No treasure was ever found, though the disputed claim did turn out to be filled with silver ore, which is how the McCords acquired their family fortune. But rumors about the Santa Magdalena Diamond refused to die, especially after the recent discovery of a sunken ship in the Gulf of Mexico—the last known location of the infamous gem. The diamond wasn’t on board, and since then, adventurers, gem collectors and jewel thieves from around the world had been searching for the legendary stone.
Penny wasn’t sure she even believed that the Santa Magdalena Diamond existed; though, if it did, it was supposedly the world’s largest, most perfect canary diamond, reputed to rival the Hope Diamond in beauty and size. But she was inclined to believe in the curse—the allegation that the gem had caused misfortune to everyone who had ever possessed it, including an Indian pasha, an Italian Renaissance prince, a seventeenth-century duke and an eighteenth-century Mexican governor—because, although she’d never even set eyes on the jewel, it seemed that her scant knowledge of its rumored existence had led directly to her heartache.
It could be argued that it was her own inexperience and naïveté that had caused her to fall for Jason Foley’s seduction routine, and she knew there was some truth to that; but the fact remained that the COO of Foley Industries would never have looked twice in her direction if he wasn’t interested in what she knew—or what he thought she knew—about the McCords’ search for the diamond.
She determinedly pushed all thoughts of the gem and the Foley-McCord feud from her mind. She wasn’t sure how much was fact and how much was fiction, and she didn’t really care. She wasn’t thinking of old grudges or ancient grievances now. No, her thoughts were on more recent events, more immediate hurts and personal heartaches. And being in the same room with Jason, so close and somehow so far away, scraped the scab off of a wound that had barely begun to heal.
It was the first time she’d seen him, face-to-face, since she’d learned that their entire relationship was a sham.
And the first time since she’d learned that she was going to have his baby.
A baby she had yet to tell him about, despite her sister’s urging.
Paige kept telling Penny that Jason had a right to know that he was going to be a father, and Penny knew it was true. She also knew that Paige didn’t just want her to share the news with her baby’s father, she wanted to ensure that Jason was held responsible for his actions, which meant paying his share.
But Penny wasn’t ready to deal with such practical matters. She was hurting too much to put the heartache aside and calmly discuss things like visitation and child support. Besides, she was doing well enough financially that she was confident she could support herself and her child—though the recent difficulties at McCord Jewelers did worry her enough that she tried not to think about them. Her job was as secure as anyone else’s at the company, and not just because of her last name but because of the reputation she’d established for herself in the jewelry-design business.
Still, there was no way she was going to ask Jason Foley for anything. Not ever again.
She jolted when she felt an elbow in her ribs and frowned at her brother.
“Gabby asked you to pass the salad,” Tate prompted.
“Oh. Sorry.” She looked at the dishes on the table before realizing that she held the bowl of salad in her hand, then offered it to her cousin across the table. Glancing down at her plate, she saw that she hadn’t taken any for herself. She had, however, put a lot of parmesan cheese on her pasta—and she didn’t even like parmesan. She picked up her fork and pushed the noodles around on her plate.
Gabriella nudged Penny’s foot under the table to get her attention. “Are you okay?” she whispered quietly.
Penny nodded, though she couldn’t meet her cousin’s gaze.
“Is it Jason?”
To her credit, Gabby didn’t actually say the words aloud so much as she mouthed them across the table, but Penny cast a quick glance toward the man in question, who was seated immediately beside her cousin, and was relieved to find that he was in conversation with his young niece, seated on his other side. Still, the question obliterated any remaining hope that she and Jason had managed to keep their short-lived relationship a secret from anyone.
She shook her head.
But Gabriella obviously didn’t believe her, because she leaned a little closer and said, “If you ever want to talk about—”
Penny shook her head again, more decisively this time. The absolute last thing she wanted was to talk about how Jason Foley had used her and how she’d been fool enough to let him, fool enough to believe that a man like him could ever seriously be interested in her.
She felt the sting of tears at the back of her eyes but furiously blinked them away.
Thankfully, Gabriella didn’t have the chance to question her further, as Rafael leaned close to whisper something in his wife’s ear, and whatever that something was, it brought a luminous smile to Gabby’s face.
Penny looked away. That was the thing about national holidays and family gatherings—she was always surrounded by couples, and she was always alone.
This year seemed even worse, because the new faces around her weren’t temporary ones that would be replaced next year, as had frequently happened in the past. Because somehow, in the space of six months, everyone around her had miraculously fallen in love.
Gabby and Rafael eloped after a whirlwind courtship, and though many had wondered about a match between the heiress and her bodyguard, it was obvious that they were madly in love with one another. Both of her older brothers were now affianced—and if her brother Tate’s involvement with Tanya Kimbrough—daughter of the McCords’ longtime housekeeper—had taken everyone aback, that surprise paled in comparison to Blake’s engagement to Katie Whitcomb-Salgar, Tate’s ex-girlfriend.
More recently, Penny’s twin sister had hooked up with Travis Foley. And even her mother had partnered up—with Jason’s father, of all people. Of course, Rex Foley was also the father of Penny’s youngest brother, Charlie, which revelation had come as a shock to everyone, Charlie included. Apparently the Foley-McCord feud had come to an end twenty-two years earlier, at least so far as Eleanor and Rex were concerned.
The sound of a fork tapping against a wineglass drew Penny’s attention back to the present and to Travis Foley at the end of the table. He waited until the various conversations had halted before addressing the group.
“Paige and I have some news that we wanted to share with you, news of something that we can all be thankful for this Thanksgiving.”
Paige smiled, her eyes glowing with excitement as she faced the assembled guests. “We found the Santa Magdalena Diamond.”
“The Santa Magdalena Diamond,” Eleanor echoed, stunned. “All these years…I was never sure it was even real.”
“It’s real,” Paige assured her. “And it’s absolutely stunning.”
An assessment that was confirmed by the gasps and sighs that sounded when Travis set the spectacular forty-eight-karat diamond on the table for everyone to see.
“I knew it was real,” Blake McCord said. “And that it would be the answer to all of our problems, if only we could find it.”
“And you knew that it was probably hidden somewhere in the abandoned mines on this land.”
“If that’s where you found it—on McCord property—then the diamond is rightfully ours,” the McCord CEO asserted.
“But Travis is the rightful lessee of the property,” Jason interjected. “So the diamond is his.”
“Paige and I found it together, so the diamond is ours,” Travis said, in a tone that brooked no argument.
“And after much discussion,” Paige continued, “we’ve decided to donate it—and the chest of ancient silver coins we found along with it—to the Smithsonian.”
“But—” Blake began, only to snap his mouth shut in response to the look he got from his sister.
“Of course, we’re going to take advantage of all the publicity we ca
n get from the discovery,” Paige continued. “And although we’ve notified the Smithsonian of the find and our intention to donate the stone, we’re going to display the diamond at our flagship store in Dallas for a few months prior to making the donation official.”
“That will certainly generate traffic to the store,” Gabby said approvingly.
“And increase revenues for the business,” Rafael affirmed.
“A brilliant PR move,” Tate decided.
“Thanks,” Paige said dryly.
“I’d hoped the McCords would benefit exclusively from the treasure,” Blake unexpectedly admitted to the assembled guests. “But since it’s obvious that my sister Paige, found love during her search, an even greater treasure than the Santa Magdalena Diamond…” his gaze drifted from the gem to his fiancée “…I can’t say that I’m at all disappointed to have to share the discovery.”
“We found something else, too,” Paige interjected, smiling at Travis.
“What more could there be?” Tanya wondered aloud, causing laughter to ripple around the table.
“McCordite,” Paige said, which announcement elicited various expressions of confusion.
“What’s that?” Charlie finally asked.
“This.” She set a chunk of another type of rock down on the table beside the diamond.
It wasn’t quite as big or as brilliant as the Santa Magdalena Diamond, of course, but it was pretty spectacular in its own right. And, even more impressive, it seemed to change color depending on the angle of the light. From the softest pink to the palest blue to shimmering gold, the gem’s smooth, flawless surface seemed to reflect the hopes and dreams of anyone who gazed upon it.
“But what is it?” Charlie asked again.
“That’s what Travis and I have been trying to figure out, and after all of our research, what we know is that it is a previously undiscovered gem that seems to be unique to this part of the world. Which is why we’re going to trademark it as ‘McCordite’—and the mine is filled with it.”
“A previously undiscovered gem must be worth a fortune,” Blake noted.
“Always thinking of the bottom line,” Katie teased her fiancé.
“Someone has to,” he retorted, just a little defensively.
“And this will greatly improve our bottom line,” Paige assured them all. “After Blake introduces it at the upcoming Tucson Gem Show.”
“I’ll be happy to,” Blake promised.
“Before we move on to dessert,” Travis said, his words silencing the renewed murmurs. “I have a request of Penny.”
She set down the water glass she’d just picked up, suddenly aware that all eyes were focused in her direction, as she wondered what Jason’s brother could possibly want from her.
“I’d like you to design an engagement ring to showcase the new gem,” he told her. “Because I’ve asked Paige to marry me—and she said ‘yes’.”
Penny swallowed around the lump in her throat and forced her lips to curve into a semblance of a smile. She was happy for her sister—she really was. She just couldn’t help but wish that her own relationship hadn’t ended so unhappily. “It would be my pleasure.”
Suddenly everyone was talking again, offering congratulations and toasts to the newly engaged couple.
And even while Penny’s mind was already working through materials and designs for her sister’s engagement ring, she felt a pang inside of her chest. She was thrilled for her sister, of course, but in the midst of so many happy couples, she couldn’t help wishing that she’d found something more than heartache.
“To the future bride and groom,” Melanie, Zane’s former nanny, now girlfriend, said.
Travis and Paige both drank from their glasses, then they kissed.
Penny tore her gaze away from the intimacy—and found Jason’s gaze locked on her.
Jason had been watching Penny all night, unable to tear his eyes away, subconsciously urging her to glance in his direction. He wanted just one moment of eye contact, certain that one quick look would confirm that the connection they’d shared had fizzled, convinced that was all he needed to be able to put her out of his mind and get on with his life without her.
What he saw in her eyes was surprise and hurt and yearning.
And what he felt was heat that seared all the way to his toes.
The connection had definitely not fizzled.
But something had gone wrong, and he needed to know what it was if he had any hope of fixing it.
He let his eyes skim over her face, as if he hadn’t memorized every detail during the time they’d spent together. But there were subtle changes since he’d seen her last. Her cheekbones were a little more prominent, her skin a little too pale, and there were dark smudges under her eyes that suggested she hadn’t slept any better than he had in the weeks they’d been apart. But most notable—and most damning—were the shadows that lingered in the depths of her beautiful green eyes.
She tore her gaze away, and the all-too-brief moment was lost, leaving Jason with the surreal feeling that she’d somehow reached inside of him and wrenched his heart right out of his chest.
And in that moment, he realized that it was an entirely appropriate analogy, because she did have his heart. Or at least more of it than he’d ever given to any other woman in a very long time.
He’d had a lot of relationships in his thirty-two years. Too many relationships with too many women who never really mattered to him. In fact, since the tragic end of his relationship with Kara, his college girlfriend, he couldn’t think of any woman who had mattered…until Penny.
When she’d called and left a message on his voicemail, canceling their last scheduled date, he’d been more surprised than anything. When she stopped answering his calls and failed to respond to any of his messages, he’d grown concerned. But his worry quickly gave way to annoyance when he realized that she was still going about her usual routine and had simply cut him out of the picture.
He’d tried to convince himself that their break-up was inevitable, that he never intended for it to be long-term. In fact, he’d never really intended to get involved with her at all, not beyond some casual dating and simple flirting to get the information he wanted about her family’s search for the legendary Santa Magdalena Diamond.
Yes, it had all started because of the diamond, because his brother had overheard some talk at a party and become convinced that the McCords were in search of the fabled gem. And because Jason had been determined to discover what they knew, to learn how close they were to finding the long-lost treasure.
Then he’d started spending time with Penny, getting to know her, and he’d forgotten that he had an agenda. When he was with Penny, she somehow managed to make him forget about everything but the pleasure of being with her.
His gaze shifted to the diamond at the center of the table, the stunning gem taunting him with the knowledge that what he’d once sought so desperately now meant nothing in comparison to what he’d so briefly had—and lost.
He glanced at Penny again, but she wasn’t looking in his direction. She’d been deliberately not looking in his direction since she sat down across from him at the table, as if by refusing to acknowledge his presence she could pretend he wasn’t there.
She’d been doing that for weeks now, acting as if she didn’t know him, as if they’d never meant anything to one another. Now that the fires of the ancient Foley-McCord feud had finally been banked, he didn’t want to be the one to add fuel, but he also wasn’t going to let Penny’s campaign of avoidance continue.
He wasn’t going to be ignored any longer.
Chapter Two
Penny stayed at the table only until dessert had been served, then she picked up her dishes and pushed her chair back. She wasn’t particularly fond of kitchen duty, but at the moment, it was infinitely preferable to enduring another minute of Jason’s scrutiny.
How could he look at her like that? As if he cared. As if he still wanted her, when he’d never reall
y wanted her in the first place.
She exhaled a weary sigh as she scraped the remnants of her dinner into the garbage can and considered how rude it would be to leave the ranch now, without telling anyone.
Inexcusably rude, her conscience—sounding a great deal like her no-nonsense sister—warned.
She sighed again, because she knew it was true.
“Something weighing on your mind?” an achingly familiar voice asked from behind her.
Penny whirled around, and found herself face-to-face with Jason.
Her breath caught in her throat, her heart hammered against her ribs and her knees went as limp as the uneaten spaghetti she’d just dumped. She set her bowl down and gripped the edge of the counter for support. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to see you.”
“Well, I don’t want to see you.”
“So you’ve said to my answering machine and on my voice mail and to my secretary, but you’ve never said it to me.”
“I just did.”
“But not without that little catch in your voice that leads me to believe the words aren’t really true.”
“Go away, Jason.”
“I tried,” he admitted. “But I can’t get you out of my mind.”
“The game is over, Jason. Travis and Paige found the Santa Magdalena Diamond—there’s no reason to pretend you really care about me anymore.”
“You think I was pretending?”
“I know you were pretending. I know that from our first dance at Missy Harcourt’s wedding to the last night I spent in your bed, it was all about the diamond.”
“Everything okay in here?” Gabriella asked, carrying an armful of dishes into the kitchen.
“Fine,” Penny said, although her cheeks flamed at the realization that her cousin couldn’t have failed to overhear the words she’d spoken.
“Actually,” Jason said, “Penny and I would like a few minutes alone, if you don’t mind.”
Gabby looked at her cousin, as if for confirmation.
The Texas Tycoon’s Christmas Baby Page 2