Page 65 of Guilty as Sin
“Sale,” Hailey said. “Not abigsale. Just add a few more slow sellers, and put a big sign on the sale rack.Sinful Secrets Sale.I’ll add that to the window sign, too. And buy balloons. Pink and red and white, so it’s still girly, not trashy, no matterwhatMaggie thinks. OK. I’m gone.”
She hurried out, and Paige thought,Watch my smoke, Lily.Except, of course, that it wasn’t her smoke. It was mostly Hailey’s. And Lily’s, for hiring the right person. Still.
At six-thirty, Paige was walking through the front door of the gym with Jace once more. It felt like running a gauntlet, but then, everything in this town did.
The redhead at the front desk looked friendlier tonight. She smiled when she swiped Paige’s card, at least, and said, “I heard something happened to your store last night. That’s too bad.”
Kelli-the-Bitchy-Trainer, who’d been nearby as always, like she had Jace-Radar, said, “Really? How?”
Jace said, “Somebody chucked a brick through her display window.” Jennifer, the gym owner, was a few yards away as well, talking to a man in business clothes who was probably checking out a membership, and Jace raised his voice a fraction. “That’s a coward’s move, going behind somebody’s back like that.” He put a hand on Paige’s lower back. “But I know why they did. Always a mistake to go after a woman who has friends to look after her.”
All of that was clearly going over great, from the expressions on everybody’s faces. All Paige needed was the guy from the gas station to show up and challenge Jace to somemano a mano.Dumbbells at dawn. He’d be at the meeting tomorrow, she was sure. That was shaping up to be a real fun time.
Even Brett Hunter was here, looking like Mr. Hollywood Goes to the Gym. He was more subtle, but then, Paige didn’t think he had a mode that wasn’t. He took his time, approaching her while she was doing her strength training, and looked even more amused than usual when Jace headed over there fast. Once the parties had assembled, he told her, “I heard you had some trouble last night. I’m sorry.”
Paige had already straightened. Now, she gave him her calmest and most level gaze and said, “Were you? That’s kind of you. I wonder if you also know that they invaded my property and killed my animals. The police are investigating, and I’m confident they’re making progress.”
That was a lie. The police sergeant, the same one Jace had talked to, Worthington, hadn’t been what you’d call ‘jumping out of his seat at the prospect of a major criminal investigation’ over her broken window and three dead chickens. But Hunter didn’t need to know that. She told him, “I think you should save your concern for whoever did this, because they’re going to be in a world of hurt if they try it again. The law’s pretty loose in Montana when it comes to self-defense and protecting your property.”
Sometimes it was nice not to have to be a cop. She’d let Hunter ponder the prospect of booby traps and lying in wait. What was that Jace had said? It was all about fear. Well, most of it. The other part was about surprise. If they came after her thinking she was Lily, they were going to get one hell of a surprise. There was also Jace, standing with his arms folded and looking, despite a new and more civilized haircut that her heart whispered he might have gotten for her, like a dangerous man.
Hunter put up a hand, smiled ruefully, and said, “Peace. I have an aversion to going to prison. Also to dying. That’s why I tend to offer money and leave it there. My offer’s good until midnight Saturday. Feel free to run it by your attorney or ask for a meeting to discuss it further. I’ll be here all week. Unarmed.”
Hewinkedat them. Then he moved off, and Paige told Jace, “I thought you were going to jump him.”
“So did I. Smug bastard.”
“But not a chicken killer. He’s above all that.”
“Probably. Pity.”
She laughed in spite of herself. “Come on. Admit it. You wish he’d give you the excuse.”
“I wish somebody would, yeah.” He sighed. “Unfortunately, I do have some self-restraint. Can’t hit a man for smiling at you wrong.”
After all that excitement, she ended up on the bike beside Jace again after her workout. He said, “You’re quiet tonight. Is it the general hatred? Or is your leg hurting? Hard day, with that sale on no sleep.”
“No. I’m used to not sleeping, my leg isn’t bad, and the sale was awesome. Even on a Tuesday.” Great. Neutral topic. She should have done her honesty boutbeforethe workout, because it was too hard, waiting for it. “The glass is getting replaced tomorrow, but I’m keeping the boards up through the weekend, keeping the mystery going. You should have seen the place by five o’clock. We sold underwear, mostly, little things like that, but it got a lot of ladies into the store who hadn’t been there before, who’d been scared off. All Hailey’s idea.”
I don’t want to break up with you,she thought. And it wasn’t even that.I don’t want you to hate me. I don’t want to see the look on your face when I hurt you.
“Is it scary?” he asked, and then, when she probably looked confused, because she’d forgotten what they’d been talking about, added, “the store, I mean? To women?”
“Well, yeah. It’s scary to…” She broke off.
“What?”
“You’re interested.”
“Human behavior interests me.Youinterest me.”
What Jace had wasfocus. And he was looking at her like he… liked her. As much as she liked him. Her stomach twisted again, and she tried not to let his words matter. “If you admit you care,” she said, “for a woman, I mean, if you try like that, you risk looking…” She took a breath and said it. “Foolish. And imagining looking that way to a man you want more than anything… it’s tough. We compare ourselves, you see.”
He pedaled silently for a moment, and she could almost see the wheels in his head turning as well. Finally, he said, “Do you know the sexiest thing a woman can say to a man?”
“No. But I’d sure like to.”
“‘I want you so much.’ There you are. Secret revealed. If she’s too shy to say it, but she shows it in the way she’s taken care to dress for him? That works, too.”
