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“August Taylor is your boss, not me. I expect he and his missus are used to fancy fare.”
“It’s actually remarkably easy to get used to.” Jessi reached over to pick up one of Gabe’s hors d’oeuvres. She raised it to his mouth, which he dutifully opened. Slowly, looking as if he might be sampling baked rattlesnake, Gabe chewed.
Almost instantly, his powder-blue eyes lit up. “This is excellent.”
“You thought I’d lie to you?”
“That could be one of the character flaws you don’t need to confess.”
“It could be, but it isn’t,” Jessi retorted, the next moment belatedly registering the enormity of tonight’s transgression. At once the doubts stuffed in the back of her mind the past week exploded to the forefront with a vengeance, leaving her anxious and confused. “Or maybe I should say it wasn’t.” She frowned and pushed her plate away, having suddenly lost all desire to eat. “God, I hate lying. And I can’t believe that I let greed get the best of my scruples. Normally, I’m honest to a fault.”
“You’re only human, and greed is a very human emotion. Why, I’ll bet the problems of ninety-nine percent of the men and women who populate the prisons of this nation are rooted in that. Unfortunately, they got caught in the process of satisfying it.”
“And what happens if we get caught?”
Gabe sat in silence, his dark brows knitted in a frown. “August Taylor tosses us into a rattlesnake pit and rolls a stone across the entrance?”
“This isn’t funny, it’s wrong...very wrong. We’re part of a scam. We’re deceiving this man for his money.”
“Lighten up. All we’ve done is pretend we were lovers before we married. That’s an insignificant deceit when you consider that he’s going to have the best damn guide in the country, not to mention a gourmet cook, at his beck and call for however long it takes.”
Jessi shrugged away the rationalization. “A lie is a lie is a lie.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying I’ve felt awful about this whole marriage thing all day, and at this moment I don’t think I can go through with it.”
Gabe’s jaw dropped. “You can’t be serious.”
“As war.” Jessi hesitated only a second longer before doing what she knew in her heart of hearts had to be done: tugging off the ring and handing it to him.
“Just a damn minute!” Gabe caught her wrist with his free hand and stared at her in total disbelief, clearly as astonished as Jessi that she could change her mind at this late date. “Have you forgotten how much money is at stake here?”
“How could I? That’s what got me into this mess in the first place.” Jessi shook her head, honestly regretful to be throwing a monkey wrench into his big plans, but knowing she had no choice. “I’m so sorry. I thought I could do this... I mean I really did. But how can I possibly face that man day in and day out, knowing that I’ve lied about something that matters so much to him—”
“For God’s sake, would you just listen—”
She held up her free hand to halt his words. “No, Gabe. It’s no use arguing. I can’t go through with it, and that’s that.”
“That is not that, Jessi. My future with Ryder hangs in the balance here. You can’t possibly back out now.”
“You’re wrong. Now is exactly the time to do this—before things go one step further.” She sagged under the weight of his stare. “Look...I’m really sorry about Ryder, but I believe you’ll find a way to get him and maybe even that land you want. As for Elaina...I’ll talk to her myself. I’ll take full responsibility for everything.”
Gabe abruptly released her wrist and sat back in his chair, his expression now cool. “Fine, then. Do what you must. But you might want to get yourself a good lawyer before you make any calls to Elaina.”
“Why would I need a lawyer? Technically, our marriage license isn’t legal until it’s filed.”
“The license may not be, but Elaina’s agency contract sure as hell is.”
“That was just a formality,” Jessi replied, waving away his foolish concerns. “All it said was that she’d get a percentage of whatever salary I earned, which would only be fair.”
“Did you read the small print?”
Jessi bristled. “I read the whole thing.”
“Then you recall that you promised to pay that percentage whether or not you held up your end of the employment bargain.”
“No....”
“Oh yes. I believe that particular clause was in the middle of the thing, surrounded by several whereas-es and wherefores.”
Slowly Jessi raised her gaze to Gabe, who grimaced an apology, though the fault was clearly her own. “I don’t have that kind of money.”
“Neither do I, so why don’t we just go on as planned? In time you’ll get used to the lie.”
“Never.”
He digested that, his face solemn and thoughtful. “Maybe if we found an alternative solution to your moral dilemma...”
“There is one?”
“Yes. Admittedly it is a bit radical given the length of our acquaintance, but no more than this marriage of ours. And, thanks to that marriage, it would be both morally and legally acceptable.”
Jessi frowned, a little leery of his double talk. “Just what does this solution entail?”
“Consummation.”
“Excuse me?”
“Sex. You and me. Tonight. So what if we have our sequence of events a little reversed? At least we’ll be experienced lovers when we look ol’ August in the eye Monday. That beats the heck out of inexperienced liars, don’t you think?”
“Get real.” The nerve of the man to think she’d sleep with the likes of him! Never mind her earlier admiration for his good looks. He did not light her fire. And the only reason she now grabbed her wine glass and gulped down the chilled liquid was to keep from punching him out.
“I take it that’s a no.”
Jessi glared at him over the rim of her glass. “That’s a ‘don’t even think about it.’”
He accepted rejection with an easy shrug. “I’d be less than normal if I never thought about it. You are one classy lady—the kind that gets a man’s attention and keeps it,”
“I can’t believe you’re saying this to me. Why, it’s sexual harassment, that’s what it is.”
“We’re married, for crying out loud!”
“In name only, remember? As far as I’m concerned, this is a business partnership, nothing more. I don’t want to hear about your fantasies.”
“Hmm, well, I’d love to hear about yours...but I won’t press for details beyond asking what it is about me that makes my solution to your dilemma unacceptable.”
Jessi’s jaw dropped. “I don’t love you.”
Gabe considered that. “So you’re an old-fashioned girl, huh?”
“You’re damn right, mister...only I prefer to call it traditional. Sex is not something I take lightly. And I’d never sleep with some man just because I found him attractive.”
“Are you saying you find me attractive?”
Well hell. “N-no.”
“Then you’re saying you don’t find me attractive.”
“No.”
He huffed his impatience. “Do you or do you not find me the least bit attractive?”
“What an ego!” Jessi exclaimed, slapping her hand down on the table. “What difference does it make when I already told you I have no intentions of consummating this fictional marriage?”
“I just like to know where I stand, that’s all. Is that too much to ask?”
“Frankly, yes.”
“Oh, come on, Jessi. You said you’re always honest. Be honest with me now. Is there anything that you like about me...anything at all?”
Jessi, who could easily think of thousands of things, fumbled for an answer that wouldn’t further encourage this pointless, embarrassing conversation. “You have a nice smile.”
“That’s all?”
“And pretty blue eyes.”
“Nothing else?”
“You love your nephew.”
He sighed. “Well, that’s a start, I guess.”
A start? “No, that’s the finish. Now I don’t want to hear another word about this, okay? Work relations will be strained, if not impossible, if you’re constantly coming on to me.”
“Work relations? Does that mean you’ve changed your mind about wanting to back out?”
“No. I still want to back out. As I now see it, however, I really have no choice but to go through with this thing. If I don’t, I’ll not only have to find a way to pay my creditors, I’ll have to find a way to pay Elaina, too.” She sighed. “The fact is, I need August Taylor’s money, and I need it bad.”
“So do I, and speaking of which...you do realize you’re going to have to waste some of your hard-earned cash on an annulment...?”
Jessi frowned. “Actually, I figured we’d split the costs of that.”
“And so we will, if there are any.”
“What do you mean ‘if there are any’? No legal proceeding is cheap, Gabe.” She gave him a hopeful smile. “Unless you have a lawyer friend...?”
“No lawyer friend, just an idea.”
“Oh no,” Jessi groaned. “Another one?”
Gabe glared at her, clearly affronted.
“Sorry,” she murmured, instantly contrite. “What’s your idea?”
“We forget about filing the license on Monday. If there’s no legal marriage, then there’s no need for an annulment.”
Jessi caught her breath at the simplicity, the sheer perfection of his idea. “And if there’s not another split on your record, then your chances of getting Ryder are that much better....” She spoke to herself more than to Gabe, so the impact of her words caught her by surprise.
“My God....” Her new husband paled and stared at her, his eyes huge with shock. “Would you believe this is the first time I’d even thought about how our break up might affect the adoption proceedings?”
“But if we never file, there will be no annulment because in the eyes of the law, there has been no marriage.” They exchanged a long, speculative look during which neither said a word. Then Gabe held out his left hand, palm upward. In it lay the ring.
Jessi stared at it for a moment without moving. To accept the ring meant she accepted the terms of their partnership, and the deceit that went with it, once and for all. What do I do...what do I do...?
“Please? For Ryder’s sake?” The words were whisper-soft and shimmied down her spine.
Jessi sucked in a fortifying breath and reached for the ring, only to find her wrist captured in his right hand again. With a smile that could only be called tender, he slipped the bejeweled band back on her finger.
The amethyst caught the light and flashed a rainbow on the wine glass. The colors were as brilliant and bold as ever, blinding her to consequences once again.
Chapter Three
Gabe Dillard couldn’t remember when he’d seen a more colorful autumn. The brilliantly golden aspen trees lining the dirt path down which he now drove contrasted sharply to a gray California sky. God, how he wished Ryder were along to share the joy.
Gabe shifted his gaze from the asphalt to Jessi’s petite daughter, Anna Kate, who sat between the two of them on the seat of his four-wheel drive truck. He took note of the child’s attire—faded denim overalls, bright purple T-shirt, polka-dotted sneakers—and smiled to himself. With her mother’s violet eyes and a riotous mass of long, copper-colored hair, Anna Kate appeared custom made for eyelet and patent leather. Oddly enough, she’d proved to be a tomboy to the nth degree, a fact discovered Sunday, when they spent the day together to get to know one another.
Anna Kate had accepted him easily, thank God, and called him “Daddy G”—a name of her creation. But in spite of their smooth sailing so far, he half wished the red-haired charmer hadn’t come along on the trip. Children were so very honest. She could easily jeopardize their charade.
But Jessi had sworn that Anna Kate was special, a natural actress who adored pretending. It helped that the child had apparently begged for a new daddy for ages. And though Jessi had made it plain to her daughter that Gabe was nothing more than a daddy-on-loan who would one day be gone again, he couldn’t help but wonder about the impact their parting a few weeks from now would have on her.
Other things bothered him, too, not the least of which was involving an innocent child in their deception. But what else could he do except come clean with August, a risk he wasn’t prepared or willing to take? As he’d told Jessi, their lie was a harmless one necessitated by August’s apparent midlife crisis and, perhaps, his autocratic ways. The flamboyant archeologist and author had been in the limelight for twenty-five years, so he was used to people hopping when he snapped “Frog!” Only in the past twelve months had his popularity begun to slide, the reason, Gabe believed, for this desperate, top-secret, possibly ridiculous expedition.
A splash of bright blue paint on the side of a tree in a valley below alerted Gabe that he’d almost reached the turnoff leading to the location of their three o’clock rendezvous with Taylor. He caught a glimpse of the two camper trailers he’d rented, along with the boxes filled full of everything else that could possibly be needed for an expedition of this type.
August had been camped at the site since the day before. He and Gabe had been in constant contact via the man’s cellular phone, just one of the modern-day miracles that made it possible to conduct business from anywhere. There were other conveniences, too, including bathrooms, all-terrain vehicles that would save them miles of walking, a stove so they could cook indoors in the wildest of woods and even a battery-powered television. They also had a propane-fueled refrigerator.
So much for roughing it, Gabe thought, glancing beyond the valley to the colorful cliffs of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Was there treasure in them thar hills? In his heart of hearts, he didn’t think so. But if, by some strange chance, there were, he’d find it. He was a damn good explorer who’d made a name for himself in this state years ago, the reason Elaina was told about him when she contacted the California Game and Fish Agency for a top-notch guide to lead this treasure hunt. Gabe didn’t know how she’d found Jessi, but her choice of chief cook and bottle washer suited him.
Yeah...suited him just fine.
The ground dipped sharply and so did the truck, nearly jerking the steering wheel out of Gabe’s hand. Then the vehicle lurched to the right, badly jarring its occupants.
“You okay?” Gabe asked Anna Kate.
She nodded, looking for all the world as if bumpy truck rides and treasure hunts were everyday occurrences for her. Bemused, Gabe stole a glance at Anna Kate’s mother, who peered out her window and into the woods.
Jessi didn’t look nearly so at ease, a sure sign she still had doubts about her well-paid position of cook and glorified baby-sitter for August Taylor’s pampered wife. On top of that, Gabe guessed this whole great outdoors thing must be somewhat stressful for her. She was, by vocation, a woman used to the more genteel things in life—catered luncheons, afternoon teas, formal banquets. She appeared uncomfortable in the sweater, jeans and tennis shoes she wore. But even dressed in such, there was no doubt of her good breeding.
