A Bad Boy is Good to Find(18)

Her hand flew to her mouth and she stepped backward, trying to gather her thoughts.

She tugged her hands behind her back, the traitors! Wound her fingers together to hold them there. Who knew what they’d do next? How the hell had that just happened?

She tossed her hair and took a deep breath.

“See?” Her voice sounded odd. “I told you I could do it.” Her breasts tingled.

The merest hint of a smile tugged at the corner of Con’s mouth. He looked cool as an iced martini. Not in the slightest bit bothered or flustered or… Bastard.

“Very nice. I think you’ll be able to fool them.” He hadn’t moved an inch. “And I admit, I’m rather looking forward to it now.”

“Don’t get excited. Nothing’s going to happen except for the cameras.” She unknotted her hands and tugged at the hem of her skimpy top. Wished her peaked nipples didn’t show through it.

“You’ll have to fool the crew too. And cousin Maisie.”

“Piece of cake. With a professional con man at my side, how can I fail?”

Con’s jaw stiffened. “Don’t you think we should try to be nice to each other?”

“Why? We’re doing this for the money. Once we have it we’ll both be back on our feet and we can go our separate ways.” She turned away and went into the bathroom for a glass of water. His annoying spicy taste lingered on her tongue.

She gargled noisily and spat hard. “Can’t be too careful about germs. You’d better start packing. I asked them to book me a flight to New York for tonight so we can meet and discuss details tomorrow.

“A flight? What about my car?” Con stopped tucking his shirt in and stared at her.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about your precious car. You can drive back while I handle the meetings. The location needs to be settled before the shooting can start, so that gives you until next week.”

“How do I know you won’t start drinking once you leave?” He frowned at her.

“I swear on the pieces of my broken heart.” She pressed a hand to her chest. “I want this to work so I can get myself together again.”

“Okay.” He kept his eyes on her for a moment, as if trying to decide whether he believed her, then he smoothed the front of his shirt and examined his cuffs. “So where are they thinking of sending us?”

“Let me see, they sent me a preliminary list.” She marched to the table and rifled though all the papers she’d printed out from the hotel’s guest computer. “Here we are. Hmm. There’s three in the Caribbean: some new place in Anguilla, a Sandals Resort in Negril, Jamaica, and the Atlantis hotel in the Bahamas.”

“Cool!” Con grinned.

“Cool? Are you kidding? It’s probably over a hundred degrees in any of those places in September. And I wouldn’t be caught dead at Atlantis.”

“I saw an ad for it. You can swim with sharks.”

“Been doing that all my life, thanks. At least the human kind can’t rip into your flesh with their teeth. Luckily there were some other options. A cruise to Alaska…”

“Sweet!”

“Stop interrupting. A golf resort in Virginia horse country, an inn on the coast of Maine, and a trendy bed-and-breakfast in the Napa Valley. I think the last one gets my vote. At least it won’t be too sweaty there at this time of year.”

“Come on, you can go to California any time. Can’t we go abroad? I’ve never left the country and I’d love to go to the Caribbean. Alaska sounds fun too, and it wouldn’t be too hot there.” Glowing puppy-dog excitement was certainly a new look for him.

“Thanks for your input. I’m sure the staff of Celebrity Access and I will be able to select a location that will work for all of us.”

“Yeah. Who am I kidding? They all sound good. A five-star hotel with comfy beds, gourmet food, people waiting on us hand and foot…”

“Just your cup of tea, isn’t it? Well, enjoy it while it lasts because this time it won’t be forever.”

Con whistled while he packed. His boyish enthusiasm for a lousy week at a decent hotel almost affected her. But not quite.

Her fiendish plot involved a little twist she had neglected to mention to him. And after that kiss—which demonstrated that she might be crazy enough to lose her head over him again if she didn’t keep it screwed down tight—she was more determined than ever to put it in motion.





Chapter 8





Maisie poked her head out into the reception area and watched her childhood rival teeter across the terrazzo floor. That phone call had been a delicious surprise and frankly things were looking way up here at Celebrity Access. “Lizzie darling! Come in.”

Cousin Lizzie had decked herself out today in a garish red suit that showed off her thick calves. She may have lost a few pounds, but she still wasn’t skinny, poor thing. From the looks of it she’d straightened her hair herself—really, she should know better. “You look spectacular, sweetie.” She kissed both cheeks. At least she’d stopped wearing that awful rose concoction that made her smell like an old woman.

“Come in to my parlor,” she said, annoyed to find herself feeling a little nervous. She ushered Lizzie into her cramped, windowless office. Don had promised her a better one but she was beginning to learn a bit about his promises. She stepped over a pile of paper on the floor.

“Excuse the mess. I inherited it. We’re so madly busy I don’t have time to go through it. Do sit down.”

Lizzie eased herself gingerly into the chair opposite the desk.

“We’re just waiting for Don to get out of a meeting—story of my life! But really, it’s a dream job.” She plastered on a smile. “I was so happy to get your phone call. How exciting to produce my own cousin’s love story! Do tell me more about this man of mystery. I can’t believe you were so secretive with me. Honestly, I’m a bit put out about it.”

Downright peevish, in fact. With all the champagne she’d poured into Lizzie, she’d never dished the dirt. Just said her swain had broken up with her when he found out she wasn’t rich anymore. She never let on he wasn’t the Southern blueblood she’d mooned over.

Lizzie tossed her hair behind her shoulder, tugged at the hem of her suit jacket and looked Maisie right in the eye. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I confess I was a little embarrassed about it. I mean, he didn’t even graduate from high school, and he has a gang tattoo on his butt. But I’m madly in love with him.” Her lips settled into a cool smile.

Maisie realized she was dribbling cappuccino onto her blouse, and she snapped her mouth closed. She snatched up a tissue and dabbed at the stained silk.

Lizzie tipped her head slightly. “Obviously Mummy and Daddy wouldn’t let me marry Con if they knew the truth, so I made up a story about him coming from Louisiana gentry.”

She had the audacity to smile warmly and toss her crudely straightened hair over her shoulder again. “Horribly devious of me, I know, but the stakes were high, at the time. Who knew I was as poor as a church mouse myself?” She shrugged, still smiling that chilling smile.