Jada let Sasha answer his question and grabbed Marina’s arm, pulling her close. She hissed in Marina’s ear. “What was that about?”
“Shh. They’ll hear.”
“Come on then.”
She led Marina up the dock, away from the others. “What was he talking about?”
“I told him about my situation because I was worried I could be in trouble with the law, that’s all.”
“Your situation? You mean, you told him our little secret?”
“Maybe. Yeah, okay. I did. But—”
“That’s it. I’m done with this. You’ve now told everyone except the one person who really should know what you did.”
Marina snagged her by the elbow. “No, wait. It’s okay. I gave Sullivan a dollar to hire him as my attorney, so he can’t tell anyone what I said. Attorney/client privilege.”
“That’s stupid, and only works on TV.”
“I don’t think so. And you heard what he said about keeping it on the down-low for now.”
Jada had. She glared at Marina, who didn’t appear the least intimidated by it. Marina re-joined the others at the end of the dock, leaving Jada to chew over the situation by her lonesome.
Chapter Six
JADA WAS THROUGH WITH KEEPING information from Ian, and by the time she’d showered and dressed for dinner, she was almost positive she was going to tell him everything. Almost.
When she saw Ian standing at the head of the long table in the large dining room, her stomach fluttered. He looked so handsome in his dinner jacket and immaculately-pressed slacks. His eyes sparkled when his gaze met hers and she wondered what he was thinking. Did he like the pretty lavender dress she’d chosen for the night, with its swinging hem and snug bodice that showed off some cleavage?
He pulled out her chair, the one nearest to his, and when his fingers brushed over her shoulders she knew from his touch that he liked what he saw. It was hard to focus on the others’ dinner conversation with Ian so near. More than once his foot brushed hers, and she contemplated slipping off her shoe and running her toes up his strong calf for a little dinner time footsie.
She didn’t have to worry about keeping up with her fellow diners. Everyone seemed content to make do without the pair at the end of the table. Ian and Jada said little, and what they did say was inane, topics like the weather and what the federal interest rate might be next quarter. It wasn’t what they said, but what they didn’t say that had them riveted to one another.
All day long she’d been looking for Ian around every corner, in every room and down every hall she walked. Now here he was at last, and every fiber of her person strained to get closer to him.
Jada felt certain that tonight was it. She was going to sleep with Ian Buckley. No doubt about it. The tension between them was palpable and the simple brush of his hand against hers when he handed her the butter was enough to send a wave of shivers down her spine. Tonight.
After a desert she hardly tasted, everyone decided to gather in the bowling alley for a competition. Jada lagged behind and was relieved when Ian took her aside.
“I had something else in mind for us after dinner. Would you like see it?” Ian whispered, his breath warm and tingly on her earlobe.
She nodded and he smiled, then he took her arm and swiftly led her away from the others. She heard Agatha asking where they were going, and she heard Marina telling her to never mind, that they’d get Deb to come down and even up the teams.
Jada appreciated her sister’s protection. At the same time, her guilt over what she was hiding for her sister’s sake stole some of that gratitude.
Ian ushered her quickly down the main hallway and toward the opposite wing of the house. Jada saw Lydia standing in the hall in front of a pair of double doors and realized with a pang that Ian wasn’t leading her to his bedroom as she’d anticipated. He was leading her to whatever the security chief guarded.
“All’s ready, Sir,” Lydia said with a curt nod. “This time, I guarantee no one, human or beast, will get past me.”
Ian returned her nod, a small twitch turning up one corner of his mouth. “Excellent.”
Lydia stepped aside and Ian stepped forward, flinging both doors open at once and gesturing for Jada to enter.
She walked into a scene from a fairy tale. The room, which she’d toured her first day there and which had been described to her as multi-purpose, had been bland and nondescript, filled with tables and chairs and a podium, like in a conference room. Tonight, it was hardly recognizable as the same place.
It was illuminated by dozens upon dozens of candles in different sizes, some on pedestals, some in groupings on small tables, some tea-light-sized hanging from the high ceiling in golden mobiles that rotated slowly.
Had the wallpaper been this golden and lush when she saw it before? She didn’t think so. In fact, the whole room sparkled.
The floor was a dark parquet that glistened under the flickering candlelight. Had it been such a gorgeous parquet when Jada had been in the room before? She didn’t recall, but then, much of the floor had been covered with tables and chairs, and now it was completely open, the only furniture in the room being some comfortable-looking, plushly-covered sofas and chairs which lined the walls.
The air was redolent with vanilla, black cherry and orange blossoms, the combination of scents blending to create something new.
She heard the doors shut behind her and that’s when the music began. At the far end of the room, on a dais partially hidden behind a silk screen, sat the four musicians responsible for the delightful melody: a string quartet. She nearly clapped her hands in pleasure. Wonderful.
The utilitarian space had been transformed into nothing less than a fantasy ballroom. There could be no other way to describe it. The music, the dance floor, the lighting. It was a ballroom fit for a princess. Beautiful. And Ian had done it all for her.
“It’s splendid, Ian. How did you—”
Ian moved in front of her and bowed slightly. “May I have this dance?”
Jada lifted her hand, meaning to accept, then guilt crashed in from out of nowhere, ruining the romantic moment and sending her arm plummeting to her side.
She blurted a strained response. “We need to talk.”
His face fell. “That’s never good, not when a woman says it like that. Have I done something—”
“Oh, no. It’s not you. It’s me. You’ve been wonderful, and I’ve ... I’ve been lying to you. I’ve got a secret. I’m so sorry. I have to come clean.”
She watched a train of expressions cross his features: confused, startled, disappointed. Her stomach ached. Something big and dry lodged in her throat.
“Should I sit for this?” he asked.
“It wouldn’t hurt.”
She followed him over to a sofa and they sat down. She steeled herself for his anger.
“It’s about Marina,” she said rapidly, ripping off the bandage with one, merciless pull. “She’s involved in the marriage license scam, unwittingly of course, but she’s involved. And I’ve known since yesterday and I didn’t tell you because ... well, because I didn’t. I’ve been lying by omission, which is wrong, and I know that. There’s no excuse, I know that, too. I feel terrible, but she’s my sister and family’s family and, I don’t know. When you hear everything I’m sure you’ll understand. I hope you will, anyway.”
Ian’s brow furrowed. “That’s your secret? That Marina was part of the scam and you didn’t tell me?”
“Yes. And when you hear the whole story—”
“That’s everything? You aren’t hiding something else?”
“No. That’s it. It’s enough, I’d
think. I mean, I’m pretty sure everyone on the estate knows the secret except you, and that’s plain wrong,” Jada said, wishing she’d shut up but was apparently unable to stop digging herself into an ever-deeper hole. “Maybe Trey doesn’t know, but I think he’s the only one. And maybe some of the staff, but everybody else knows. And that’s terrible because you should have been told first, not kept in the dark.”
He took her hand and squeezed it between his big ones. “Jada, I already know about what Marina did.”
“What?”
“I already know. I’ve known since yesterday.”
“Wait.” She pulled her hand away. “You know what Marina did? All of it? How she got CGTV involved and helped the woman who was bribed ... and ... everything?”
Ian nodded. “Yes. All of it.”
Irritation roared in out of nowhere. “Who told you? It wasn’t Marina was it? I mean, she’s told everybody else, but she couldn’t have told you, could she? I’ll kill her if she did. Seriously. Don’t tell me if she told you.”
Ian smiled. “No, it wasn’t Marina. It was Elly. I ran into her not long after she overheard Marina telling you everything. Elly looked upset so I asked her what was wrong. The next thing I knew she burst into tears and started babbling about not being invisible. I’m still not sure what that was about. When I convinced her I didn’t care if she was invisible or not, she told me about overhearing Marina’s confession, and I got an earful about what had happened in your room.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Elly is the squealer? But she promised!”
“Don’t blame her, Jada. She felt terrible that she told me. When she finished her story, she said she wouldn’t be able to look you in the eye again.”
“Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen much of her since yesterday. I bet she’s avoiding me.”
“Undoubtedly.”
Jada took a moment to chew over the new info. “So, you knew all along. Why didn’t you say something?”
“I was testing you.”
“Seriously? I think that pisses me off. But then, I wasn’t being honest, and you don’t know me, not really, so I could see why you might not trust me, but still—”