Okay, he was competing.
The question was, why? He knew she wouldn’t go for Stefan, certainly not now, anyway. But what if the circumstances had been different? There was a clutch in his belly at even the briefest glimmer of imagining her with someone else. Which was ridiculous, since there was no commitment between them. She was free to do what she wanted, as was he. He could hardly demand otherwise, given that their . . . whatever it was they were having, couldn’t go anywhere past this weekend.
His gut clenched even harder. Since he’d woken up with her in his arms this morning, he’d thought of little else. But, as yet, he hadn’t come up with any answers on how to change things between them. She was supposed to be just another adventure in his life, right? One he could move on from. Conquer some new world, absorb some new experience.
Funny how he wasn’t all that anxious to hit the road this time. Well, the road away from here, yes. But the one away from her? No.
He swore under his breath and turned away from the mirror. He snagged his top hat from the foot of the bed and strode to the door, not sure why he was so angry all of a sudden. He stalked out of his wing with the intention of heading directly outside. She’d come down eventually, hook up with Bjornsen. He’d wait for the We Dig It report to show up, and hope like hell that it helped clear things up. Because at the moment, he wasn’t sure what in the hell to do about all this. And, if he was lucky—and he intended to be—he could sneak off with her for a few more hours of hot sex. Because that’s all this could be, right? She was a diversion. A good time. Nothing more.
And goddammit, he was all about having a good time, wasn’t he?
His temper grew with each step, his mind racing as fast as his pulse, until he somehow found himself striding down the hallway to her room. She could do whatever the hell she wanted, with whoever she wanted. Right after they were done with each other. That wasn’t too much to expect, was it? And if she said no? Well, then that would take care of ending it right then and there. Because he wasn’t sharing Darby. She was either his or—
He already had his fist lifted to bang on the door, but he decided the hell with it—it was his house, wasn’t it?—and let himself in.
“Darby!” he called out, tossing his hat on the small desk in the sitting area. If he hadn’t been so worked up, he’d have likely noticed she wasn’t alone. Although he wasn’t entirely sure that would have even slowed him down. He banged into her bedroom. “We have to talk. Right now.”
Darby was seated on the vanity bench, facing a young blonde woman sitting cross-legged in the middle of her bed. The blonde looked up, smiled brightly, then shot a look of approval at Darby. “Dang, Dar, he’s a hottie. And a bit hot under the collar, too, if I’m not mistaken.” She stuck her hand out. “Hi, I’m Pepper, Darby’s sister.”
Startled, Darby swung around, then immediately leaped up. “Did something happen? Did you find out what Stefan was doing?” She gripped his arm, her expression full of something he couldn’t quite place.
It was then he realized that he’d interrupted something. Something personal between Darby and her sister, from the looks of things. Well, from the look of Darby, anyway. He suddenly felt every inch the stupid, testosterone-charged idiot he’d been. Marching down here, slamming into her room, all set to deliver some kind of macho ultimatum that . . . He shoved it aside, all of it, and shook his head.
“No, no, I didn’t. He was already gone before I got downstairs. Listen, I didn’t mean to barge in here. I’m sorry. We can talk later.” He turned to Pepper. “Pleasure to meet you.” Then he covered Darby’s hand, still clutching his sleeve, and smiled at her. “I’m an idiot, okay? With no class. Just . . .” He wanted to be casual, ask her to come find him later, before she went down to meet up with Stefan. Only he was looking in her eyes and all he could seem to think was that, after tomorrow, he’d never get a chance to do that again.
“Shane? Something is wrong, isn’t it?”
He looked to Pepper. “I’m really sorry, but can I steal your sister for just a few minutes?”
Pepper just waved a hand. “Sure. Dar, I’m going to freshen up, change clothes.” She sent Shane a beaming smile and a little pinky finger wave before slipping into the bathroom.
“I didn’t know she was going to pop up,” Darby said. “She’s . . . I don’t know. Something’s going on, although—” She glanced back, then shook her head. “I don’t know, maybe it’s jet lag or something, but she’s . . . not like she normally is.”
“Did you tell her what’s going on?”
“I started to, but then she told me she had to tell me something, and from the look of things, it’s important.”
Shane frowned. “You think she knows? About the deal?”
Darby lifted a shoulder. “I honestly don’t know what to think. I have no idea what’s going on with her. Maybe she’s really fallen in love with Paolo—he’s a soccer player,” she added, as if that explained everything. Then she shook her head. “But when she falls in love, she’s normally even more giddy and silly than she usually is. This time . . . I don’t know, it was like looking at an older, wiser Pepper.”
Shane thought about the Gidget look-alike who had just bopped into the bathroom and figured Darby had to have seen something he hadn’t. He shrugged. “Maybe he broke her heart.”
“Oh, no, the whole house would be hearing about it then. She’s not a quiet sufferer.” She let go of his hand, paced the room. “She was just about to tell me whatever it was when you burst into the room.”
“I really am sorry. I don’t know what got into me.” Which was a total lie. He knew exactly what had gotten into him. She was standing not ten feet away.
Darby moved to the window, her thoughts still obviously on her sister. “There she was, staring at me with this look in her eyes that was, well . . . I can’t even define it, but it was very un-Pepperlike. Then you bust in, and as if a switch was flipped, she instantly became regular Pepper. I looked at her and it was like that other person didn’t even exist.” She turned to face him. “Who knows, it’s probably just me, but it was weird.” Then she looked at him and truly focused. “So, what was the big whoop that sent you thundering in here? You missed Stefan totally? Did the report come in yet?”
“Yeah, I missed him totally. I do know he was gone less than an hour. He’s back in his rooms. And no, no report yet.”
“So, why the storm-trooper act?”
“Because I’m an idiot. Talk to your sister. Come find me later.”
Frowning, she crossed the room. She turned his face to hers and he realized, not for the first time, how readily she was able to look past the surface with him. She smiled, despite the concern still coloring her gaze. “What kind of idiot were you being, anyway?”
He debated for a split second, then the words were just there. “The possessive kind that didn’t want some big Swede pawing all over the woman he’d just spent the night with.”
Her eyes widened in surprise, just before laughter bubbled to the surface. “You’re jealous of me . . . and Stefan? You can’t be serious. Aside from the fact we think he’s involved in some sleazy deal . . . how could you question anything after last night? Hell, after that first limo ride, I was half in—” She broke off, snapped her mouth shut.
Shane’s heart felt like it slipped . . . and settled, right into the place it had always belonged. He grinned and tugged her into his arms. “I’m apparently also an egotistical bastard, because that admission just made me feel fantastic.” He kissed her, mostly because he couldn’t be this close and not. But also because he felt this need to seal things between them.
When he finally lifted his head, she lifted her hand to his face, traced it as she stared into his eyes. “It’s weird, isn’t it?”
Surprised, he gave a little half-laugh. “Weird?”
“How uncertain we can be, even when things are this amazing.”
His smile faded and his pulse kicked up. This was as close as they’d come to st
ating how they felt. And now that the moment was between them, he realized it was both terrifying . . . and tempting. Tempting in a way no adventure had ever lured him before. “I guess it’s about trust. Trusting what you feel. Trusting the person who inspired those feelings with the weight of them and all they could mean.”
Darby’s breath caught. “Shane, I—”
He traced his fingertips over her lips, feeling her breath brush over them. “I don’t want to burden you with that,” he went on. “I know this isn’t about that. It’s about . . . a place out of time, I guess.” He looked at his fingers touching her, and felt an ache swell inside him as he shifted his gaze to hers. “But they keep growing. And I don’t know what to do with them.”
“What do you want to do with them?” she asked quietly.
“I tried ignoring them. Didn’t work.”
He felt her tremble. “So . . . then what?”
“I honestly don’t know. We—our lives—”
Now she was the one pressing his lips closed. “I know. I’ve thought about it, too. A lot.”
The ache began to lift. “You have?”
She smiled then. “You look so relieved. Did you think this wasn’t affecting me? I’ve never been with anyone the way I’ve been with you. And I’m not just speaking sexually.” She looked away, the color in her face deepening. “Okay, I’m feeling naked here. Jump in anytime.”
His smile was one of such fullness, he felt like his entire body was lifting it up. So this was what love felt like. It was worth the wait. He turned her face to his. “Just promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“That you won’t leave.”
Her mouth opened, then shut. “But, I—you know I have to go back to Montana. I have—”
“I know. I meant that I don’t want you to leave here tomorrow until we’ve talked. About . . . all of this. Okay?”
She didn’t look excited. She didn’t look relieved. Or, for that matter, sad. Or disappointed. She looked . . . worried.
He understood, because he was worried, too, and couldn’t say anything that would take the worry away. So he did the one thing he could do. He kissed her, long and slow. Wishing he could be all that for her. Dependable. Enduring. Steady.
And knew he was probably the last man on earth who could be any of that for her.
Cinderella Rule # 20
No one wants to be underestimated. However, while you are out there proving yourself, so is everyone else. It works both ways.
—MERCEDES
Chapter 20
I’m sorry. I guess I’m now the one barging in,” came Pepper’s voice from behind them.
Darby didn’t break the kiss right away. Knowing Shane was experiencing the same wild fall had changed everything. And nothing. She wasn’t sure anything could ever be settled between them. So she lingered, enjoyed the one thing she knew she could have. For now.
When he finally broke the kiss, he caught her gaze and she saw the message there. It’ll be okay. She just wished like hell she believed it.
Then he shifted away and she got a look at her sister. Her mouth dropped open. The woman standing in front of them now, with her hair smoothed back into a sleek twist, her makeup very understated and decidedly nonglossy, wearing a trim pair of soft, black cotton pants with an elegant black sleeveless turtleneck, looked more like Hamptons Barbie than the Jet-Set Barbie she’d been minutes ago.
“I see what you mean about the split personality,” Shane murmured next to her ear.
“Pepper?” she asked, feeling a little bewildered. “What’s going on?”
Her sister’s demeanor was calm and decidedly serious—All-Business Barbie—as she crossed the room. Only then did Darby notice the belt she wore, or more specifically, the stuff she wore on the belt. There was a small cell phone clipped to it, along with a few other hi-tech-looking gadgets.
“Can we sit down?” she asked, her tone smooth, very professional. “We need to talk.” She looked at Shane. “I know you’re hosting and need to head outside, but this involves you, too. I’d really appreciate it if you could give us a few minutes of your time.”
Instead of demanding to know what the aliens had done with her sister, she asked, “How does this involve Shane?”
Pepper motioned to the settee and side chairs in the sitting area, then walked over and took a seat, waiting for Shane and Darby to settle on the love seat before continuing. “This is all going to sound somewhat surreal, but I assure you, it’s all true.” She looked at Darby, and for a moment, the old Pepper peeked through. “Dar, I want to say up front that I’m sorry for not telling you sooner. But I wasn’t allowed to. And, honest, you were better off not knowing. Even now, they’re not really comfortable with me revealing myself to you.”
“They?” Darby asked, fighting to stay calm, despite feeling like she’d stepped into some kind of parallel universe. “Who’s they?”
Pepper just kept talking. “But I was the one who dragged you into this, so it’s only fair you understand what’s really going on. I had to get special permission, and I can only tell you a little.”
“What, because you’re a spy, and if you tell us what you know, you’ll have to kill us?”
Darby had spoken sarcastically, but Pepper merely smiled and said, “Pretty much. Except for that last part. I’m not licensed for that.”
Darby looked around the room. “Okay, I give up. Where are they?”
“We’re not bugged,” Pepper said, quite sincerely.
She just looked at her. “What? No, really. The gig is up. End of charade. You were doing fine up to this point, though, so I have to give you props for that. You really had me going.” She looked around again. “Where are the cameras? We are on Candid Camera, right? Or some twisted new reality show.” She laughed. “Hell, they’ve probably been following me since I checked into Glass Slipper.” She suddenly shot a look at Shane and turned beet-red.
“Now that’s what I call reality programming,” he said, choking on a laugh when she glared at him.
Pepper reached out and took Darby’s hand. “It’s not a joke.”
Darby’s gaze swung back to hers. “Oh, yes, it is. Because you’re sitting there, actually expecting me to believe you’re involved in some kind of . . . of . . . espionage . . . or whatever. This is not you. This”— she tugged her hand free and waved it at Pepper, motioning to her whole look—“is not you. You’re exasperating, free-spirited, funny, a little wild at times, and a lot irresponsible most of the time. What you are not is . . .” She finally drifted off as Pepper calmly held her gaze. “Are you?”
“I am all those things. Well, I have been. I’m changing, or trying to. And what I’ve been involved in for the past ten months or so is really making the difference.”
“Just who the hell is it you’re working for? Wait. Did some guy you met on some godforsaken continent talk you into signing on with some whack political faction?” Her gaze narrowed. “Or some religious cult? Is that what this is?”
“Darby, Darby, stop. Just let me explain, okay?”
Shane laid his arm around Darby’s shoulders, giving her a light, reassuring squeeze. She tried to shrug him off, still glaring at Pepper, but neither of them budged. “Fine. Go ahead. I’m dying to hear this.”
Pepper sighed and said, “I am exactly who you described me as being. I still am, at least partly. But I’m growing up, Dar. And this job has been a huge part of my maturation.”
Darby shook her head, obviously still struggling to even begin to comprehend any part of it. “What, exactly, is this job? Just tell me that. And who, exactly, you work for. Then we’ll go from there.”
“Well, I can’t tell you for who exactly.”
“So you found this job . . . where, in the want ads? Under Secret Agent Man?”
“Come on, Darby,” she said, a hint of a whine edging her tone. “This isn’t exactly easy for me, either.”
Darby spread her hands in frustration. “Okay, I’m sorry. It
’s just . . . you gotta admit this is going to take some getting used to.”
“I know,” she said quietly. She paused, then said, “First I have to tell you something else that might shake you up a little, but it’ll help explain how I got into doing this. I don’t think Dad will mind.”
“Dad? Dad knows about this and I don’t?” There was a trace of hurt in her voice, along with continued disbelief.
“About three years ago, Interpol approached Dad with a request for his help. As a consultant on one of their cases.”
Darby’s mouth dropped open, then snapped right back shut again. “Okay, I’m officially hallucinating now.”
“Just hear me out. It’s not so fantastical as all that. They ask for civilian assistance all the time. And Dad does have some unique international business concerns. Some of which involve people whom Interpol is either actively investigating, or simply wishes to get information on.”
“So, wait. You’re saying you work for Interpol?” She looked to Shane. “Am I the only one here who’s still in her right mind?”
Shane wisely chose not to respond and silently squeezed her shoulder.
“No, I don’t work for Interpol. I was recruited by a private agency that accepts assignments from the government to help out from time to time. Anyway, when Interpol approached Dad a few years back, looking into a deal with a group of German investors, he agreed to help them out.”
“What was in it for him?”
Pepper sighed in exasperation and rolled her eyes. “You really don’t know him, Dar. And what I said before, about wanting you back here so the two of you could maybe mend a few fences, that was all real. I’ve been wanting that for a very long time. If you just gave him a chance—”
Darby waved her silent. “Just—let’s get back to the part about you being Jane Bond. Did Dad actually get you into this? Because that I can believe, if it would help him out.”
“Actually, he did, but not intentionally. I sort of stumbled into a thing he was doing, and, well . . .” she broke off, beamed proudly, “I ended up being the one who got the guy to talk.” She shrugged. “So, they sort of asked me to help them again. And that led to my being approached by another agency . . . and the rest is history.”
The Cinderella Rules Page 27
