Favorite Places (A TroubleMaker Novel, #2) (20 page)

Jon’s words had
the same effect as James Hobart’s comments had. They ripped Chase’s heart right
out of his chest and his body went numb all over again. The difference was that
Jon’s revelations made it clear that Jessina Landi was not a coldhearted,
greedy bitch. She was actually a selfless woman who was about to give up a
shit-load of money to make amends for a crime she didn’t commit. Chase had been
terrible to her, accused her so maliciously and said awful things to her, and
he knew he would never be able to make it up to her. He had messed up royally,
she would never forgive him, and the thought of that made him sick all over.

As hopeless as
it all seemed, he had to try to make things right by her, and somehow, it
always came down to one thing, money, which was something he had plenty of.
“Tell me, Jon. Exactly how much did Lance Henderson steal from his employees?”
Chase asked.

When she’d asked Chase
how she should dress for the occasion, he’d told her that Caplin wanted to keep
it casual. They would be eating at a patio bar and grill. Her white sundress
was simple but still elegant enough to pull off her role as a multimillionaire’s
wife. She swept her hair up and applied a light coat of lipstick, then topped
it off with some gloss that smelled sweet, like strawberries. She took one last
look in the mirror, pressed her lips together, and pushed a few stranded hairs
back from her face.

Butterflies had
landed in her belly a few minutes earlier when she’d seen Chase pulling up the
road that led to the ranch. She was restless and nervous about seeing him. Having
had time to think about it and look at it from both sides, she could almost
understand why Chase thought so lowly of her. In his experience, women had
always turned out to be disappointments. She wanted to forgive him for jumping
to conclusions that she’d been involved in the embezzlement, but she was still
so upset that he hadn’t trusted her more than that.

Jessina started
down the stairs and found Chase standing at the bottom, dressed in jeans and an
untucked button-down, blue shirt that amplified the color in his intense eyes. A
smile crept up those delicious lips, and that half-moon dimple cut into his
cheek. He looked like a clean-cut, all-American boy. The kind you’d run into
every day but were too afraid to approach, wary of ruining the mystery behind
that sexy little smile. But Jessina discovered that this boy from next door
wasn’t your average, All-American anything. She’d seen the tattoo that spanned across
his broad shoulders. She gazed down at it while the bad boy devoured her pussy.
She’d been touched by those magical fingers. She’d discovered that he could give
it good and hard to a girl against a wall. The recap of that little escapade kept
her hand on the rail as she concentrated on taking each step.

When she reached
the tenth stair, his smile turned dangerously hot, and she gripped the rail
tighter. Chase was gazing up at her as though he wanted to prove that he could
give it to a girl good and hard on the stairs too.

“You look
beautiful,” he said, and the husky scrape of his voice brushed against her
pussy.

She glanced
around the room and let out a sigh. “You can drop the act, Chase. They’re not
even here yet.” She hit the last step and stopped.

“It’s not an act.”
He leaned in and whispered, “You are beautiful, Jessina.”

As he pulled
back, she suddenly got it. She understood the name game, why Chase had insisted
that she call him by his first name, for when he said hers, it felt as though
someone had sprinkled freaking fairy dust on her, and she tingled all over.
“Ow!”
she wanted to scream. She’d never get over the man if he kept saying things
like that. No matter how angry she was at him. Or what horrible assumptions he
made about her. Jessina would be in love with him forever. And that just
sucked.

“Here,” Chase
reached into his pocket. “Let me see your hand.”

“Why?” Before
she could figure out what he was doing, he had her hand is his, and was
slipping a ring on her finger—a sparkling humongous rock! She stared down at
it, moving her hand around, hypnotized by its beauty. “Oh. My. God!” Her eyes
shot up at him. “I know it’s fake but,” she looked down at the stunning knock
off, and glanced back up at him. “Wow, it’s gorgeous.”

A rascally grin
tugged on Chase’s sexy mouth as his blue eyes sparkled just like that huge
rock. She tilted her head, trying to read his odd expression. “It is fake, right?”

His grin turned
into a smile. “I can tell you, that it’s about as real as this marriage is to
me, sweetheart.”

“Oh, thank
goodness.” She couldn’t stop herself from glancing at the sparkly symbolism of
their fake relationship, one last time.  “I wouldn’t want to be responsible for
it. I could only imagine what something like would really cost.”

A few hours
later, Jessina was sitting outside at a table with her exceptionally hot,
make-believe husband and Mr. and Mrs. Caplin. The Caplins had to be nearing
their seventies, but they were surprisingly spry and attractive and easy to
talk to, much to Jessina’s relief. Still, her stomach was in knots. She had two
more days with Chase, and then he’d finally pay her the $300,000 they’d
originally agreed upon. She’d been angry when she’d asked for the $500,000, and
if he tried to give that much to her, she wouldn’t be taking it.

Caplin was
explaining the difference between an American paint horse and a quarter-horse
when Jessina broke from him for a quick glance over at Chase, but her eyes
never made it back to Caplin. Lounged back in the chair, Chase was staring at
her. Actually, it was more like he was hungrily probing her with those
penetrating eyes.

Caplin also
noticed, because he said, “Your husband appears to be very smitten with you,
Mrs. Lennox. How long have you two been married?”

Jessina dragged
herself away from Chase’s oppressive gaze. “Just a few months, so I suppose the
infatuation hasn’t worn off, Mr. Caplin.” She smiled and readjusted the napkin
in her lap.

“No,” Chase
said, causing Jessina’s eyes to shoot up at him. “I’m smitten because my wife
is breathtaking, more so every day.”

Mrs. Caplin drew
a hand to her chest and smiled, as if it was the most romantic thing she’d ever
heard. Oh, yeah, Chase Lennox was real good, Jessina thought. He obviously
planned to close this deal with sweet words and that award-winning smile.

Caplin gently
tapped his wife’s hand, gave her a wink, and then turned back to Jessina. “And
how did you newlyweds meet?”

“Uh, we, um…”
Jessina stumbled for an answer, unable to recall the story, or if they’d even
rehearsed one at all. “We, uh…”

A warm smile
slid across Chase’s mouth as he stepped in to rescue her. “Allow me to tell the
story, hon’.” He turned to the Caplins. “See, it all started with this
troublemaking luggage…” Chase continued with the story, fabricating much of it
the way movies do to link everything together nicely and leaving out the part
about them being “illegally” married. He ended with her arrival at his office.
“When they found my suitcase, her wallet was in it, so they contacted her, not
me. When Jess happened upon my military I.D., she came to my office to give the
suitcase back to me.” He laughed and reached out to take her hand in his, as if
it was the most natural thing in the world. “I was so glad to see her again.”
He looked thoughtfully down at their joined hands as his thumb ran slowly over
the fake diamond. “From the moment I set my eyes on her on that trolley, I knew
if I ever saw this woman again that I would never let her go.”

Jessina stared
down at their hands, fearful to look up, desperately wanting the ring on her
finger, and his words, that faux love-at-first-sight story, to be true. A loop,
then a pull, and another knot tugged in the low of her belly.

“Now there’s a
story you’ll be able to tell your children and grandchildren someday,” Mrs.
Caplin said. “Mr. Lennox, you seem very happy.”

“I am.” Chase’s
fingers slid around Jessina’s wrist slowly and seductively, just as they had in
the restaurant the first day she’d gone to see him about their marriage, when
he’d demanded that she have lunch with him. He pressed gently on her wrist no
doubt feeling her wildly racing pulse. She gave in and looked up at him. “I am
a very happy man, Mrs. Caplin,” Chase said as his eyes lifted, holding Jessina
prisoner once again. “For I am completely, and forever will be in love with my
wife.”

Lost to his
words and the adoring look in his eyes, Jessina wished again that the fairytale
could actually be true, and she almost believed it was. He sounded so
convincing that she didn’t even hear Mrs. Caplin excuse herself to go to the
ladies’ room or Mr. Caplin to make a phone call. The kaleidoscope was back, and
all she could see at the end of it was Chase. She didn’t even realize they were
alone at the table until Chase’s hand moved slowly up her arm, lightly
caressing her.

“Come to me
tonight,” he said in a near whisper.

“What?” Once
more, she doubted her hearing.

“It’s our last
night together.” His warm hand slid down her arm, tenderly glided over her
wrist, and then his fingers entwined with hers. “Come as you are right now,
Jess. Come to me tonight…as my wife.”

He was doing it
again, making her want to believe him, to really, truly believe that he cared.
“Stop it, Chase.” She pulled her hand away
. Damn him!
She wanted to
trust the devotion in his eyes, the whisper of longing in his words, and the
passion in his touch, but she didn’t know what to believe. Was he still acting,
playing the part, just to be sure he’d seal the deal tomorrow.

“All right, you
win this round.” He let go of her hand and gave her the space she needed. “But
just promise me you’ll think about it, Jessina.” He reached for his wine glass.

Damn
!
The fairy dust must have fallen upon her again, because she found herself actually
considering it. He had the power not only to shatter her heart, but also to
break her will, and she knew if he pressed, she’d surrender.

Chase lifted the
wine glass to his mouth and gazed at her. The look in his eyes told her he was
completely aware of the power he had over her, but she sensed he wasn’t sure if
he wanted to use it. Hell, if that didn’t make her want him even more!

Jessina tossed and turned in the bed, her flimsy nightgown
twisting all around her. Frustrated, she sat up, swung her legs over the edge
of the mattress, and when her feet touched the floor, she stood. The strangling
gown fell gently around her thighs.

It was dark and quiet. She wanted to go to Chase, and
for the past two hours she’d fought against it. She was tired, and not from
need of rest, but from fighting to stay away from Chase’s tempting offer—to go
to him as his “pretend” wife one last time.

She walked over to the door, contemplating turning left
to Chase’s room, or right to the stairs. She could use a drink, something far
stronger than water. She placed her hand on the knob and opened the door. She
looked to the left, and any thought of a drink escaped her. Light was streaming
through the crack of Chase’s partially opened bedroom door. The soft glow
beckoned her to come closer. Before she knew it, she was standing in front of
it.

She rubbed her fingertips over the fake ring as she
stared at the door. Heart racing and palms sweating, she didn’t know what to
do. She wanted to go in and tell him the truth, convince him that she wasn’t
the horrible person he thought she was. But she was through standing trial for crimes
she hadn’t committed. She needed a man who trusted her. One she could believe
in.

“You’re afraid of what’s behind that door aren’t you?”

The sound of Chase’s voice startled her. Jessina spun
around and found him casually leaning against the wall in nothing but jeans.
His naked chest was easy to make out in the dark hall, but the expression on
his face was a little more difficult to read.

“You scared me.” She took a step toward him. “You’ve got
a habit of sneaking up on people, haven’t you?”

He shrugged, bent his knee, and kicked a foot up against
the wall. He tilted his head back and gazed down at her through veiled eyes.

When he didn’t say anything, she took another step
closer. “What are you doing out here anyway?”

Dark eyes swept over her barely covered body, making it
all hot. “The same thing you are.”

His answer caught her off-guard, and she couldn’t stop
her thoughts from spewing out. “Oh, so you were standing outside my door,
wondering whether or not to go in and pretend that we’re married for one more
night?” She raised an eyebrow. “Is that what you were doing?”

“No.” He shoved his fingers into the front pockets of
his jeans. “I’m done pretending, Jessina.”

“Yeah.” She studied his somber face, and when he didn’t
give her an ounce of encouragement, she said, “Well, so am I.” She’d had enough
of Chase Lennox and his wicked games. She turned and started for her room.

“Natalie.”

“What?” Jessina halted.
Did he just call me by some
other woman’s name?
With her back to him, she stood waiting.

“Natalie Banks, that’s her name, the girl who finally
ruined my faith in all women. You know, like your Lance. She’s the one person I
usually compare every other woman to.”