by Nicola Marsh
Sapphie’s lower lip wobbled. ‘I only called you that as a kid because I was jealous of your creativity.’
‘Yeah, I know, but want to know something?’ Ruby held her thumb and forefinger an inch apart. ‘A small part of me believed it. Mum believed it. Every guy I ever dated believed it, because I let them.’
Sapphie reared back as if she’d poked her in the eye. ‘Mum adored you. She never thought that—’
‘Yeah, she did. She would’ve told me about Seaborn’s at the end otherwise.’
Sapphie blinked back tears and Ruby almost wished she’d never brought it up. But the strange thing was, she was glad she had, glad to get it out in the open rather than lying dormant, constantly niggling.
‘I’m sorry, Rubes. I never meant to make you feel inferior or stupid.’ Sapphie shrugged. ‘Guess I got caught up playing the control-freak big sister like I always have and didn’t give you enough credit.’
‘Hey, it’s okay, I’m the boss now,’ Ruby said, swiping away her own tears as she nudged her sister. ‘Better me than you. Otherwise you would’ve had to march up the aisle with Jax.’
Sapphie wrinkled her nose. ‘Marry Jax Maroney? Not likely.’
They laughed through their tears and, relieved, Ruby knew things would be okay. For now.
Until she remembered her husband waiting for her in the car.
A husband who’d apparently organised a wedding night she’d never forget.
Sapphie snapped her fingers. ‘Speaking of your husband, I want to see him.’
Uh-oh. Ruby could only imagine what her overprotective big sis would say. She had visions of Saph upgrading her revenge tactics and using Jax’s Jaguar as her weapon of choice for tree-ramming this time.
‘Not a good idea, sis—’
‘Non-negotiable.’ Sapphie’s lips compressed and she crossed her arms in a familiar stubbornness Rudy had seen too many times over the years to try and sway her sister.
Saph could out-stubborn a herd of donkeys.
‘What are you going to say to him?’
Sapphie arched an imperial brow. ‘If I haven’t given him a fat lip by the time he leaves after I’ve finished with him, maybe he can tell you.’
Ruby chuckled at the thought of her sister going one-on-one with Jax. Both commanding, both powerful, both used to having control.
Maybe she could sneak down to the river bank and watch.
‘Okay, I’ll let him know.’
‘Good.’ Sapphie nodded, unfolded her arms, linked her fingers together and stretched forward, unkinking her knuckles. ‘Been a while since I kicked ass.’
A mighty fine ass it was too, Ruby thought. And drat herself for noticing.
‘I’ll send him in.’ Ruby leaned over and hugged Sapphie. ‘Be nice, okay?’
‘To Jax Maroney, the guy who’s single-handedly been driving Seaborn’s into the ground?’ Sapphie snorted.
Well aware Jax could probably handle anything her sis dished out, Ruby blew her a kiss and headed for the car.
Would be interesting to see how far the big guy’s confidence got him with her protective sister.
* * *
Jax watched Ruby as she walked towards the car, his hands gripping the steering wheel to kill the urge to leap out of the car and meet her halfway.
Something about the set of her shoulders, slightly dipped, and the studied indifference on her face, told him the meeting with her sister hadn’t gone too well.
Not that it surprised him. From what he knew of Sapphire Seaborn’s ball-breaking reputation, even if the woman was weak from fatigue she’d manage to get a roundhouse kick in.
He’d looked forward to dealing with her, had relished the challenge.
Instead, as Ruby reached the car, the strain showing in her pinched lips and barely perceptible frown, he almost laughed at how fast he’d capitulated at the hands of this smart-mouthed woman.
His wife.
Damn, it would take a lifetime and he still wouldn’t get used to the fact he’d married her.
He reached across and opened the door for Ruby, who half fell into the car.
‘Rough meeting?’
‘Not too bad.’
Unable to resist, he traced the small indentation between her brows. ‘This tells me otherwise.’
Her wan smile made something twist uncomfortably in his chest. ‘Actually, it went better than expected. We cleared the air about some other stuff too.’
‘And the news about our nuptials?’
‘Saph wants to see you.’ She drew a finger across her neck in a slow, slitting action. ‘It’s not going to be pretty.’
He laughed, genuinely surprised at how many times he’d done that since he’d met this firebrand. ‘Now?’
She nodded, gnawing on her bottom lip. ‘Just go easy on her, okay? Saph’s all bluster but she’s still recuperating and stress isn’t good for her—’
‘I’ll handle it.’ He pressed his fingers to her mouth, intent on silencing, not expecting the shot of heat straight to his groin at the barest movement of her lips beneath his touch.
Her eyes widened a fraction as he slid his fingertips across to her cheek, cupping it for a moment in an uncharacteristic tenderness that made him want to bolt from the car like nothing else.
What the hell was happening to him?
Slide a ring on his finger and he turned into a schmuck.
He snatched his hand away and flung open the door. ‘If I’m not back in ten minutes, call the cops.’
She smiled and his stupid chest gave another aggravating twinge. ‘Good luck. You’re going to need it.’
With a half-salute, he strode across the lush grounds, looking forward to meeting the woman whose hard-edged reputation preceded her.
Besides, the faster he got this over with, the faster he could concentrate on more important matters, like his wedding night.
He picked up the pace, rounded the corner of the building and almost ran into a petite blonde coming the other way.
‘You’ve got some nerve,’ she said, jabbing him in the chest before he could blink. ‘Gutting our family business then taking advantage of our precarious position by marrying my little sister.’
The anger sparking her deep blue eyes drew a striking resemblance to the Seaborn sapphires her mine was famous for. Probably the reason for her name too.
Sapphire Seaborn was just as beautiful as her sister, but he could see glimpses of the stress she’d been under: the faint shadows under her eyes, the jut of collarbones under too-tight skin.
He didn’t want to fight her, didn’t want to exacerbate her stress, but no way would he stand for being bullied by a woman, frail or otherwise, jumping to conclusions.
Taking a step back, he held up his hands. Yeah, as if that would stop her, with that wild glint in her eyes.
‘I didn’t gut anything. Our mines are in healthy competition. Yours is struggling, I get that, but if you’re half the astute businesswoman I’ve heard you are you’d realise Maroney Mine is only a minor part of a larger problem.’
To her credit, she nodded, and he continued. ‘I came to Melbourne to propose a takeover—’
‘Instead you proposed to my sister,’ she spat out, making it sound as if he’d abducted Ruby and forced her into matrimony at gunpoint.
‘Actually, she proposed to me.’
Her head snapped up. ‘What?’
‘Your sister’s quite the resourceful, forward thinker.’
Never in a million years would he have come up with such an outlandish way to mutually solve their problems but he had to admire Ruby for doing so.
‘Crazy kid,’ she muttered, the corners of her mouth showing signs of tilting up before she pinned him with a gaze that could flay a man alive. ‘Just so you know, it’s what Ruby always does. Throws herself headlong into any situation, giving one hundred per cent, living in the moment without thought for the future.’
Unsure why she was telling him this, he opened his mouth to respond whe
n she continued. ‘So listen up. Don’t mistake her gung-ho nature for anything it’s not.’
Ah...now he understood. She was warning him off hurting her sister. He admired her for it. He valued loyalty. Considering his parents had none of it: to their friends, to each other or to him.
They’d fleeced fortunes off people who’d cared for them, then his mum had left his dad to cop the blame one hundred per cent, and they’d both deliberately turned their backs on their only kid by not giving a stuff about the consequences of their actions.
With Sapphire glaring at him, hands on hips, protective of her younger sister, she shot up in his estimation tenfold.
‘This marriage is a business arrangement, nothing more.’
She hesitated, glancing over his shoulder as if toying with how much to say, before eyeballing him again.
‘Maybe for you but I know Ruby. You’ll spend time together having to act all lovey-dovey, so it stands to reason something might happen between the two of you.’
She snapped her fingers under his nose in a ballsy gesture that would’ve got another guy flattened. ‘Just remember it doesn’t mean anything, merely her way of proving to you and everyone else she can make a go of it.’
‘I understand.’
More than she thought.
There was something in the way Sapphire Seaborn looked at him, as if he was batting above his average in hooking up with her sister.
Maybe her warning was underscored with it doesn’t mean anything because a girl like Ruby couldn’t fall for a guy like you.
Not that he wanted her to, far from it, but that niggle of inferiority, a result of being shunned by people he admired and trusted for the simple fact of his birthright, rose its ugly head at inopportune moments. This was one of them.
Had his dad felt the same way with his mum? Not that he cared about his dad’s feelings, not any more, but he didn’t like the possible resemblance, the thought people might say Ruby was slumming it marrying him.
He turned away, surprised when she laid a hand on his shoulder.
‘One more thing.’
He swung back to face her. ‘What’s that?’
‘You hurt her? There won’t be a mine big enough in the whole damn outback for you to hide in.’
He smiled and her eyes narrowed. ‘Don’t worry. This marriage will be beneficial to us both.’
As he strode away he heard her mutter, ‘That’s what I’m afraid of.’
CHAPTER EIGHT
JAX didn’t mind the silence as he drove the short distance from the health farm to the luxury B&B he’d booked for the night.
He understood the need for mulling over one’s own thoughts. He did it regularly, preferring the sharpness of his analytical mind to unsolicited opinions from his co-workers.
That was one of the things he hated about being stuck in the outback of Western Australia: the fish-bowl mentality.
Everyone knew everyone else. Everyone knew everyone else’s business. And thought it quite normal to stick their noses in it.
He deliberately kept his distance, encouraging a boss-employee environment, so no one got too close. Considering the lie his folks had lived—and embroiled him in by association—it wasn’t a great surprise that he didn’t trust easily.
Maintaining privacy in the mining town had more to do with a studied independence than any lack of faith in the townsfolk. Simply, he liked keeping his own counsel. Was happiest listening to heavy punk rock on his iPod or reading tome-like sci-fi novels.
He cherished his own space. Space that would now include a bubbly, bold blonde for the interim.
He risked a quick glance at her, something inside his chest twisting at her pallor as she rested with her eyes closed. She wasn’t sleeping. Probably her way of shutting him out.
Fair enough too. He wouldn’t want to discuss his family dealings with a virtual stranger either.
She’d asked him how his confrontation with Sapphire had gone. He’d made a joke, saying he could still walk so it hadn’t been all bad. Surprisingly, she hadn’t pushed the issue, preferring to stare out of the window than discuss it.
He didn’t like this cool, introspective Ruby. He much preferred sassy, bossy Ruby who gave as good as she got. Her silence worried him as much as the fatigue around her eyes, the slumped posture.
And he shouldn’t be worried. That wasn’t what he’d signed up for here.
His signature on that marriage certificate meant one thing only.
Worldwide success for Maroney Mine.
Vindication he was his own man despite the background he came from.
Proof he was nothing like his father.
Refocusing on the road, he pondered how the next few months would pan out. He had several business deals to nail, including one to send the mine’s profit margins soaring, a deal he banked on to fill the hole left by not acquiring the Seaborn mine.
Then there was admittance to the Global Mining Corporation he had to acquire before making his mine universal.
He was confident of achieving the benchmark profit margins to gain acceptance. Less so about being approved by the board, filled with people his dad had shafted.
Damn, he had to make this marriage work, had to convince those people this marriage was real if he was to have any chance of achieving his goal.
He was married. To Ruby Seaborn.
Hell.
The speed at which she’d coerced him into this marriage made his head spin. Not that he’d needed much coaxing—that kiss at the wedding proved it.
She could give him what he needed: acceptance into a world that slammed doors in his face otherwise.
And more, so much more, if the potent sexual tension between them was any indication.
He couldn’t explain it, the undeniable pull, making him crave her with an intensity that terrified him.
This might be a marriage in name only but he had every intention of taking full advantage of its side benefits.
He’d had friends with benefits over the years but who’d ever heard of a wife with benefits?
He managed a wry smile as he swung into the driveway of the B&B, its quaint doll-house appeal lost on him. A whitewashed cottage with duck-egg-blue trimmings, wildflower garden and symmetrically bricked paths, it looked too prissy by his standards.
Then again, tonight wasn’t about him.
When Ruby had trusted him enough to drive her up here to see her sister, he’d known she might need cheering up afterwards.
Her silence spoke volumes. If Sapphire had ripped into him over this quickie marriage, he could only imagine what she’d done to her sister.
People always seemed to take out their worst emotions on family closest to them. He should know.
Not that he blamed Sapphire. Her only sister had married a stranger; a stranger in competition with the family business. A stranger who’d had his sights set on acquiring that business.
He inwardly cringed, hoping Ruby hadn’t divulged that gem. If she didn’t want to stress her sister, telling her his initial plan would’ve been the way to go.
Pulling under a carport, he cut the engine. Ruby’s eyes instantly opened and she blinked before focusing on the house.
Her delighted smile slugged him like a right hook. He’d wanted her to like it. He hadn’t wanted her to look at him as if he’d delivered the royal jewels on a platter.
‘How’d you find this place?’
He pointed to his mobile. ‘Trusty Google.’
‘It’s gorgeous.’ Her hand snaked across the console and rested on his, making his heart squirm with unexpected pleasure. ‘Thanks.’
‘No worries.’
He slid his hand out on the pretext of opening the door when in fact he needed to bolt. Feeling this unsettled didn’t sit well with him.
And that was exactly what she did: unsettle him.
He dated women. He didn’t feel anything for them.
Heartless, maybe, but why get emotionally involved when he knew from the outset
it wasn’t going anywhere?
Exactly like his marriage, so why the constant edginess that had him wanting to cosset her and touch her and be with her?
Man, he needed to get laid sooner rather than later.
Getting their relationship back on a level he understood would eradicate his funk.
That was the plan and he was sticking to it.
He popped the boot, grabbed their bags and allowed her to precede him up the path to the glaringly blue front door.
‘Let me.’ She took the key from his hand and unlocked the door.
When she didn’t move for a good ten seconds, he lowered the bags. ‘What are you waiting for?’
She rolled her eyes. ‘For you to carry me over the threshold, dummy.’
‘You can’t be serious.’
‘Perfectly.’ She pointed inside. ‘I’m not setting foot in your little love nest ’til you carry me inside.’
Love nest?
The woman was incorrigible.
How had she gone from silent to sassy? Probably covering for what had gone down with her sister but, boy, could she flick a switch quick.
‘What if I have a bad back?’
Her eyes narrowed as he braced his hands in the small of his back. ‘Do you?’
He couldn’t keep a straight face. ‘No, but I might after carrying you.’
‘That does it.’
She placed both palms flat against his chest and shoved, hard enough to make him stumble.
He captured her hands, using them as leverage to tug her flush against him. ‘I love it when you’re feisty.’
‘Don’t try to sweet-talk me, Back Boy.’
He snorted. ‘Back Boy?’
‘If the brace fits.’
He laughed, her quick wit turning him on as much as her wriggling to escape his grasp.
‘You should do that more often.’ She reached up and touched the corner of his smiling mouth with a fingertip. Her touch lingered, tempted. He wanted to turn his head a fraction and suck her finger into his mouth, a prelude to what he’d do to the rest of her body.
‘So who are you really, Jax Maroney?’ Her hand fell away and he irrationally missed her touch. ‘Because I’m guessing I’ll need to know more about the man behind the grumpy mask considering we’re married now.’
