Our Little Secret (40 page)

Portman finally looked up, dropping the loupe and letting it hang over his tie. “Fifteen thousand.”

Her mouth opened, but it took a couple more seconds for words to come out. “Sorry, what?”

“Five for the ring, and ten for the necklace. You understand, I’m taking a big chance on the ring. It’s possible no one will want it, with its shady history.” He didn’t even look embarrassed when he said it.

Janet stared. The ring was worth ten times what he offered, but she hadn’t expected more. It was the offer for the necklace that threw her. It had been an afterthought to bring it along, and she would have been thrilled if he’d offered a few hundred dollars for it.

“Ten thousand dollars for the necklace?”

“Again, a risk on my part.”

He didn’t strike her as the type to take risks with money. “Then the stone is real?”

“Real? Yes, it’s a gemstone.”

“A ruby?”

The corner of his mouth gave an arrogant twitch upward. “No. Quality rubies don’t come that large. I’m sure it’s a spinel.”

His expression was unreadable. She had a feeling he wouldn’t lie to her, but he also wouldn’t offer information. “Is that good?”

“Depends. Historically, they were often mistaken for rubies and used in fine pieces of jewelry, most notably in England’s Imperial State Crown. Today, they are less common but smaller ones are quite affordable.”

She tried to sort out the pertinent facts. “Are you saying this could be one of those historically fine pieces?”

He shifted from one foot to the other, looking suddenly uncomfortable. “Possibly. It could also be a modern knockoff and relatively worthless.” He pursed his lips as he took her measure, probably weighing how far he could push her. “My father is the expert on antique jewelry. If you’d like to wait a couple days for him to look at it—”

And risk having him reduce the price to two hundred dollars? “No need. I accept your offer.”

Portman gave a brisk nod. “Is a check okay?”

“Of course.”

He moved quickly to the back of the store. Ellie grabbed her arm. “Are you crazy? What’s the hurry? You should let Rocky look at the necklace. No one knows more about precious gems than he does, and he wouldn’t lie to you.”

“I don’t think Mr. Portman is lying.”

“And he’s not telling you the whole truth, either. That necklace could be worth a fortune. Rocky would know. Why don’t you let me call him?”

Rocky again. Just the thought of him made her all jumpy and nervous inside.

Making an effort to keep her voice calm, she said, “No. I don’t need his opinion, ex–jewel thief or not. You know I don’t like him.”

“So you keep saying.”

“So why don’t you believe me?”

“Because he’s a great guy, and you can’t give me any reason why you don’t like him.”

“He’s an ex-con,” Janet said.

She should have known Ellie wouldn’t buy it. “Jack’s an ex-con.”

“That’s different. Banner framed him, he was innocent.” She still found it hard to believe that her former brother-in-law had been convicted of manslaughter and
spent two years in jail. She hadn’t known him then, though. To Janet, Jack was the guy who had helped her expose Banner’s criminal activities and who had had the good sense to fall head over heels in love with her best friend. She could never think of Jack as an ex-con, and she knew Ellie couldn’t either.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t helping her argument against Rocky. “Rocky was framed, too,” Ellie pointed out.

“Yes, but
Rocky
can’t be trusted.”

Ellie looked closely at Janet, no doubt wondering what in the heck happened at that New Year’s Eve party last year. Janet had been snubbing Rocky ever since.

As they exchanged stubborn stares, Portman reappeared with Janet’s check. She thanked him, tucked it into her purse, and gave Ellie a nod toward the door. The elegant interior of Portman Jewelers wasn’t the best place to discuss a jewel thief, and for some reason, Ellie seemed determined to change her mind about Rocky. Today.

Once back in the June sunlight, she turned on her friend. “Okay, let’s skip the setup. I can see you’re determined to make me like Rocky. What does he have to do with this favor you want? Because I’m sure I can continue to dislike the man while doing whatever it is you want me to do.”

Ellie sighed. “Probably. But you can’t let it show, because you’ll be in public. I need you to cover for me, helping Rocky with a demonstration we scheduled for tomorrow night.”

“For Red Rose Security? I don’t know anything about your business.”

“You don’t have to. You just have to act as Rocky’s assistant. He’ll show you everything you need to know.”

“Uh-huh.” She bet he would. “You know, you look so innocent with those big blue eyes and your hair in that cute little ponytail. Almost like you aren’t trying to set me up.”

“I’m not.” At Janet’s skeptical look, she threw up her hands. “Honest. Jack and I just want to
finally
take our delayed honeymoon. But I had the brilliant idea to have Rocky speak to some women’s groups about home security, since he’s so charming they fall all over themselves making appointments for personal consultations. We get a ton of business that way. You know I’m right, you’ve seen how they respond to him.”

It was true, women ate up that big, lopsided grin combined with his former bad-boy life of crime, to which Rocky always admitted. His burglary skills were his credentials. Between his expertise at advising clients on the best security systems and Ellie’s organizational skills, their fledgling security business was booming.

Janet motioned toward her car, parked a couple spaces away, to keep Ellie walking as they talked. “It’s not hard, you just need to be an extra set of hands, then set up appointments for anyone who wants to make them. I’d ask Lisa, but she can’t get a sitter at night, and anyway I told her the job never required evening hours. I cancelled everything else for the next two weeks, but I can’t get out of this one. I know you’re busy trying to reestablish Aims Air Freight, but—”

“Okay, okay, okay,” she relented with a groan. “I’m not going to keep my best friend from her honeymoon.”

Janet started the car, her heart pounding louder than the engine.

Five minutes later, Janet could still feel Ellie studying her as she drove. “You know, he doesn’t feel
the same way about you. He thinks you’re great.”

Oh, she knew. Better than she’d ever let on to Ellie. He hadn’t made it a secret, and resisting such a devilishly cute, smooth-talking hunk of man went against some basic instinct that she had to stomp down every time she saw him.

“If you didn’t already know him, I’d introduce you, because I think you two would be great together. Did you know he’s nearly at the top of his class in law school? Smart guy. Plus he’s cute, and funny, and he loves kids. Like you.”

Another perfect man. She knew how those turned out. At least with this one she already knew he had criminal tendencies. They should all wear signs. If Banner had come with the warning “Willing to screw you over to get what I want,” she could have saved herself a lot of trouble.

Ellie was watching her with a bemused expression.

“Stop matchmaking, El. You found the only perfect guy out there, and I’m willing to settle for watching from the sidelines.”

“Jack
is
perfect,” she agreed. “And no, you aren’t.”

Trust a best friend to point out when you’re lying. “Stop being a pain in the butt and tell me about this honeymoon of yours. Where are you going to go?”

Ellie took the hint and quit lobbying for Rocky in favor of talking about her trip. It kept them occupied until they got to Ellie’s house. Janet pulled into the driveway.

Jack stood beside his car, talking animatedly with a tall, broad man. Janet would know that body anywhere.

“Crap.”

Ellie laughed.

Rocky
.

*  *  *

Not saying hello would be rude. Janet was almost willing to tarnish her reputation for it, but Ellie took her sweet time getting out of the car, long enough for Rocky to stroll over to the driver’s side. Not lowering the window would be beyond rude and probably make Ellie pretty mad. Crap again.

Janet hit the power switch and ordered herself to relax. Rocky waited for the glass to lower all the way, then folded his arms on the open window and leaned down. His dark eyes were level with hers, close enough for her to appreciate the thick lashes any woman would envy.

“Hey, Janet.” His mouth curved into a lopsided smile and something tripped in her chest.

“Hi.”

“Still avoiding me?”

Heat threatened to creep up her neck to her face. “Still deluding yourself that everything I do revolves around you?”

“Interesting fantasy.” His gaze wandered over her for several long seconds while she tried not to squirm. “Nice haircut. It looks good on you.”

“Thanks,” she mumbled, unable to stop the automatic response good manners demanded. Damn her proper upbringing. “I thought you liked long hair.” It was the only defiant thought that came to mind.

His smile grew. “Is that why you cut it?”

“No!” This time she felt the heat reach her cheeks, furious at her own reaction. The idea that cutting her hair had anything to do with him was absurd, but he always seemed to keep her off-balance. She needed to take control of their conversation somehow. “I just learned I’m filling in for Ellie at some demonstration you’re
doing tomorrow night. Can you tell me the time and place?”

“I’ll pick you up at seven.”

“I can meet you there,” she started to protest. But when Rocky moved his hand and she felt his fingers brush her cheek, her words faltered.

“A mosquito,” he explained when she narrowed her eyes. “If we use one car, we save gas. It’s ecologically responsible.”

He knew her well enough to use the one reason she wouldn’t argue with. “Fine.” She looked pointedly at his shirt. “Are you dressing like that?”

He feigned surprise. Glancing at the shirt, one of several that comprised what Ellie called his “surfer dude” look, he asked, “Is there something wrong with pineapples and palm fronds?”

She considered the loud yellow-and-green pattern. “I’m gonna go with
yes
.”

He looked amused. “Don’t worry, tomorrow night I will wear what proper Bloomfield Hills ladies expect me to wear.”

She took that to mean something conservative and expensive. She had a wardrobe full of that. “Okay, I’ll be ready.”

“I can come early, if you’d like. We can practice.”

She recognized the unspoken meaning, but was annoyed enough that she didn’t flush at the thought. “No, thanks. I don’t need practice.”

He winked. “Good to know. See you tomorrow.”

Arrogant jerk. He stepped back as she jammed the car into reverse. She barely remembered to wave at Ellie and Jack before speeding off.

*  *  *

Rocky strolled back up the driveway. Jack was watching his wife’s rear end appreciatively as she walked to the house before turning his attention back to the matter at hand. Digging into his pocket, he handed a spare set of house keys to Rocky.

“Ellie said you only have to water the plants once.”

Uh-huh. House-sitting while his friends were away was not at the forefront of his mind right now. “And what did she say about Janet?”

“That you shouldn’t rush her.” Jack’s mouth quirked upward, obviously unperturbed at relaying his wife’s message.

“Who’s rushing? I’ve known her a year.”

Jack leaned against the car and folded his arms. “Yeah, I know. I was there when you met. You decided you wanted her after knowing her a whole two hours. You don’t call that rushing?”

“This from the man who got engaged after knowing a woman—what, two minutes?”

Jack’s composure slipped into a slight frown. “That doesn’t count. It wasn’t real for at least a week.” Seeing Rocky’s smile, he apparently thought better of using the details of his impromptu engagement to Ellie as a shining example of restraint. “Come on, Rocky, Ellie has a point. I know you’re set on putting your life back together. You’ve done a good job of it too, starting the business with Ellie and going to law school. But you don’t have to have
everything
all at once. You can’t just go out and get an instant wife and family.”

“What family? Janet doesn’t have kids. And I’m not looking to marry her. I just want to be with her. You know, in that very special way that requires taking off all your clothes,” Rocky explained with a wink.

Jack snorted. “It doesn’t all happen that fast, just
because you want it to. And you can’t expect her to accommodate the accelerated schedule you’ve made for your life.”

“Overlooking the fact that it happened exactly that fast for you, I have to repeat, I’ve known Janet for a year. Hell, I knew her six months before I even kissed her. That’s beyond patient for me. I haven’t even had a relationship that lasted that long.”

Jack’s brow lifted. “You kissed her?”

“You mean there wasn’t a household news flash? She didn’t tell Ellie?”

Jack waved it off. “I’m sure she told Ellie. Those two talk about everything. But no one told me. When did this happen?”

Rocky wasn’t bothered his friend’s intrusion on what he might normally consider private business. He’d met Jack in jail, where privacy was nearly impossible and personal issues were discussed openly. Jack Payton was closer to him than his own brother.

“It was here, at your New Year’s Eve party.”

Jack made a scoffing noise. “New Year’s kisses don’t count.”

“It wasn’t like that. And believe me, this one counted.”

At least he gave it a moment’s consideration. “Nah, I still gotta trust Ellie on this one. If you move too fast and she’s not ready, you’ll blow it.”

It was a valid point. Janet had been uncertain and scared after her disastrous marriage to Banner. But her confidence was back now. She laughed a lot and had plans for her future. He needed her to know he wanted to be part of that future.

Rocky lifted an eyebrow with a knowing look. “She’s ready. She doesn’t know it yet, but she is.”