Alpha Billionaire’s Bride, Part Two (BWWM Romance Serial) (7 page)

IAN HAD BEEN MORE DISGRUNTLED than he’d shown when the deer
and Jada’s cat interrupted his tryst with Jada. Hearing that Monday was
Memorial Day helped soothe the ache in his loins. More time with Jada was
exactly what his body ordered.

Jada chatted gaily about her parents, but Ian had difficulty
following the conversation. That had been happening more and more each time he
talked with her. It wasn’t that she wasn’t interesting. She was. It wasn’t that
she wasn’t clever. She was. And smart. And funny, too. The problem was that
each time he saw her she got more beautiful, and it was damned distracting.

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 and 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.

“That’s your helicopter,” Jada yelled, her voice barely
carrying over the noise and the wind.

“It sure is.”

Raul made his usual skillful landing, touching down like a
feather. He slowed the rotors and Mr. Forest, the estate manager, jogged out to
the copter, wind whipping his hair as he opened the passenger door.

A woman hopped out, followed by a man who spoke to Mr.
Forest briefly. Mr. Forest waved at the edge of the pad to Billy, who was
standing nearby waiting. Billy rushed out and was soon being loaded down with
baggage.

Jada squinted at the craft. “Who is that? Is that? Ohmigod.
It’s Marina!” She looked at Ian, then at Marina who was already walking briskly
toward them, then back to Ian. “What’s she doing here? You brought her here?”

He felt a moment’s worry that he’d read the situation wrong.
“I did. I thought she’d be safer out here with us. I hope that’s okay.”

“Okay? It’s wonderful!” She practically jumped on him,
wrapping her arms around his waist and squeezing him, her head pressed against
his chest, nestled beneath his chin. “Thank you so much. I didn’t realize I was
so worried about her until I saw her jump out of the helicopter.”

His heart swelled that she was happy. He gave her a quick
squeeze in return, then let her go so she could greet her sister.

He watched as the two sisters laughed and hugged. He heard
Jada telling Marina she was in trouble for not texting that she was coming, and
Marina saying she wanted it to be a surprise. Marina was a knockout, like her
sister, though Ian thought Jada had the edge.

Mr. Forest arrived shortly thereafter, along with the man
who’d climbed out of the helicopter. It turned out to be Sullivan.

So Ian got a surprise, too. He hadn’t been expecting his
head counsel and friend.

As a group, they headed toward the house and away from the
noisy helicopter. Marina and Jada walked side-by-side, their arms around one
another’s waists, talking a mile a minute, completely ignoring Mr. Forest who
trailed behind them, trying to give Marina his usual introductory speech about
the property.

Sullivan fell in beside Ian. “So, are you enjoying your time
away?” Sullivan asked.

“Yes. The bigger question is, what are you doing here? I
asked you to find Marina, not come with her. Who’s going to keep things
together in the city if you’re out here?”

“I learned the most amazing thing today. Tomorrow is
Memorial Day. Did you know that?”

“I did, but only recently. Not sure how I forgot, except that
we always work it. Also, there have been a few things going on to distract me.”

“So you know there’s no point in worrying about this
situation until Tuesday. And that’s why I’m here. I don’t take a lot of time
off myself, you know. Thought I’d come hang out, get in some fishing, the
usual.”

Ian shot Sullivan a skeptical glance. “Why are you actually
here?”

“Okay, look, I feel badly about what’s gone down with the
Brimgore woman, and that you’re saddled with her now. I swear I didn’t tell her
you were here. I only told her you were out of town. Sasha must have figured it
out from there.”

“So you say.”

“It’s the truth. And I’m going to prove it. I’m here to
throw myself on my sword for you. I’m going to run interference between you and
Brimgore, and Sasha too if need be. If you want, I can try to make them so
miserable they’ll be out of here by tomorrow morning.”

Ian relaxed. “You don’t have to do that. If Trey ever found
out I let you terrorize his sister just to get rid of his former stepmother,
he’d have my head. I will, however, let you know if I can use your services to
keep them out of the way if need be. Come on. Let’s get you settled in. The
more the merrier. Mrs. Best might pass out from joy with this many people
here.”

Sullivan grinned. “I love Mrs. Best. I asked her to marry me
once, but she turned me down flat.”