Читать книгу The Millionaire's Christmas Wife - Susan Crosby, Susan Crosby - Страница 7

Denise knew the moment he registered who she was. She continued to eat her salmon, even as his gaze never wavered except to probe deeper.

“I guess you do know hotels,” he said. “I don’t pay much attention to the gossip magazines, but I do recall a lot of speculation when you disappeared from the scene. How long ago was that?”

“Five years.” She lifted her glass of chardonnay in a toast to creative journalists everywhere. “Apparently I either had a disfiguring car accident or a prince’s secret baby.”

“Or a very long stint in rehab,” he said.

“That was my personal favorite. I certainly partied now and then, but I didn’t make a fool of myself, except once. A moment that haunted me for years.”

“Why did you go into hiding?” he asked. “I’m assuming that’s what you did, anyway, since you changed your hair color and put on some weight.”

“Some?” She’d gained more than twenty-five pounds.

“Enough to put you at a healthy weight now,” he said, studying her. “And you’re right. Most people probably wouldn’t recognize you.”

“Interest in me may have faded, but I still pop up in where-are-they-now articles and video segments. But you asked why I left my old life. The short answer is that I had something to prove, and I needed to do it without the power of my father’s name behind my success.”

“To prove to him?”

“Mostly to myself.” She set down her wineglass. “I’m telling you this because while you may think I would be an asset to your cause, in truth, I could just as easily be a liability, depending on how someone feels about me. And, believe me, people generally have strong opinions about it. So you may want to rethink your plan. I’m sure I could come up with someone to fill the part for you.”

She didn’t want to come up with someone else for him, she realized, had changed her mind when she studied his plan. His project intrigued and excited her.

So did he, in an even bigger way. She’d be taking on a big risk personally because he, too, intrigued and excited her, unlike anyone else had for a long time.

“Are you saying you’ll do it?” he asked. He’d gone still and serious.

She’d fallen in love with the idea of his resort, but she couldn’t let him see the extent of her interest yet. She needed to be sensible first. She didn’t want to lose her credibility—or have her heart broken. “I’d like to take the plans home and study them further before I decide. I’d also like to see the scale model you talk about in your plans. And I’d like to see the site in person.”

He half smiled. “It’s not like I’m asking you for money.”

“I can’t lend my name if I don’t fully support what you’re doing. And we have to go into this assuming that some people will figure out who I am. I don’t flaunt it, but I don’t hide it either.”

“I respect that.” Their server picked up their plates, offered dessert menus, then left when they declined. “Are you free tomorrow?” he asked.

They worked out a plan for the next day as they left the restaurant, stopping outside the entrance. She slipped into her raincoat as he held it, then she pulled her mini-umbrella from her briefcase.

“Not gonna rain,” he said, looking up. “Not for a couple of hours, anyway.”

“I suppose you can smell it in the air or something, mountain man.”

He smiled. “The point is, I can’t smell it.”

“I’ll bet you’re very good at your job.”

His shrug could mean anything.

“Where’s your car?” he asked.

“I walked. I usually do.” She pointed ahead. “That’s my building.”

“I’d offer you a ride on Hilda, but I don’t have another helmet with me. And you’d have to hike up your skirt…” He angled toward her, looked about to say something, then stopped himself. “I’ll walk you home.”

She wished he’d said whatever had been on the tip of his tongue. “That’s not necessary, Gideon, but thanks. You should get going before the rain does come, just in case your nose isn’t right,” she added, even though she figured he knew what he was talking about. “You’ve got about an hour’s drive, I think?”

“Are you always this bossy?” He softened the words with a grin. “I want to see you safely home. Be gracious.”

“Who’s the bossy one?” She wasn’t afraid to walk home alone, even though the hustle and bustle of commute time had passed. There wasn’t the usual crowd to get lost in.

He rested his hand at the small of her back to get her moving. Every hormone, every nerve ending in her body reacted.

“You always walk in those stilts?” he asked.

“I left my walking shoes in the office.” Her ego had overruled her usual sensibilities. She’d caught Gideon admiring her legs in the high heels.

“Hilda’s your motorcycle, I gather,” she said, needing to make conversation, needing to do anything to slow the arousal racing through her, clamoring for attention.

“Yep.”

“Why Hilda?”

“It means ready for battle. Hilda Harley is her whole name. She’s a full pedigree. So, should I call you Denise or Deni?”

“Probably Denise, if you don’t want people to guess who I am. They sound like completely different names, don’t you think? Denise is pretty old-fashioned sounding.”

“I don’t know. I’m thinking it might be helpful for people to know who you are.”

She frowned at him. “You must not remember the reputation I had.”

“Was it deserved?”

“Not to the degree it was put out there.”

“People have an impression of who I am, too,” he said, “based on the work I do, as if I wouldn’t be responsible or reliable. I’m responsible for life and limb while my clients are with me. I take that seriously.”

“So then, that’s even more reason to keep my identity a secret. If they got the impression they were working with two flighty people, there’d be no chance of success.” She was aware of him beside her. Aware of his height, his ability to stay focused, his muscular frame, his strong hands. David’s wife had told her about him. How David and Noah went to Gideon for advice, that nothing seemed to faze him. How the brothers all had different mothers but were raised together, their father getting sole custody of each of them. There was a story there, something to ask another time, when they knew each other better.

“You’re quiet,” he said as they waited at a signal.

“You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

“Good.”

They crossed the street, were only a block from her high-rise condo complex. “What happens if you don’t get the backing, Gideon?”

“I keep doing what I’ve been doing for all these years. Maybe I’ll find another location and try again. I don’t think in negative terms. I believe this is going to work, one way or another. And I like challenges.”

“Why don’t you go ahead and buy the land, since you have the money for it, then take the time to get a partner?”

“Because if I can’t build the rest of it to create the whole package, I would never have enough of a business to do more than the Bakers have—which pays the bills, but that’s all. I can’t commit to it without knowing there’s a payoff for me.”

“And seeming to be married, even though it’s a lie, is critical to your success.”

“Without question.”

“But no pressure, right?” she asked with a smile.

“Of course not.”

They reached her building. “Would you like to come up?” The invitation came spontaneously, not a conscious decision but an emotional one. If she’d taken a moment to think about it—

“Thanks. I think I should hit the road. Beat the rain.” He looked up. “What floor are you on?”

She was glad he’d turned her down, wasn’t ready for him to be in her space. “Lucky thirteen. The view’s amazing. Plus there’s underground parking, a swimming pool, a library and a fitness room. The amenities are great.”

“I have all that, too. You’ll see tomorrow.” He passed her the tube with the plans rolled up inside.

“I’ll be at your place by nine,” she said.

“Come hungry. I’ll fix you breakfast.”

He cooks, too? “Okay.”

“In the meantime…” He dug into his jacket pocket, pulled out a jeweler’s box and opened it. Inside was a platinum-and-three-diamonds wedding band. “You’ll need to wear this tomorrow.”

The ring was stunning. Her first instinct was to try it on. She curled her hands into fists instead. “Pretty sure of yourself, Gideon.”

He shrugged slightly. “I knew if you were any kind of businesswoman you’d want to see the site in person. You would be there as my wife.”

“I haven’t given you my answer yet. What if you show up with a different ‘wife’ later?”

“You’ve decided.”

His confidence irked her—and pleased her. She liked that he had that much sense of himself.

He plucked the ring from the box and held it up. “Want to see if it fits?”

She held out her hand. The ring seemed on fire, as if chiding her for telling a lie by pretending to be married. “It’s fine,” she said, then tugged it off immediately and handed it back to him. “Did you get one for yourself?”

“I did. It’s plain.” Instead of tucking the ring back in the box, he pulled out a tissue-wrapped packet that contained a long silver chain. He slipped her ring onto it, lifted it over her head and let it dip inside her blouse.

She felt it slide into her cleavage, then nestle.

“For when you’re not playing the part,” he said.

Her mind went blank as he turned her around.

“Thank you for doing this,” he said, and then he kissed her, a soft, electric brush of his lips against hers. “See why I can’t come up?”

“It takes two to tango.”

“Yes, and we’ve both got the moves.” He gave her a knowing look. “I’ll see you in the morning, Mrs. Falcon.”

She laughed but made no move to go into the building. She didn’t want the evening to end. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt that way, and this hadn’t even been a date.

Well…actually, it had been considerably more than a date. She’d just sort of gotten married.

“I can’t leave until you’re safely indoors,” he said, interrupting her thoughts.

It would be useless to tell him she came and went from this building every day without incident, so she went inside. He lifted a hand to her, then took off, his stride long and easy. She watched until he was out of sight. In her condo a few minutes later she stared at her phone. She’d almost asked him to call when he got home so that she knew he made it okay, before the rain. He would’ve laughed at her.

So instead she waited a little over an hour, then dialed his number.

He picked up on the first ring. “Safe and sound. And dry,” he said instead of hello.

She hesitated. She really needed to remember how intuitive he was, that he would’ve seen in her eyes that she was worried about him riding Hilda in the rain. “That’s not why I called.”

“You have some burning question that can’t wait until morning?”

She heard laughter in his voice. Lighten up, she told herself. Have fun, like he is.

“It doesn’t bother me that you were worried,” he said before she could think up a reason for calling. “It’s nice. Wifely.” He did laugh then, soft and low. “Did you try on the ring again?”

Her face heated. She’d not only tried it on, it was still on. Really, how could she work with someone who’d figured her out so well, so soon?

“I gather you don’t want to lie to me, so you’re keeping silent instead,” he said.

“Or it could be that your ego doesn’t need more feeding.”

“Touché. We’re going to need to talk about this attraction, don’t you think? Get it out in the open so that we can work together?”

“I think that’s a good idea, Gideon.” She hadn’t figured him to be the kind of man to “talk.” She’d spent her life around men who didn’t talk about anything risky, emotional or otherwise.

“It’ll make great breakfast conversation. Anything you hate or are allergic to?”

“I’m game for anything.”

“Anything?”

“Food-wise,” she said with a smile. He was going to keep her on her toes.

“See you tomorrow morning, Mrs. Falcon.”

She tried to think of something witty to say in return, but came up empty. “Good night, mountain man.” She hung up, left her hand curved over the receiver. She stared at the brilliant wedding band.

She couldn’t fault the man for his taste, or his brains. Or his body. He was the real deal, the whole package.

And if she wasn’t careful, he would end up being the death of her grand plans for herself.