He’d watch her full lips move, the way she quirked up the corner of one side of her mouth when she was teasing. She had a tiny dimple in her left cheek that only showed up when she smiled widely. And the bridge of her cute nose scrunched up adorably when she was unsure or thinking hard about something.
Then there were her eyes. He understood now what it meant to be lost in someone’s eyes. How could he hear the words she spoke when her sparkling eyes were already speaking volumes? Everything she felt was projected there.
Today, when the passion in her eyes turned them nearly black, it had taken every ounce of his self-control not to strip her naked on the spot, tearing off every little button on her pretty dress, and doing to her magnificent body everything those gorgeous eyes were telling him she wanted.
He was glad he held back as much as he did. Romantic as this picnic spot was, he didn’t want their first time to be on a blanket on the ground.
And there would be a first time for him and Jada. He had to have her. Soon. There’d be no stopping it. Let all the deer, cats, parents, fake fiancées and publicists in the world descend on them at once, but they would not be stopped.
Ian Buckley didn’t lose. Not to anyone. Period.
He watched Jada’s lips close over the rim of the champagne flute. She drank the last of the champagne and let the strawberry at the bottom of the glass bump against her lips. She took it in her teeth and wrapped her sweet lips around the plump, red fruit, and—
Ian looked away, down at the cat napping beside him. He couldn’t watch Jada eat that strawberry, not with Ms. Kitty still around. Damn.
He offered Jada some more champagne, but she declined. He put the bottle back in the bucket. Probably best to keep their heads for now anyway.
He checked the time on his cell. Jada’s surprise would be arriving soon, so he might as well call the picnic a done deal. He sent a quick text to Lydia telling her to dismiss the security perimeter.
It was the work of only a few moments to gather themselves together and head back across the bridge toward home. For the first time, Jada didn’t comment that he’d left everything behind for the staff to clean up, though she looked like she wanted to.
The sun felt good on his shoulders, and it glowed on Jada’s flawless skin. Ms. Kitty led the way, making occasional forays into the undergrowth, investigating whatever it was that interested cats.
Ian realized he was happy. When was the last time he felt this happy, anyway? Other than yesterday and the time he spent with Jada then, he couldn’t remember.
“You know,” Jada said, bright and cheerful, “we didn’t do what we went on the picnic to do.”
Ian wasn’t sure what she meant. He’d planned to get her in a compromising position, and he accomplished it. Was there something else they were supposed to do?
Jada laughed. “You don’t remember. We were supposed to discuss who might have been behind our fiasco.”
“Oh, that’s right,” he said. “Guess I got distracted.” He gave her a deliberate, wolfish look.
She cleared her throat. “Yes, well, anyway. About the case ...”
“I wasn’t aware this was a case.”
“I’ve decided it is. The Case of the Phony Marriage License.”
“So who’s your latest suspect? Still stuck on Sasha?”
“No,” she said. “You’re probably right about her being too impulsive to pull off anything that complicated. I’m wondering ... and don’t take this the wrong way ... but, have you considered it might be someone close to you?”
“No. Who are you thinking of?”
“I don’t know you well, of course, but I thought Sullivan seemed to be more than a lawyer to you, that he might also be a friend.”
“You’re right. He’s one of my best friends.”
She peeped at him out of the corner of her eye. “Have you considered that Sullivan might have done it?”
“No. I hadn’t. And I don’t see any point in considering it now. There’s no way he’s involved in this.”
“I know it can be hard to suspect someone close to you. For what it’s worth, I haven’t only been thinking about suspects close to you. I’ve been thinking about people close to me, too.” She frowned, as if it were hard to say what came next. “I even considered that Marina might have done it.”
Ian was surprised. “Why would you suspect your sister?”
“Because she has contacts at the courthouse, which means she had opportunity. And she has the means because she can be capable when she wants to be.”
“You sure you went to school for accounting?” he asked with a grin.
“I read a lot of mysteries.”
“So Marina is a real suspect then?”
“No. She doesn’t have motive.” Jada thought for a moment then said, “I don’t know if you’ll understand this, but, some women have a thing for rich men.”
“They do?” Ian asked, making a funny, shocked face.
“Stop that.” She laughed. “What I mean is, some women read the gossip magazines and daydream about marrying real life millionaires and billionaires and, anyway, that’s how Marina is. So here’s the thing: if Marina were going to create a scenario that would give her the opportunity to meet a billionaire, she wouldn’t have put my name on that marriage license. She’d have put her own.”
“Makes sense.”
“Also, she wouldn’t have put your name on it either.”
“Should I be offended?”
“No. You were already taken, remember? By Sasha, your supposed fiancée.”
“That’s right. I keep forgetting about her. Oh, no, that was you who forgot about her.”
She gave him a friendly shoulder bump. “Too soon. I’m not ready to be teased about that yet.”
He knew she was joking.
“So,” Ian said, “Marina is off the suspect list. Who else have you got?”
“That’s it. I’m all out. Well, except for Sullivan and anyone else you might think of.”
“Forget about Sullivan. And I find it hard to believe that anyone who cares for either of us would ever do something like this. An enemy? Yes. Friends and family? I should hope not.”
“You’re right,” she said. “I guess I’m out of the detective game, for now.”
He grinned. “Don’t worry about it. Tomorrow or the next day, we’ll learn what happened. Guaranteed. And when I do, whoever did it is going to dearly wish they’d never tried to burn me.”
“That sounds kind of personal.”
“Well, this was personal, wasn’t it? Thanks to this fraud, I’ve been made to look like an unfeeling cheater and you’ve been dragged through the mud even worse. When I think of that woman on that program and the things she said about you, I get ... well, never mind. It’s not right. That’s all. And I want you to know that I respect the way you’ve handled yourself in the face of all the criticism and outright lies. I don’t think I could have been as classy about it as you’ve been. No, I know I couldn’t have been.”
She gave him a wavering smile then looked in the opposite direction. “Thanks.”
“You can talk to me about how you feel, you know. I might be able to help. I’ve been dealing with gossip and public opinion my entire adult life.”
“I appreciate it,” she said, turning back to him, her eyes unnaturally bright with unshed tears. “But I’m okay. I tell myself once the truth comes out, everyone will realize they were wrong about me.”
In Ian’s experience, the public didn’t care about gossip being wrong; they merely moved onto the next scandal. Telling Jada that wouldn’t help, though.
They’d broken out of the forest and were now within sight of the house and lake.
Jada cocked her head. “What’s that sound? A kind of choppy sound.”
Ian listened, and heard it too. He knew exactly what it was, and it was a little early, too. “I don’t know. What is that?”
They walked on and the noise grew louder. Ms. Kitty wasn’t impressed an
d scampered off toward the house, rapidly leaving them in her dust.
Jada peered into the distance beyond the tree line. “Sounds like it’s coming from there.” She pointed. “You know what? I think it’s a helicopter. You don’t think the press has found us, do you? Or maybe you’ve got someone coming. Tell me you’ve got someone coming.”
“I’m sure that if it were the press, Lydia would have already called me.” He held out his phone. “See? No calls.”
She pressed a hand to her chest. “Whew. That’s a relief.”
Irritation surged through Ian. CGTV and their gossip-mongering had put Jada under too much strain. He briefly considered buying the station just so he could close it down. “Let’s head to the landing pad,” he said. “It’ll be fine, I promise.”
And then he did the silliest thing: he took her hand in his. They walked toward the landing pad, hand in hand, as if they were a couple of kids. And he liked it. It was ridiculous. And nice. Mostly nice, the way her tiny hand fit in his. The way she smiled when she looked up at him. The trust on her lovely face.
This truly was getting dangerous. And here was indisputable proof. He had never, ever, held hands with a woman. It always seemed juvenile, even when he was still a juvenile himself. So he’d never done it, until now, with Jada.
They stood well back from the pad as the helicopter flew in low, over the trees and toward them.