by JoAnn Ross
Three more attempts in locations nearby also proved fruitless. K.J. followed Alec’s glance up toward the sky, where the familiar anvil clouds had begun to gather.
“We’ve got time for one more shot,” he decided. He waded about a hundred yards away, checked the readings on his hand-held G.P.S. and instructed the man to set the plastic charge.
There was a low rumble. Mud flew into the air, accompanied by the complaint of giant blue herons that, finally tiring of the humans, took wing. Once again the detectors came out. Once again K.J. heard the curses muttered in Spanish, Portuguese and Indian. But revealing that almost inhuman patience that made his lovemaking so remarkable, Alec seemed to be taking this failure in stride, as he had the others.
Just when she was about to accept that she hadn’t really helped him after all, she saw every muscle in his body tense. He ran the metal detector back over the spot he’d just checked. Then again.
K.J.’s patience was not nearly as strong as his. “Did you find something?” she called out, leaning over the rail of the boat.
“Maybe.” Mindless of the muck, he crouched down and began digging with his bare hands. “But it could be just some fisherman’s knife. Or a lost watch.”
The other men, caught up in the air of suspense that suddenly hung over them even thicker than the building humidity, also began digging. On the boat, K.J. was holding her breath.
She felt a raindrop on her face. Then another. “No,” she pleaded to whatever gods or fates controlled this strange, almost unearthly place. “Not yet. Please.” As she felt more moisture on her face, K.J. scrubbed at it with her hands and realized that her tangled nerves were making her cry.
A shout in Spanish suddenly rung out over the distant rumble of thunder. Another. Then another. As K.J. watched in both disbelief and amazement, one of the men held up what appeared to be a mudencrusted bowl. Another produced a coin. Then suddenly, everyone was shouting and laughing and waving booty in the air.
Putting aside any fears of unsavory wildlife lurking in the murky waters, K.J. leaped over the tarnished brass railing and ran toward Alec, her booted feet making sucking sounds as she forced them through the muck and mire.
She flung her arms around his neck, almost knocking him over. He lifted her up and they were kissing and laughing, and kissing some more as the rain mingled with the tears streaming down K.J.’s wet face. Tears no longer born of tension, but of joy.
K.J. would have given anything to stop time at that glorious moment. Unfortunately, she’d already discovered that the hands of time inexorably moved forward. A fact that was brought home when they all returned to the village and found Rafael waiting at the dock.
“Congratulations, Alec.” He hugged his friend, seeming unconcerned that his white gauze shirt was now covered with red-brown mud. “The good news has preceded you. You actually have found the treasure.”
“I have.” Alec’s answer was directed at Rafael, but his gaze was on Kate.
“Is it everything you hoped?”
“Better.” His eyes met hers and held. “Infinitely better.”
“Well, I’m pleased.” Rafael’s grin backed up that assertion. “And I have more good news.”
“Oh?”
“I have been in contact with my friends in the government. For a small donation to the new judicial building, they’re prepared to grant you a divorce tomorrow. If you still want one, that is.”
“You’ll have to ask Kate that question.” Alec’s deep voice was devoid of emotion, giving K.J. not a single clue as to how he felt.
Rafael turned toward her, his brown eyes solicitous. “Kate?”
Her mind was whirling, as it had been doing so much of the time since her arrival in this country. Part of her yearned to say no, that she’d changed her mind, that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Alec. If only he’d say something!
“I suppose, despite today’s excitement, not much has changed,” she said flatly. Once again she waited for Alec to say something—anything. Once again he remained stubbornly silent. She met his enigmatic gray eyes, which had looked at her with such warmth and emotion, but were now giving absolutely nothing away. It was as if a steel curtain had come down between them. “Are you still willing to come to New York for the auction?”
“I said I would,” he reminded her.
“Yes.” She dragged a hand through her mudencrusted hair. “And it is supposed to be a bachelor auction.”
“Which I suppose makes a divorce a logistical necessity.”
“Yes.” Tears stung. She resolutely blinked them away. “Well, I think, now that we’ve gotten that settled, I’ll go take a shower. I must be wearing about a century’s worth of mud.”
He didn’t answer, only nodded. As she turned away, K.J. wondered if she’d imagined that dark shadow of disappointment she’d seen move across his eyes.
Although they didn’t say another word about the divorce, that night their bodies were eloquent as they made love with silent desperation.
The following morning, as they flew out of the village on a small six-seater commuter plane, Alec turned toward her. “I didn’t say anything last night, because quite honestly, I had other things on my mind. But I want you to know how much I appreciate your help in finding the gold.”
K.J. shrugged. “I didn’t do that much,” she said flatly, fingering the necklace of polished native nuts Rafael had given her as a going-away present.
“Of course you did. You provided the key, Kate. Which is why I’m giving you half the profits after the government gets its split.”
Her mind had been mired in the depressing thought of their upcoming divorce. Once again, he managed to surprise her. “That isn’t necessary.”
“Of course it is.” He took hold of her hand and laced their fingers together in a casual, easy gesture that belied the fact that they were on their way to the capital city to dissolve their marriage. “I was running out of time, Kate. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Well, I appreciate the gesture, even if it isn’t necessary.” Perhaps, she considered, added to her inheritance, along with the money she knew she’d make from the sale of her Amazonian photographs, her share of the Inca gold would allow her to turn in her resignation and work on her photography full time. “I realize that you haven’t had any time to really examine the treasure. But do you have a ballpark figure—?”
“I’d say about a million.”
“A million?” She stared up at him, convinced she must have heard wrong. “A million dollars?”
“That’s a conservative estimate. My educated guess is that it’ll go a lot higher. Pre-Columbian stuff, ugly as most of it is, is pretty popular. And the fact that so much of it is gold and silver makes it even more valuable.”
“I can’t believe it. Are you saying I could end up with several hundred thousand dollars?”
“No, I’m saying that your share will be at least a million dollars.”
Her mind was reeling. Although she’d always prided herself on her imagination, there was no way K.J. could begin to comprehend being a millionaire.
“I’ll be able to quit my job.”
“Heck, if it goes as high as it could, you might be able to buy the company,” he said with the first warm, Alec grin she’d witnessed since they’d arrived back in Santa Clara yesterday afternoon.
“I won’t have to worry about getting a promotion.”
“I wouldn’t think so,” he agreed.
Which meant, K.J. thought, that it wouldn’t really matter if she didn’t bring this Heart hero bachelor back to the auction. What could they do? Fire her after she’d already quit?
If it were only that easy. “I guess, since the money obviously changes things, I should let you off the hook. About the auction.”
“I’ll admit I’m not exactly looking forward to it. And I’d love an excuse to bail out on the entire scheme.” His thumb was absently stroking the sensitive flesh of her palm, creating that all-too-famil
iar tingling sensation. “But I can’t see your sense of honor allowing you to back down on a promise. Even one you didn’t originally initiate.”
“You know me that well.” It was not a question, but a quietly stated admission. K.J. also was uncomfortable thinking that’s exactly what she was doing by turning her back on her marriage vows.
“Not in the beginning. But we’ve gotten a lot closer these past few days, Kate. Close enough for me to get a handle on how your mind works.”
She wondered what he’d say if she told him that her mind was working just fine, but her heart was desperately broken.
“So you’re still willing to come back with me to New York?”
“Absolutely.” He lifted their joined hands to his lips and kissed that tender skin his caress had stimulated. “I may be willing to go back to bachelor status for you, Kate. But I still haven’t had my fill of you. Which means you’re not going to get rid of me quite yet.”
Although she could feel that traitorous sting of tears behind her eyes, Kate smiled at that, finding his sexy threat more thrilling than the remarkable idea that she was about to be a millionaire.
16
New York City
IT WAS A night designed for romance. The national flags flying in front of the famed Waldorf-Astoria revealed that the Sultan of Brunei, the Prince of Wales and the prime minister of Canada were currently guests of the luxurious hotel.
But on this special night, not one of the women gathered in the gilded ballroom was interested in politics or celebrities. Although all had their own personal reasons for attending the bachelor auction, the electric mood revealed that most had arrived determined to win—at least for one unforgettable date—a bachelor hunk. A true romance-novel hero, the embossed and gilt-edged invitations had promised.
“So, how are you doing?” Molly asked K.J. as they sat side by side at the damask-draped table the editorial staff had booked for the occasion. The first three bachelors had already been auctioned off, earning hefty contributions to the literacy charity.
“Fine.” The way K.J. spoke through a tightly clenched jaw said otherwise.
“Any regrets?”
“No.” At Molly’s knowing look, she sighed and shook her head. “That’s a lie. I have about a gazillion and one regrets.” And that was just for starters. Yet the one thing she’d never repent was that glorious time she’d spent with Alec in the jungle.
She’d no sooner spoken than the emcee at the front of the room introduced “Heart Books’s own Indiana Jones.”
“Well, I can certainly understand the reason for a gazillion of those regrets,” Molly murmured as Alec took center stage. “What I can’t understand is why you let a hunk like that get away.”
“That’s easy to answer.” Since she was already feeling intoxicated enough, K.J. ignored the wine the waiter had poured and took a long sip of ice water she hoped would calm her jangled nerves. It didn′t. “Sometimes I can be really, really stupid.”
“Well, there’s always one solution. You can buy him back.”
K.J.’s fingers tightened even more on her bag. The bag that held her royal blue CitiBank savings passbook. “That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
She’d suspected the moment she walked into the cantina that she’d made a mistake in deciding to get a divorce. By the time they’d made love for the first time, she’d known that she didn’t want to let Alec go. Unfortunately, her stiff Campbell pride hadn’t allowed her to tell him how much she loved him. Also complicating the situation had been that sometimes irksome honor, drilled into her first by her father, then honed by her grandmother, that had required her to provide the hero she’d promised.
But last night, after they’d made love for the first time in her bed, K.J. had decided to do whatever it took—even grovel, if it came down to that—to convince Alec that they belonged together. And not just for a few hot, passionate nights, or even a shared treasure-seeking adventure. What she wanted, K.J. had realized, was a lifetime with this man. Wherever it took them.
K.J. managed, just barely, to restrain her irritation as the emcee went on and on, extolling Alec Mackenzie’s many attributes—his fame, his fortune, his hard male body—the same way she might have introduced a Chippendale dancer.
When women at nearby tables began murmuring in feminine appreciation, it took a herculean effort for K.J. to tamp down her temper and resist leaping up and telling all those would-be bidders that this particular hero was already taken. Even the description of the date—that less-than-comfort-class expedition to Lapland—didn′t seem to deter interest in the dashing treasure hunter.
Not that she could really blame them, she admitted reluctantly. He looked so good. So gorgeous. So damn self-confident. If she hadn’t known how much he had dreaded this auction, K.J. would have almost believed he was enjoying himself when he flashed that wicked warrior’s smile that had a roomful of women screaming like adolescent girls at a Hanson concert.
“We’ll begin the bidding at one thousand dollars,” the emcee announced.
That bid was instantly matched by a blonde seated in the front of the room.
“Fifteen hundred,” a brunette called from the balcony.
“Two thousand,” another blonde said before the brunette could even sit down.
K.J. was not surprised when the numbers steadily climbed. When a bidder paused at twenty thousand, she realized she was in danger of losing Alec. It was time to act.
She leaped to her feet, still clutching her bag. “Twenty thousand five hundred.”
“Twenty thousand seven hundred and fifty.” The determined brunette was wearing a spray-painted leopard print dress and enough makeup to stock Bloomingdale’s entire cosmetic department.
“Twenty thousand eight hundred.” K.J. countered.
“Twenty thousand nine hundred.” Even from this distance, K.J. could see the flinty determination in the woman’s kohl-lined eyes.
“Thirty thousand one hundred and forty two dollars.” It was, less some change, the bottom line in her passbook.
“Thirty-five thousand,” the other bidder said smugly, as if knowing she’d just outbid K.J. for the final time.
But K.J. had an ace in the hole. Actually, she thought, as she heard Molly’s sympathetic murmur, a bargeful of aces. “One million thirty thousand one hundred and forty-two dollars.” The entire audience gasped in unison. “And thirty-eight cents,” K.J. added.
Unsurprisingly, there was nothing the brash brunette could say to that. K.J. tried not to gloat as she watched the woman sit back down.
“You realize,” Molly said, “that you’ve just given away every cent you have.”
“Ah, but I’ve definitely gotten more than my money’s worth. And besides, I’m going to have a filthy rich husband.”
Not that the money mattered. All that mattered was that they were going to be together. As they were meant to be.
As she made her way through the tables, toward the front of the room, toward Alec, K.J. felt as if she were looking through the lens of a camera. As her loving gaze focused on Alec, everything and everyone else in the room faded away, like wisps of morning fog.
And wonderfully, he was looking at her exactly the same way.
“Absolutely crazy,” he murmured as she climbed the stairs to the stage.
“About you,” she answered.
Just like that first night, in another banquet hall, they could have been the only two people in the room. They only had eyes for each other.
“Your scold’s probably screaming bloody murder.”
“I wouldn’t know. I sent her away. For good.”
“Clever lady.” His warm gaze skimmed appreciatively over her. “I like that dress.”
“hank you.” She smiled and, mindless of their rapt audience, twirled like a little girl showing off a new party dress. The red silk swirled around her thighs. ”A man once bought it for me.”
He lifted a dark brow. “A lover?”
She nodded. �
��But not just any lover.” Her smile shone in her eyes. “A magnificent lover.”
With that, he gathered her into his arms and kissed her. A long kiss brimming over with love and passion and promise. The kind of kiss designed to make every female in the room sigh with envy. Not that Alec or K.J. were paying any attention.
“We never had a honeymoon,” he said when the glorious kiss finally came to an end.
“We’ll have one in Lapland.”
He grinned at this proof that she’d reclaimed her legacy. “I think we can do better than that. How about something more conventional? Like Tahiti. We can make love, stroll along beaches as white as snow, make love, swim naked in tropical lagoons, make love, feed each other passion fruit....”
“To keep our strength up for making love,” she guessed.
He plucked the ivory comb from her hair and watched it tumble over her bare shoulders in a fiery waterfall. “Absolutely. Lord, you are an intelligent woman, Mrs. Mackenzie.”
“Speaking of that, to have a true honeymoon, we’ll have to get remarried.”
“That won’t be necessary.” He tugged on the end of a bright curl.
K.J. slapped his hand away. “I’m not settling for just sex, Alec, as terrific as it is.” She put her hands on her hips and thrust her chin up at him. “I want it all.”
Feeling remarkably carefree, considering they continued to be the center of attention, he laughed and gathered her back into his arms.
“Getting remarried isn’t necessary because we never got divorced in the first place.”
“But what about that nice little old man in the capital? ” He’d been sitting at a small wooden table in the main square of the city, his notary seal at the ready. ”We both signed the paper. And he stamped it. . . .” Realization slowly dawned. “He was a fake, wasn’t he?”
“It’s a Catholic country, Kate. They don’t have divorce.”
“You lied. That entire trip to the capital was just a sneaky scheme cooked up by you and Rafael to keep me from getting my divorce!”
