If she was offering out of a sense of obligation because she thought she owed him, then that should cool his jets. He wasn't having sex with a woman because she thought it settled a debt. And sure enough, he was soon in control of himself again. He approached the counter where an older woman dripping in turquoise smiled hopefully and asked if she could help.
"We're looking for matching bands," he said.
The clerk's eyes brightened. "Let me offer my congratulations!"
Harry didn't know what to say. He wasn't used to lying. "Uh, thanks."
"Yes, thank you," Lainie said softly, edging up to the counter.
Immediately the clerk's jovial manner disappeared, as if she sensed this wasn't your average loving couple. "What price range were you thinking of? We have some reasonable silver bands in this case." She moved to her left and unlocked the back of the glass display counter.
Harry swore under his breath. Their lack of excitement about buying the rings could have the clerk imagining all sorts of staff, like Lainie being pregnant and him being forced to marry her. He shouldn't care what the clerk thought, and if he'd been the only one involved, he wouldn't have. But he didn't like the idea of someone casting Lainie as a woman shoved into a loveless marriage. Such a move would be a crime for a woman like Lainie.
So he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to his side. "We want something really nice," he said. "Really, really nice."
Lainie glanced up at him, obviously startled by his move. "Now, Harry, let's not go overboard. I don't want you spending a lot of—"
"I know you don't, sweetheart." Damn, that word sounded good applied to Lainie. He smiled at her. "You're always saying that, but let me treat you, okay?"
The surprise faded from her expression and a soft gleam came into her eyes. "Okay." She paused a nanosecond. "Sweetheart."
He gulped. Her saying the word was about fifty times more powerful than him saying it. And the weird thing was how she was looking at him, as if she liked calling him that. The idea that she might genuinely be attracted took some getting used to.
The clerk reverted to her original level of enthusiasm. "All righty, then! I have some beautiful Zuni pieces with inlaid turquoise, opal, and onyx. In fact, I have a few in gold, if you want to go that route."
"That's a possibility," Harry said, feeling giddy. She might really be attracted to him. How cool was that? Yet it couldn't amount to anything, but still... she wasn't repulsed by him.
"Not gold, Harry." She slid her arm around his waist and squeezed gently.
"Why not?" He was ready to buy the priciest ring in the store, just because he felt so psyched.
"Well, we decided to go with the nontraditional bands, so ending up with gold, even if it is Southwestern, seems like a cop-out. We should stick with silver, don't you think?"
When she had one arm wrapped around him and he could feel the heat of her body through the silk of Leo's imported shirt, he couldn't think at all. He gazed down at her, his brain a pile of mush. "Whatever you say, honey."
Lainie winked at the clerk. "Did you hear that? I should get that statement in writing."
"Absolutely." The clerk gave her a woman-to-woman grin. "You don't want amnesia setting in once the honeymoon's over. Now take a look at these, and tell me if any of them suit your fancy."
"You decide, Lainie.'' Harry had never worn a ring in his life. He glanced down at Lainie's tapered fingers and noticed with surprise that she wasn't wearing any, either. He'd never noticed that before, but it made sense. All her spare cash was tied up in raising Dexter, not buying jewelry.
Instead of picking out one of the inlaid turquoise pieces, Lainie pointed to a silver band engraved with a geometric design. "That's very pretty."
Harry wasn't fooled. He didn't know much about jewelry, but even he could tell that she'd picked the cheapest ring in the display. "I like this one better." He picked up an intricate design of inlaid turquoise, a pearl-colored stone that was probably opal, and a black stone that must be the onyx the clerk had talked about. 'Try this."
Lainie shook her head. "I like this one." She put the engraved silver band on her left-hand ring finger. "See? It even fits."
"It's too big. See how it wiggles when you move your hand?" And it looked way too much like a cereal-box prize to suit Harry. "Come on," he said. "Humor me and try this one."
She got a stubborn look in her eye. "Now, Harry."
He stared right back at her. "Now, Lainie."
"It's a very lovely piece," said the clerk.
Lainie glanced down at the ring in Harry's hand, then back up at him. "You know how I feel about this. And you said I could decide."
"You can. Just try this one on. For me."
She blew out a breath.
Newfound confidence made him bold. He took off the engraved silver ring she was trying to get him to buy and replaced it with the more expensive one. The gesture of sliding it on her finger sucker-punched him in the gut. With this ring, I thee wed. He hadn't meant to imitate that part of the wedding ceremony, but in essence, he had.
She caught her breath, and one glance at her pink cheeks told him that she'd thought exactly the same thing. The trouble was, he was getting all warm and fuzzy about this moment, when he needed to remember that in his case, good chemistry seemed to lead to disastrous relationships. Of course, to mess with his head even more, the ring fit as if made for her.
"We'll take it," he said, deciding they needed to buy the rings and get the hell out of there before he started imagining a walk down the aisle with this woman.
"I hope I have a matching band for you," the clerk said. "There isn't one here, but maybe in the back. Give me a moment to look."
The minute she was gone, Lainie started to pull the ring off. Harry grasped both of her hands to stop her.
"It's too expensive," she said.
"It's not, Lainie." He let go of her hands before he brought them up to his mouth and started kissing her fingers. "And we need to buy the rings and get going."
"That's twice you've called me by my real name, and I think I've slipped up with your name, too. Aren't we supposed to be Fred and Rona?"
"Yeah, but it shouldn't matter until we get to the time-share place."
Lainie groaned. "I'll never remember to call you Fred. Not in a million years. You don't look anything like a Fred."
"Is that good or bad?"
"It's not good or bad. You're just not a Fred. Freds are crotchety middle-aged guys with a little pot belly and a bald spot."
"That pretty much describes Fred, the dog, except for the bald spot." He was afraid to ask for her image of a guy named Harry.
"Anyway, I can't accept a ring this expensive. It makes me feel like a gold-digger."
He smiled at her. "Silver-digger."
"Whatever. The engraved silver is more than I anticipated, and the inlaid rings are out of sight. I'm not here to take advantage of your generosity, and I—"
"But it looks good on you." He held up her hand so they could both admire the ring. "Think of it as a souvenir of your first trip to Sedona."
"Souvenirs are supposed to be cheap trinkets." But her eyes said she was weakening. "Besides, if she can't find a matching one, this whole argument is wasted. I'm sure she can match the engraved silver ring, though. There are a bunch of those in the case."
"I found one!" The clerk hurried out of the back room. "Definitely a man's size, so now we have to pray it fits. You have pretty big hands."
Harry had a totally illogical feeling that the ring would fit. He wasn't prone to flashes of intuition and didn't much believe in them, but when he held out his left hand and the ring slid right on, he wasn't surprised.
"Perfect!" The clerk beamed at them. "I'll get two ring boxes so you can keep them safe until the big day. When is the wedding?"
Harry blurted out "tomorrow" at the same time Lainie said "next week." The clerk blinked.
"I'm, uh, trying to talk her into makin
g it sooner," Harry said.
The clerk opened her mouth to say something.
"Oh, you know what, Harry?" Lainie glanced at her watch. "We have to get a move on if we're going to make that meeting."
"You are so right." He fished his credit card out and handed it to the clerk. "We're running late."
"I understand." The clerk didn't look as if she understood anything, but she processed the credit card quickly and tucked the rings into small velvet-covered boxes. "I wish you both the best," she said as she plopped the boxes and the completed sales slip in a bag and handed it to Harry.
"Thanks." He fished in his pocket for the car keys as he followed Lainie out the door of the shop.
"We need to get our story straight," she said as he helped her into the car.
"Doesn't matter anymore. From now on, we're Mr. and Mrs. Fred Ambrewster." He closed the door and walked around to his side of the car. This whole marriage charade was weirding him out. Damned if he didn't feel as if he were whisking Lainie off to a honeymoon hotel.
On the drive toward the time-share, Lainie didn't say anything except to point out the signs for Crimson Canyons so he wouldn't take a wrong turn. She sat with the bag in her lap and stared out the window, as if lost in thought.
"Are you okay?" he asked finally. "Uh-huh." More silence.
"You're awfully quiet." And he wasn't used to that with her. She was such a bundle of energy that her silence worried him.
"Sorry." She straightened and smiled at him. "I didn't mean to be quiet."
"It's fine if you want to be. You don't have to apologize. I just wondered if something was wrong."
"No." She opened the bag and took out the ring boxes. "I was just thinking how my life is totally different from the way I expected it to turn out when I was a little girl." She opened both boxes and took out the smaller ring. "I should probably put this on now."
"How did you expect things to turn out when you were a little girl?" He probably shouldn't be asking, but then, he probably shouldn't be doing any of this.
"Oh, you know. I thought I'd meet a nice guy, get married, and have kids, in that order." She slid the ring on her finger.
Seeing her with that ring on made him wish for something that wasn't remotely logical. "So you didn't plan to be a dancer, originally?" He sounded way too hopeful, as if he wanted her to say dancing was a passing phase, something to pay the bills.
"I always wanted to be a dancer."
His hopes evaporated. That's what his mother had said, too.
"When you're a little kid, you think you can have it all," she continued. "I was going to be a famous dancer with a husband who managed my career. And we'd both take plenty of time off to play with our babies. You know, the Hollywood version of fame and fortune."
He envied her, having dreams that big. He was too damned smart to allow himself those castles in the air. He'd studied statistics and kept himself grounded in reality. And right now that seemed incredibly boring compared with her fantasies.
"There it is." She pointed toward a billboard next to the road. "Crimson Canyons Resort. They don't even call it a time-share."
"They didn't call it that in the brochure, either. They say we're invited to purchase 'vacation ownership.' I'm sure that's because the word 'time-share' got some negative press years ago." Harry turned down the winding road, avoiding potholes that would play hell with the suspension on his Lexus. "Somebody needs to get out here with a few buckets of asphalt, though."
"Maybe the weather's hard on the roads here."
Harry thought the weather in Sedona wasn't a whole lot different from the weather in Vegas, which meant Crimson Canyons had no excuse for the lousy road, but he kept his mouth shut. He didn't want to rain on Lainie's expectations for the place. The road ended at a nearly deserted parking lot that wasn't in any better condition. At the edge of the parking lot stood a rambling stuccoed building in need of a fresh coat of white paint.
"I guess they're going for the rustic look," Lainie said.
"If so, they've taken it too far." Just beyond the building stretched a golf-course fairway, but what should have been an expanse of emerald green was mostly dusty brown, with dots of green here and there. Harry wasn't much of a golfer, but even he knew this course was sub-optimal.
"The setting's gorgeous." Lainie peered at the red rocks rising on all sides of the resort property. "It might be nice to have a time-share here. I'll bet the units look better than this clubhouse."
"Without good amenities, it wouldn't have a whole lot of resale value." He sounded like such an accountant. Well, he was an accountant, and he shouldn't try to act otherwise.
"Oh, I wouldn't ever sell it. I'd come for my week every year. I'd learn how to play golf and tennis. I'll bet they're having trouble with a fungus on the golf course, and that's why it looks like that. They'll fix that problem. You have to look past some things, and consider the overall value."
"Maybe." Harry pulled into a parking spot and turned off the motor. From here he could see a group of two-story buildings with a Spanish-villa feel tucked alongside the browned-out fairway. Red-tiled roofs blended with the rock formations rising to the west and south of the property. From here, the units looked halfway decent. Maybe Lainie would turn out to be right, and the actual accommodations would be fine.
"It's so peaceful here," Lainie said as she climbed out of the car. "So relaxing."
Harry thought it might be quiet because not a single other soul was crazy enough to visit this rundown place. Even so, listening to the eagerness in Lainie's voice, he wanted to pull out his checkbook on the spot. But he wasn't here to buy a time-share for Lainie. He was here to throw her ex off the track and give her time to figure out what to do. Grabbing the other small velvet box, he took out the ring and put it on.
As he started to leave the car, his cell rang. He pulled it from its holder on the dash and punched the talk button. "This is Harry."
"Harry, it's Leo. I have news about Joey."
Instantly Harry was out of the car and headed for Lainie, as if Joey might be hiding behind one of the low-growing junipers lining the parking area. "What about him?"
"He wants the kid in order to prove he can give his old man an heir. If he produces Dexter, his old man will make him next in line to inherit the family business, which is a considerable amount of moola. Not only that, but he's racked up a huge gambling debt, more than he can pay. I'm sure he wants daddy's protection from his creditors, and he won't get it unless he shows up with the old man's grandkid in tow."
"What about Lainie?"
At the sound of her name, Lainie turned. Her smile disappeared when she saw Harry's expression.
"I think mostly she's in his way," Leo said.
Despite the heat rising from the asphalt, Harry felt cold. "What does that mean, exactly?" He could guess, but he didn't like guessing about something this important.
"I'm not sure yet, kid. We're watching Joey and trying to find out if he has other people working for him. There's billions at stake with the inheritance, and the guys he owes money to aren't the kind you want to mess with. I'm worried the pressure might make Joey do things he might not consider under different circumstances. Are you in the time-share yet?"
"Not yet."
"Get going, then. You need some protective coloring. Once they assign you a place to stay, keep low."
"Right. Listen, Leo, I—"
"Gotta go. Talk to you soon." The line went dead.
"That was Leo," Harry said, answering Lainie's unspoken question. "Let's go in. I'll tell you what he said on the way."
She grew pale. "Dexter. You have to tell me if Dexter's—"
"Dexter's fine." Harry had to assume that much, or Leo would have said something about the little boy.
Color flooded back into her face. "Thank God. Nothing else really matters."
Harry didn't contradict her as he opened a creaky wooden door and ushered her through it, but he knew plenty
of other things mattered. If she was an obstacle to Joey's inheriting a fortune, no telling what he had in mind for her. Harry was no bodyguard, and Leo damn well knew that. One of Leo's men should be posing as Fred Ambrewster, not Harry, the accountant. But that meant one of Leo's men would spend the night with Lainie, and Harry didn't like that idea, either.
Well, he might not be brawny, but he was smart. He'd stick like glue to Lainie, and anyone who wanted to hurt her would have to go through him to do it. He hoped that would be enough protection, at least for the next few hours.
Leo replaced the phone in the holder on the dash of his silver Jag as he pulled off the interstate and started toward Sedona. Cell phones sure helped guys in his line of work. He could call from anywhere and not give away his position. Harry had assumed he was still in Vegas, which was as Rona had wanted it.
And he would try to play it the way she'd asked, at least in the beginning. He understood why she wanted him to stay in the background and give Harry a chance to fall for the lovely Lainie. Shoot, Lainie even came prepackaged with a little kid, and Dexter was a charmer. Poor Rona was such a frustrated grandma. He wouldn't mind playing the grandpa role, come to think of it.
So he couldn't let Harry know he was here. An on-site bodyguard could put a real damper on their romance. But if Leo sensed that anyone was lurking around town hoping for a chance to nab Lainie, then Leo would move in, even if it meant spoiling the moment for those two. Fortunately, he had thirty years of experience and instincts that he trusted completely.
And he'd left Eric and Brett, two of his best, guarding Rona's town house. They were also unobtrusive, but no one would get to either Rona or the kid. Joey Benjamin might have a little money behind him, but after all his years of working in Vegas, Leo wasn't intimidated by a little money.
Chapter Nine
A musty smell and the sound of flutes, drums, and chanting greeted Lainie as she walked into the Crimson Canyons lobby. She was pretty sure this used to be the living room of what had apparently been converted from a house to a sales office. Posters featuring Sedona's red rocks were tacked on the wall with pushpins, and over the empty fireplace hung an Indian rug that had been visited regularly by moths.
The Nerd Who Loved Me Page 10