by Rachel Hogan
"What do you mean?"
Lucas hesitated. "Let me start at the beginning. As you have probably guessed, I'm not a British businessman."
"Um, yes, I've gathered that," Tessa smiled.
Lucas went on. "I work for the FBI. Lucas Griswold is my real name. For months I have been tracking Michael Levy, head of a notorious crime web. Recently it was discovered that a violin used to smuggle a very expensive diamond on his network went missing. The smuggler didn't know that the violin contained the diamond and he sold the instrument for some quick cash."
"Yes," Tessa frowned, "Michael told me as much. Except he reversed the roles that you and he play in real life."
"Yeah, Michael may have been the ringleader, but that doesn't mean he didn't have a very active interest in all levels of the organization. He knew me as well as I knew him; the only problem was I never had enough evidence to arrest him. He knew that. I suspect he also realized that the missing violin would be my key to nab him if I was able."
"I don't quite follow," Tessa said.
Lucas hesitated. "This is where my story gets a little difficult to say, but I want you to please hear me out. The violin had a tracking chip that few people knew about. I was one of those people. I knew that it would be headed for your shop and would get here either this week or next. My one goal was to reach the violin before Michael did."
"So what are you saying?" Tessa felt her heart sink. "That you were using me to get to the violin? Was this whole week simply part of your ruse?"
Lucas stared out the window, unable to look Tessa in the eye. "It started that way, yes. I had planned on just spending a few days with you in order to get the violin, but I wasn't prepared for what happened."
"Meaning?"
"I fell in love with you Tessa. I feel terrible about what I did to you and the circumstances, but I love you so much and I wouldn't change that fact for the world."
Tessa tried hard to wrap her brain around what he was telling her. "But if you love me, why didn't you just tell me who you really were? I still don't know anything about you. How will I be able to trust what you say?"
"I know, I wish I could have told you the truth, but I couldn't. Doing so would have meant risking the entire operation. What if you decided you didn't want to help me? It was too much of a gamble. I never dreamed that Michael was onto my game and that he would get to you. I was literally shocked to find you in the shop this evening, after you told me you were at home."
Tessa hung her head in shame, "Yes, I'm so sorry. I screwed up big time."
"Don't be. How were you supposed to know? Like I said, I really couldn't tell you the truth as much as I wanted to. Especially after I helped you move last Saturday."
"What do you mean?"
"That wasn't really part of the protocol. My job was simply to take you to dinner a few times and get you to like me enough that you would promise to let me know when you received the violin. The fancy suits, expensive dinners, personal driver, and my charming British accent were all part of the act," he said with a wink. "Once I realized I loved you, it was hard for me to separate my real feelings from my professional feelings. I was thrilled to help you out with moving, but it was hard for me to be out of my acting element. I really slipped up when I spoke without my British accent." He cleared his throat, "Also, kissing you was definitely not part of the original game plan. I could have gotten in big trouble if my supervisor found out. That's why I waited for so long to make a move, but that day at your apartment I just got caught up in the moment and couldn't help myself. You know, before I took this assignment I had no idea how charming and beautiful you would be. It certainly complicated things for me," he said smiling.
Tessa hesitated, not quite sure what to say.
"I have something to ask you now," Lucas went on.
"Yes? What is it?"
"In the room Michael said something about you dating me for a bet. What did he mean by that?"
"Oh," Tessa managed an uncomfortable chuckle. "Well, I've never been very good at dating. I guess I've always had very high standards when it comes to men. I seldom go on more than one date with a guy, so Becky made a bet that I wouldn't be able to last a month with the next guy we met at the restaurant that night." She looked down ashamed. "You were that guy."
"So this whole time you've only been with me because of a bet?" Lucas looked hurt.
"No! I actually liked you. It wasn't hard to date you and I would have stayed with you regardless of whether or not I had made the silly bet. The only thing that was holding me back was the fact that you never told me much about yourself. Now as it turns out, what little bit I did no about you was fake. I fell for the guy who took me on all those fancy dates, but how am I supposed to know how much of that was you and how much was acting? As it is, I still can't get over you speaking without the British accent. I don't even feel like I'm talking to the same person."
Lucas looked at her longingly. "Well, how did you feel about the guy who helped you move last Saturday?"
Tessa thought back to the previous Saturday and she realized that it only held wonderful memories. "I liked you then. A lot."
"Right? We got along great, and the conversation was wonderful. Other things were wonderful too," he winked at her again.
"Listen, I want you to know that despite everything else, that guy last Saturday was the real me. Not the FBI guy, not the British actor, just the real me. Can you give that guy a chance?"
"I'd like to," Tessa said slowly. "But how do we do that?"
"Well, I think we both need to start over. We've both come clean and aired our dirty laundry, but that means we kind of have to start back at the beginning." He looked at her. "I want to start back at the beginning. Clean slate. What do you think?"
"But what about your job and the assignment? Won't being with me get you in trouble?"
"No, not anymore. The assignment is done and was successful. Michael is going to be behind bars for a very long time. His drug operation will crumble without him at the helm, I am sure of that. As a matter of fact," he went on chuckling, "I've been chasing him for so long that I don't know what I'll be doing next. Anything else will seem strange. You should know though, before you commit to anything, that even if we are dating there may be times when I have to travel for work or I can't tell you exactly what I am working on. I'll always be straightforward though and won't deceive you like I did now."
"I think I can handle that," Tessa said with a smile, "As long as I am no longer part of the investigation."
"Fair enough," he said raising his glass. "I propose a toast. To us - and new beginnings."
"To new beginnings," Tessa repeated, clinking her glass against his.
"You know," she said after a moment. "I know you would like to start over, and I agree that that is a good thing, but I think there is one portion of our relationship that we can bypass."
"Oh," he said raising an eyebrow. "What is that?"
"Well," she said coyly, "We've already had our first kiss. Since that's out of the way, I don't see why we have to delay kissing any further."
She leaned across the table and her lips met his.
He leaned back and smiled at her, "You're not only beautiful, you're smart too. I think we're going to be just fine." He grabbed his jacket and stood up from the table. "You ready?"
"Where are we going?"
He smiled and took her hand, "We have a master bedroom to move you into. If I am correct, you just won yourself a bet."
*************
Table of Contents
Copyright
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11