Eddie hooted with laughter.
Jake frowned. “What she’s not telling you is that she was directly responsible for making me fall.”
Duke raised a skeptical brow. “I’ll take your word for it, Jake, but remember that I’ve seen you rappel.”
“Ha, ha.” Jake wrapped his arm around her. “Go ahead, tell them your other surprise.”
“What other surprise?”
His smug smile made her brace herself. “Mallory has agreed to marry me.”
“Oh, I did, did I?”
“Yes,” he said. “You did.”
Leave it to Jake to spring this on her in public, although Mallory supposed she’d brought it on herself with her announcement about accepting his job offer. Glancing around the table at the family and friends awaiting her reaction, she found that she didn’t know what to say.
She’d already agreed to work for the man. This morning in his arms, she’d also agreed to be an us. She supposed there was no reason why marriage couldn’t be a part of the future.
“Honey, I haven’t seen you this quiet since the fourth grade when Denny McKenna told you he didn’t like you anymore after you beat up that bully boy for picking on him.” Opal placed two mugs on the table and slipped onto the bench. “Marriage to a man as handsome as Jake is a good thing.”
It wasn’t Opal’s declaration that kicked Mallory’s brain into gear again, but the sight of her hand.
“Where’s the black opal?” She referred to Opal’s signature ring that she’d worn for as long as Mallory could remember.
“Here.” She held up her right hand. “I needed a change.”
“What’s that on your left hand?”
“Oh, I wasn’t going to say anything yet.” Opal heaved a dramatic sigh and looked close to bursting. “You know me, honey, I wouldn’t dream of stealing your thunder, and I don’t care to share mine. But since you’ve asked…”
She let her statement trail off while displaying her left hand, where a platinum band rested on her elegantly manicured ring finger. Twisting the band, she revealed a solitaire diamond that flashed in the sunlight flooding the room.
“That’s not what I think it is, is it?” Mallory reached for her hand to inspect the ring. “This is Mrs. McGillivray’s diamond. It’s got to be close to eight carats.”
“It is eight carats,” Opal said proudly.
“Didn’t she swear she’d never part with this?”
“Which positively broke my heart because it was her only piece of jewelry worth owning,” Eddie said, guiding Opal’s hand away from Mallory so he could gaze longingly at the stone. “I would have had them lining up at the door for this ring.”
“As soon as Mrs. McGillivray heard your dad had finally asked me to marry him after thirty years, the dear lady took it off her finger and insisted I have it. She gave your dad a great deal because she wanted to make sure it went to a good home. Of course she knew how much I admired it.”
“Of course,” Duke said with a dashing grin. “And whatever the lady wants…”
“The lady wants an intimate wedding and a very expensive honeymoon,” Opal informed him in a tone that brooked no refusal. “I’ve earned it.”
Her dad nodded. “That you have, gorgeous.”
And before Mallory had a chance to react to this news, Rosalyn said, “We mentioned the cruise that you’re sending us on for our anniversary, Jake, so we’ve decided to go together.”
“On your anniversary cruise?”
His dad nodded. “You know those cruises. So much more fun if you actually know someone on board.”
Rosalyn agreed. “Especially when I want to visit the casino. Your father always refuses to go. Damage control, he says.”
Duke laughed and Opal warned him not to bother trying to curtail the damage that she could do in a casino, all the while gazing at him with that same sort of contented look that Rosalyn wore whenever she looked at her husband.
“About time, Daddy.” Mallory blew him and Opal a kiss. She wouldn’t mention how pleased she was that Opal would officially be her stepmother, didn’t think Opal would appreciate the title even if she had been doing the job all along.
Jake’s hand found hers beneath the table, and as they listened to their respective families make plans for upcoming weddings, anniversaries and honeymoons, Mallory met his warm gaze and felt that crazy flutter of excitement again.
Jake was right. Loving him would be the best challenge of all. She’d wanted a piece of this man’s ass for ten long years, and she’d finally gotten it. Forever.
Epilogue
The kiss—ten days later
MALLORY MOVED as if she were making love, slim curves gathering and unfolding in a sinuous display as she descended a rope with nothing more than the strength of her upper body to lower her and long sleek legs to anchor her. She wore all black, from her form-fitting coveralls to her soft-soled boots.
She was his woman now, and her effect on him was almost overwhelming as Jake stood beyond a doorway that led into the warehouse of the Atlanta Safe Exchange. She was his fantasy come to life, and two very primitive impulses warred with each other. One urged him to stand there and enjoy the sight of her shimmying down that line, while the other caught him up in the thrill of sensor-washed darkness and rushing adrenaline. He wanted to do a lot more than watch.
His breath caught and held as she maneuvered her slim body through a particularly narrow passage in the sensor array. Her every muscle was compacted, yet liquid enough to slip between the narrow channel of free space without making contact.
Perhaps with another decade or so of practice at the rock-climbing gym, Jake might be able to accomplish such controlled moves. At the moment he was content to stand back and marvel at her skill and his own ingenuity at the sensor design, which would make it impossible for any thief with less than Mallory’s skill to penetrate the infrared web leading to the Atlanta Safe Exchange vault.
His woman had been so impressed by his sensor design that she’d asked him to limit his involvement during this part of the job to observation. He’d agreed, conceding to her greater ability and understanding her reluctance to jeopardize her impeccable record on her last job in private practice.
Trust was no longer an issue between them. Mallory had committed to him, and he was content with the path his life had taken and hopeful that her affiliation with TSS would yield equally amazing results.
He knew it would. She hadn’t completed this job yet, and as promised, she was already pinpointing places he could tighten his new system. And she hadn’t made him wait for her summary report, either. She was a part of his team, and Jake knew with her on his side, he’d realize his lofty goals for TSS.
As soon as she officially came to work for him, they’d create her position for real and the negotiation would begin. She’d already been making demands. While he could live with the stock options and pension plan, the salary she’d quoted him was obscene.
But he looked forward to the negotiating, which had proven to be another challenge for them—the type that frequently landed them in bed. Or against a vault. Or anyplace he could remind her that he found her irresistible.
And how much he loved her.
Their first negotiation had involved setting their wedding date. The Hunt/Trinity nuptials would take place three months hence, enough time to establish Mallory’s new position at TSS—her requirement—and to plan a wedding that would satisfy the expectations of the groom’s mother and the bride’s stepmother.
There was another friendship that continued to surprise everyone. His parents and the new Mr. and Mrs. Duke Hunt genuinely liked each other and were currently out cruising the high seas, availing themselves of the sun, the island tours and the casinos. Apparently they were having the time of their lives, according to their latest e-mail.
His mom had reported that his father had taken to sunning himself at the upper deck pool to catch the attention of the other cruisers—mostly bikini-clad women—who frequ
ently commented on the unusual design of his “Polish Paul.”
His mom also reported that Opal had been crusading to disabuse her new husband of all thoughts of impending old age by keeping him on the dance floor every night until the wee hours.
Life was working out between them, and Jake knew it would get even better once Mallory became his wife.
He watched as she dropped to her feet without a sound, her body absorbing the impact with an effortless motion that brought to mind a cat landing on all fours. She stood barely a foot away, sandwiched between thin slivers of infrared, the criss-crossing web of light that was the only barrier between them.
And while that web effectively blocked them from one another, there was a place that was the perfect size for…he thrust his hand through a triangular wedge of free space between the beams, caught her face.
“Jake!” she hissed.
“Don’t move a muscle or you’ll disturb the beam and trip the alarm.”
The wild look in her eyes proved she hadn’t needed the reminder, and he liked that he’d shocked her. She was worried. Very worried. Her chest rose and fell sharply as he eased her head to the side, aligned her face to that triangular space and drew her toward him with agonizing slowness.
Then he lowered his mouth to hers. His own heartbeat spiked sharply as he brushed those luscious lips in a kiss. A kiss that promised she’d made the right choice by loving him.
His employee.
His woman.
His love.
The thief who’d stolen his heart.
Special thanks to Cyber-Aunt Karen, DianaP, Andee, Queen April, Cheryl the Angel, Marcy, Nammy, Esjai, Krazkim55, MeriG, Latesha, Jerry, Riza, Aurelene, JenO, Audrey, Dee and all the visitors to my message board at eHarlequin.com. Your professional expertise, creative input and love of happily ever after inspired the Princess of Paperback while she wrote this story.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-7280-8
OVER THE EDGE
Copyright © 2003 by Jeanie LeGendre.
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, M3B 3K9, Canada.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and TM are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
Visit us at www.eHarlequin.com
Table of Contents
Books by Jeanie London
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
Over the Edge Page 22
