A Bad Boy is Good to Find(31)

The only serious snag seemed to be a lack of air conditioning. The system had died and apparently they were waiting to install new duct work before replacing it. The kitchen was a relic from the 1930’s, with monstrous white enameled appliances and a sink large enough to gut a pig, but since the show had brought a genuine Louisiana chef with them from New York, that wasn’t her problem.

Their tour ended in the master bedroom, which unfortunately Gia expected them to share. The four-poster bed loomed in the middle of the room like a prison with only four bars. Con already sprawled across it, the jailor.

“C’mon, babe, you know you sleep better wrapped up in my arms.” He tipped his head and smiled softly at her, for the benefit of Gia and Dino, who stood in the doorway.

She stiffened. Unfortunately, it was true. She had such a terrible time sleeping lately she’d take a tranquilizer if it would help her rest. Con’s arms were cheaper and more readily available, if no less addictive.

“To be honest, we don’t really have a spare bed,” said Gia. “Other people would have to double up if one of you takes another room.”

Lizzie smiled stiffly. “I’m just worried about shocking the viewers.” Thank God the camera was off for now.

“No sweat,” said Dino with a dimpled grin. He was a young guy with messy black hair and an easy manner. “Our viewers are pretty open minded. The show’s slated to air right after co-ed wrestling so whatever you do will look pretty tame.”

Lizzie cringed. “Right then, we’ll share this room. It’s lovely, thank you.” Her smile ached. “I’ll take a quick nap if you don’t mind.” It was the best she could come up with short of saying, please leave.

Con winked and smoothed a spot on the bed with splayed fingers. Gia giggled. God, she was practically drooling over him. And he’d already established an easy rapport with Dino the cameraman and Raoul the makeup guy, who’d announced that Con didn’t need makeup. His expression had suggested there wasn’t quite enough makeup in the world for her.

Gia waved at Con and smiled at Lizzie. “Catch you later! Dinner’s at seven and don’t forget we’ll be filming as you come down the stairs.”

“Looking forward to it!” Her smile made one last gargantuan effort, then collapsed as the door closed behind them.

“Get off the bed,” she growled, hurling herself onto it.

“I don’t think so.” He shifted onto his side, looking disgustingly comfortable.

“What the hell are you playing at? I swear, next time you call me babe, I’m going to slap you.”

“I’ve always called you babe.”

“Not in public.”

“True.” He stretched, flexing his muscles until they cracked. “But we’ve never had much of an audience before, have we? I never met your friends. You kept me pretty much under wraps.”

“I’m a quiet, reclusive type.” She stared up at the brocade hanging over the bed, relieved it looked freshly laundered. “I like to keep to myself. That way I don’t have to worry about people trying to trick me and lie to me.”

Her nerves were frayed from keeping a smile fixed in place all afternoon. A question she’d never thought to ask before had popped into her brain almost as soon as they were trapped under the stare of the camera. “When we arranged to meet for lunch that day, and you didn’t show up, and you let me think you worked in the Wheelock Engineering office building, rather than in some garage across the street—was that something you planned?”

Con’s expression darkened. He looked away to the window. “No.” He ran a hand through his hair. “No. I didn’t plan it.”

“So what happened, exactly?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

He took a deep breath. “I knew you’d gotten a mistaken impression of what I did for a living. At first I liked that you made all the wrong assumptions about me. That you thought I was successful and educated. It felt good.” He gave her a wary look.

“You were curious to see how well Frankie’s polishing had worked?”

“Yeah, I guess that was part of it, in the beginning. But we were getting more serious, you know, past the flirting stage. I could see myself in a real relationship with you and I figured it was time to set you straight. That was why I asked you to meet me at work. They hired me pretty often and I was hoping to get a full time job there. It was a nice place, neat, well run—” He shrugged. “Anyway, I got held up by a customer, showing him what I’d done to his car, so I was rushed and late and looking out for you while I was still working. I went into the bathroom and cleaned up. When I came out, you were standing across the street outside that office tower.”

He paused, and his eyes took on a shadowed look. “You looked so beautiful. So ladylike and elegant and…perfect. I could tell you thought I worked in that office building.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “When I saw you there I had a weird feeling. I suddenly knew that if I told you the truth about me…I’d lose you.” He shot a dark, piercing glance at her. “And now I know I was right.”

Was he? Her parents would have had a fit if they knew she was seeing an uneducated mechanic. And Maisie. And her so-called friends…

But she could have made up her own mind. Followed her heart.

If she’d had the chance.

“You shouldn’t have tricked me.” Her voice trembled. “You should have let me make my own decision.” She swallowed hard. “When were you going to finally tell me the truth? On our wedding night?” She bit her lip, willed back the tears.

Con swallowed. “I thought that maybe if we were already married…” He looked down.

“I still could have divorced you, you know.” Her voice cracked as she spat the words at him.

He looked down. “I’m sorry Lizzie. You know I am. Don’t cry.”

She avoided looking at him. “I’m not going to cry.” She cleared her throat to get rid of the scratch in her voice. “I wouldn’t give you the satisfaction. And just because you let me wait there for forty-five minutes while you stood across the street watching me and waiting for me to leave—” She gulped a shaky breath. “You are sleeping on the floor tonight.”

“It’s bare wood.” He tilted his head and looked at her with those big dark eyes that so easily turned her into a sucker.

“It’ll be just like home, back in the shack.” She fixed her eyes on him, steeled herself against all emotion. “Which we’ll be visiting tomorrow with the camera crew.”

Con sat up like a shot. “What?”

“You didn’t think we’d come all the way down here and not visit scenic Mudbug Flats?”

Con stared at her, his mouth slightly open. Blinked. “Why?”

“So I can see where you come from. Meet your family.” She rolled onto her side and tried to look relaxed. “It wouldn’t be a real wedding without family. And unfortunately mine are temporarily indisposed.” She extended into what she hoped looked like a casual stretch. “I tried to track Mom down at the ashram, but she’d left. Gone to climb a mountain or something. Probably scaling Mount Everest with Martha Stewart.” Her voice sounded flat. “Anyway, we’d better get dressed for dinner. Formal, remember? Glittering candelabra, plates laden with local delicacies.”