Dealing in Deception
Page 14
“Sure I can. Watch me.” I took a hesitant step forward, gritting my teeth as pain shot up my leg. With a grunt, I trudged deeper into the snow, then shot a smile at Bax. “See? I’m fine. The snow is actually helping. I can barely feel my ankle now.”
He trotted beside me. “You know that’s not a good thing, right? You’re not dressed for this weather. The numbness is probably the beginning of frostbite.”
“I’m wearing boots.”
“Riding boots aren’t the same as snow boots.”
“Whatever. I said I’m fine, so I’m fine. I can walk, Hero. I don’t need saving today.”
“If you say so.” He took a breath. “I’ll see you back at the house, then.”
With one of the side-mouth clicks I’d taught him, he coaxed the horse in front of me and disappeared into the curtain of snow.
I gaped at the horse tracks from the spot he’d just occupied. Seriously? He’d just left me? In a snowstorm with a wounded ankle. And I had no clue how to get back to the estate.
My ankle shrieked with pain as I stumbled after him—it definitely wasn’t numb, as I’d tried to make Baxter believe. I tried to walk in the trail his horse created in the snow, but the wind and flakes filled in the gaps and blinded me. Blinking the ice from my lashes, I took another step forward and my ankle turned, sending me sprawling into the snow.
“Fuuuucccck,” I mumbled into the ground. The pain in my leg licked my bones like flames and I grabbed it to steady it. Cold seeped through my thin leggings, sending shivers through me again. Dammit. “Bax?” The wind tore the word from my mouth and whipped it against the trees. If he’d made it even halfway back to the house, there was no way he’d hear me. I cleared my throat and called louder. “Hero! Can you hear me?”
Bax appeared through the snow in seconds, the smug grin on his face making it clear he’d been waiting for me not too far away. “Yes, Veronica? Did you need something?”
“I need you to stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
I wrapped my arms around myself as my body trembled with the cold. “Like I can’t do anything without your help.”
He hopped off the horse. “Now, we both know that isn’t true. Technically, you’re the one helping me. We wouldn’t even be here this weekend without you. And you’re pretty much the most independent, stubborn woman I know, so I’m well aware you could probably make it back to the house by sheer will. But me and my faithful steed here can make it a bit easier. All you have to do is ask.” Bax crossed his arms and watched me with anticipation.
“You’re actually going to make me say it?” I rubbed at my ankle.
“Asking for help doesn’t make you weak, Veronica. It shows you’re strong enough to know when you need it.”
I winced as I tried to move my ankle again, then sighed. “Fine. Bax, will you please help me get back to the house? I’m freezing, and I’m pretty sure my ankle is twice the size it should be.”
“As you wish, my lady.” He bowed before swooping down and lifting me out of the snow. I looped an arm around his neck as he carried me to the horse. He smelled like fresh snow and Irish cream.
I placed my good foot in the stirrup and ground my teeth as I threw the bad one over. When I was steady, Bax got on behind me. While we did indeed fit in the saddle together, it was squishy. My back pressed against his chest, my ass against . . . other parts. He wrapped his arms around me and grabbed the reins.
Despite the fact that I was soaking wet, he was warm, and I found myself wiggling back into him as far as I could go.
Bax cleared his throat. “You may not want to do that so much. I mean, it’s definitely warming me up, but . . .”
I froze as I realized what he meant. “Ugh. That’s seriously disturbing, Bax. I’m hurt and trying to get warm, and you’re enjoying every moment. Typical.”
“Hey, it’s not my fault you keep grinding into me.”
“Fine, I’ll stop. Better?”
“Hmmmm? What’s that? Sorry, I was just thinking about the fact that you kissed me at the gala and now you’re rubbing up against me. You say you want to maintain a business relationship, but you’re giving off some pretty mixed signals.”
Fury, red and hot, tinged through me. “Okay, you know the kiss was to get the Garcias’ attention—and it worked, I might add. And the rubbing . . . that was just staying warm—you know, survival. Why are we even talking about this right now? We need to get indoors.”
“We do, but at least I got your mind off your ankle and the weather for a few minutes. You’re not shivering anymore.”
“Wait. You purposely made me angry to warm me up?”
“Nothing’s hotter than a fired-up Veronica Wilde. And your teeth are no longer chattering loud enough to spook the horse.”
I wiped at my face with a cold hand. “You’re a jerk, you know.”
“And you’re grateful I took your mind off everything for a few minutes, at least.”
He was right, but there was no way I’d ever admit it to him. “Okay, Hero, you’ve had your fun. But this still doesn’t solve the fact that we don’t know where the hell we are.”
“True. My gut says to go that way.” He pointed to the left.
“Then I think we should go right.”
His chest vibrated against my back as he chuckled. “Of course you do. Fine, right it is.”
He clicked his teeth and tightened his thighs, and our horse took off in the direction I’d requested.
The horse’s hoofbeats became quieter and quieter as the snow thickened on the ground, until they were nothing but a muted thud. The motion of the ride and the closeness of Bax’s body were soothing. If my ankle hadn’t shrieked with every bump and it wasn’t so freaking freezing, I might’ve fallen asleep.
We both cried out when the curtain of snow parted and the estate came into view.
I peered up at Bax through snowflake-encrusted lashes. “You know, I hate to say, ‘I told you so’ . . .”
“No, you don’t. In fact, I think it’s safe to say those are probably your favorite words in the English vocabulary.”
“Still. I told you so.”
The stable hand and a frantic Mr. and Mrs. Garcia ran to meet us, kicking up snow in their wake.
“We were so worried,” Catia said, her orange scarf whipping around her face and mingling with her hair of the same color. “We sent out some of the staff to find you. Herb, can you call them and tell them they’re back?”
“Of course.” He ducked his head against the wind and hurried into the house.
“Come inside,” Catia said. “We have a fire going. Where is the other horse? Did you only take one?”
“She got startled and bucked Veronica off her back, then ran away.” Bax hopped off the horse.
“Oh, goodness! Are you okay, dear?”
“I sprained my ankle when I fell, but I’m fine. Just really cold. I’m so sorry about your horse.”
“Yes, come on. We’ll warm up in the library. And don’t worry about Jet. She won’t go far. I’ll send Jonas here out to find her after the storm.”
Bax wrapped an arm around my waist and helped me off the horse. He had me back in his arms before my feet touched the ground.
“You’re surprisingly strong,” I said.
“You don’t weigh much. Besides, I already carried you all the way up to your loft a couple weeks ago. Into the house is nothing.”
I buried my face in his neck so he wouldn’t see the flush in my face at that memory. I hated that he kept seeing me like this. Vulnerable, weak. I made a point of never letting anyone see me that way.
We followed Catia down a series of hallways and entered the aptly named library. Books with red-and-gold spines dotted the walls. Leather couches and armchairs occupied most of the rose-colored carpet in the center of the room.
“Here.” Catia spread a blanket over one of the couches. “Put her on this so she doesn’t get the sofa wet. Next thing, you both need to get out of those wet clothes.”
I pulled the soaking poncho over my head and yielded it to a maid’s outstretched hand. Beneath it, my riding pants and top were almost as wet. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to contain the shivers. My lips chattered of their own volition. Even biting down wouldn’t stop them.
“I’ll go grab something from your suitcase upstairs,” Bax said. He darted out of the room, and Catia draped another blanket over me.
“Oh, goodness, dear, you’re shaking. Here, sit closer to the fire. I’ll get more blankets.”
I tried to thank her, but I couldn’t seem to get my mouth to do anything other than rattle my teeth together at an alarming speed.
Bax charged into the room, wearing a dry sweatshirt and pants, with my clothes on his arm. He shoved a pair of yellow flannel pajama pants and a blue dress shirt at me.
“Th-th-hose d-d-don’t g-g-g-go t-t-together,” I managed.
“Seriously, Veronica? You’re soaking wet and you care these ones don’t match? Just put them on.” He tossed the clothes beside me and faced the other direction.
“F-f-fine.”
I managed to get my wet shirt off and replace it with the dry one, but the pants were a whole other dilemma.
“B-B-Bax?”
“What?”
“I-I c-c-can’t g-g-et m-m-m-my p-p-ants off. M-my h-h-hands are s-shaking t-t-t-too m-m-much.”
“I can get a maid, if you want.”
I shook my head, even though he couldn’t see it. “P-please, j-j-just he-help me. I-I-I’m s-s-s-so c-c-cold.”
“Okay.”
“Th-thanks.”
He kneeled on the floor beside the couch and pulled my boots and socks off, taking extra care in handling the foot with the sore ankle. Then he reached for the zipper I’d been fumbling with. My cold fingers brushed his, unwilling to give up the fight, and he sucked in a breath. “Jesus, Veronica. You’re cold. Move your hands. If you want me to do this, you have to let me do it.”
I bit my lip and shoved my trembling fingers under the now-damp blanket. Bax unzipped my pants and gripped the waistband. I raised my butt so he could slide them down my hips. The thin fabric had almost become one with my skin, and Bax grunted and pulled as they stuck to me every inch of the way. My eyes widened at the sight of my too-white legs. That couldn’t be good.
Bax finally got my pants off, and he dropped them to the floor. He began to rub my feet and legs.
“Wh-wh-hat are y-y-ou doing?” My first instinct was to pull away, but there was nothing forward about his movements. They were methodical, precise. He watched his own fingers, his tongue perched between his lips in concentration.
“You see how white your skin is?” he said after a moment. “That’s hypothermia trying to set in. We need to get your blood circulating properly. Trust me. I’ve done lots of research on this for my blanket.” His head jerked. “In fact . . . hang on. Here, can you get the pajama pants on by yourself?”
I nodded and somehow managed to pull them up as Bax ran out of the room again, relishing the dry fabric against my skin. Catia returned with more blankets. She pulled the now-damp one out from under me and piled the rest on. Still, I shivered. I began to worry the shivering would never end.
“Here, try this one.” Bax dumped Catia’s blanket pile onto the floor and threw something green and smelly over me.
Ugh. His stupid homemade blanket. I willed my lips to tell him I didn’t need this disgusting thing on me, but then it started to warm, as though it were an electric blanket, soaking up what little heat my body held and magnifying it back at me tenfold. I closed my eyes and leaned back as the convulsions slowed.
Bax kneeled at my feet and continued massaging my uninjured foot and calf muscles. Then he took my hands, working my fingers and wrists. Soon, the shivers stopped altogether, and my chattering teeth settled.
“Better?” he asked, still rubbing my palm with his thumb. It wasn’t just the heat of the blanket. His hands felt good, working in slow circles and thawing out my veins.
“Mmm . . .” I said. “I hate to admit it, but this thing really works.”
“I told you. Now, you need to raise your ankle.” He gingerly lifted my foot and placed a series of cushions under it. “I’m going to go ask a maid for an Ace bandage. Be right back.”
His soft footfalls on the carpet announced his exit, and I slumped further into the blanket, not caring that it smelled like something I’d throw in the trash. It was gloriously warm and dry, and it had brought me back to life.
“What exactly is that?” I opened my eyes and glanced at the door. I hadn’t even seen Herberto return from calling off the staff search party.
“It’s Bax’s invention. A blanket made from recycled materials. He wants to sell it to cities to warm their homeless.”
“Really?” Herberto took the armchair beside me and bent over the blanket. “Fascinating. You know, Catia and I lived on the streets for a time. It was horrible, wasn’t it, love? I still remember the hunger and cold, and the constant worry we would freeze to death.” He fingered a corner of the blanket. “And you say he made this himself?”
“He did. There’s a whole bunch of science-y stuff behind it I don’t understand. But it really works. In fact, I’m getting a little too warm.” I pushed the blanket down my shoulders and studied the fire. “You know, he’d kill me if I brought this up, since this is our honeymoon and I promised I wouldn’t talk business, but he is looking for an investor to help him get the business off the ground.”
Herberto looked at his wife, who still stood near the fire. “Is he, now? Well, I’d like to hear more. I’ll have my assistant call him Monday, and we’ll set up a proper business meeting with my lawyers and advisors. Maybe we will make good partners, huh?”
“Got bandages!” Bax said as he entered. He glanced between the Garcias and me. “Everything okay?”
“Everything’s great,” I said. “Your blanket works miracles.”
“Good to know,” he said. He started to wrap fabric around my foot.
The crackle of the fire and the softness of the couch lulled me away as the three of them talked about the snow, our ride, and art. The worry about our sleeping arrangements was put to rest when I awoke the next morning on the couch, my ankle bandaged, the fire down to one smoking ember, Bax’s smelly blanket still on top of me, and plagued by the nagging realization I’d never had a better night’s sleep.
Bax
The bearded man in front of me grunted as I plopped another scoop of scalloped potatoes on his already-heaped plate.
“Bax!” Rickie nudged me with her elbow. “I think he has plenty.” She stacked a piece of ham on top of the potatoes and sent the hunched man on his way. “Darling, if you keep giving out portions like that, we won’t have enough for the crowd.”
“Sorry, Rick. I guess I wasn’t paying attention.”
She wiped at her forehead with the back of her hand and leaned on the counter as the line died down. “I take it by that moony look you’ve had on your face since you got here, your meeting with the art guy went well?”
“It did.”
It had gone very well, to be exact. A little over a week had passed since our snowy weekend at the Garcias’ estate. Herberto did as he’d promised Veronica and had set up a meeting with us to discuss my blanket and whether or not he wanted to invest. Veronica explained what had happened on the couch during our trip home. We’d then discussed strategies, and she’d asked me question after question about the blanket. How it was made, how much it would cost to make more, how long it would last in the bad weather
.
Part of me wanted to ask her if she’d hit her head when she’d fallen off the horse. But she’d seemed genuinely interested in my answers, bobbing her head and pulling at her teardrop earring as I spoke. Her ankle hadn’t been quite as bad as we’d thought—it probably helped it had remained cold for so long. She was able to limp to her own door by the time we got back to the city. And she stood for the entire presentation today. Beside me. Like she was an actual partner in my business and hadn’t been tricked into coming by me telling her there was a sale on Birkin bags.
Since I’d hired her, I’d questioned Veronica’s ability to pretend to be my business partner, but in our meeting that morning, she’d been on point. Watching her interact with the accountants and lawyers in the room was like watching a championship tennis match. They’d lob a question in her direction and she’d volley an answer right back. She remembered everything I’d told her during the car ride.
The accountants pointed out the fact that no one would pay enough for the blankets, and she stitched everything back together by explaining how cities would profit from their generosity, and that all it would take was one strong leader to prove it. She even had other ideas for the product beyond my original intent—astronauts on a cold planet, explorers in the Arctic, doctors with hypothermic patients. According to her, the buyers were endless. Her only stipulation was that the blanket would first be produced for the homeless, then could be researched for other purposes.
Although the accountants and lawyers hemmed and hawed and shook their heads, Herberto’s smile grew wider with each word out of Veronica’s mouth, and when he hugged us good-bye, he said he would see us again and that he had “very good feelings, indeed.”
Veronica dropped me off at the shelter after the meeting, a satisfied grin on her face. I’d asked her to join me handing out food, but she’d wrinkled her perky nose and gestured to her navy blazer and skirt. “No way am I dressed correctly, and I think my ankle wants out of these heels.”
“Fair enough,” I said. “Thanks for everything today. You were incredible in there.”
“That’s what you hired me for, Bax. You wanted a business partner. You got one.”