined to slow things down a little. Brushing her hair to one side, he fit his mouth into the curve of her neck and laid a row of playful nips across her skin. Her answering shiver was all he needed. With his lips he nudged down the strap of her bra and nibbled at her shoulder.
“I think I’d better check your bra size.” He undid her bra, tossed it aside, and covered a breast with each palm. He was painfully hard now, his control rocking on a knife edge. Her generous breasts filled his hands perfectly. The feel of her nipples growing rigid against his palms didn’t help his restraint. Neither did her little moan as she arched her back, leaning her head against his shoulder and pushing her breasts against his teasing fingers.
If he didn’t contain himself he’d have her up against the wall in five seconds flat. She’d always had this devastating effect on him. He swore no other woman had ever had that power over him.
