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Chapter 12

'I DON'T BELIEVE IT,' SIERRA SAID. 'YOU ACTUALLY SUBSCRIBE to the Curtain?'

They were in the breakfast room. She had made an old family favorite, Earth toast. There was also orange juice and coffee. Elvis was perched on the windowsill, nibbling on the small slice of toast that she had given him. A cup of coffee sat beside him.

'Well, sure,' Fontana said. He slapped the day's edition down onto the breakfast table. 'Figured it was in my own best interest to know how a certain investigative journalist was going to come at the Guild next. I was a Hunter Scout. Be prepared is my motto.'

'I thought Never leave a man behind for ghost bait was your motto.'

'That one came later.' He looked at the plates in her hands with interest. 'Is that real Earth toast?'

'My mom's recipe.' She set one of the plates in front of him. 'Hope you like it.'

'Oh, yeah.' He surveyed the egg-battered toast as though it were one of the priceless pieces of dreamstone in his collection. 'Haven't had it in years.' He reached for the butter.

His enthusiasm warmed her for some reason. She sat down across from him and picked up her glass of orange juice.

'Let me see the headline,' she said.

'Brace yourself.'

'How bad is it?'

He swiveled the paper around so that she could read it. 'Got to give Runtley high marks for creativity.'

Sierra looked at the screaming headline.

GUILD BOSS WEDS MYSTERY BRIDE

IN SECRET HUNTER CEREMONY

Beneath that was a second banner line in a slightly smaller font.

COUPLE GOES THROUGH

SECRET HUNTER WEDDING-NIGHT RITUAL

IN ALIEN TEMPLE OF LOVE

Two photos accompanied the short piece. The larger shot was a tight close-up of Fontana and herself coming out of the registrar's office. There was no mistaking the big Guild seal ring on her finger. She appeared somewhat the worse for wear, but it was the cool satisfaction on Fontana's austere face that gave her a chill.

'I think we lucked out,' she said, going for a positive spin. 'There's nothing in the piece about vampires.'

'Don't miss the description of the secret wedding-night ritual. It's on the next page. Your friend Kay has a vivid imagination.'

Sierra turned the page reluctantly.

'… The mysterious rites associated with the consummation of a high-ranking Guild marriage are conducted in an alien temple of love that is concealed deep within the catacombs. The alien temple is said to resonate with a form of strange psi that greatly enhances the satisfaction of both bride and groom…'

Sierra cleared her throat. 'I'm afraid Kay went a little over the top.'

'You think so?' Fontana's mouth kicked up in a wicked grin. 'Don't know about you, but speaking personally, I'm sorry we missed that secret alien temple of love. Sounds interesting.'

Aware that she was blushing, Sierra hastily closed the paper.

'Normally the mainstream media doesn't pay a lot of attention to what we print at the Curtain' she said. 'But it won't be able to ignore a Guild boss wedding. That kind of thing is always news. And the Curtain got the scoop. Runtley is probably rubbing his hands together with glee as we speak.'

Fontana checked his watch. 'The other newsrooms will have hit the phones as soon as the day's edition of the Curtain hit the street. Guild headquarters will have confirmed the story by now. It's probably gone out on the major wire services. I'll bet we're on the morning news in the other city-states.'

'Good grief.' Sierra gripped her fork very tightly. 'Do you really think the news of our marriage will get beyond Crystal City?'

Fontana raised his brows. 'Don't tell me you've been laboring under the illusion that our wedding would be nothing more than a local story.'

She swallowed. 'It's just an MC, not exactly earth-shaking news.'

'Trust me, when a high-ranking Guild man from any of the big cities gets married, its news. You're a journalist. You should know that.'

'I think I've been in denial.'

'I can see that.'

As if on cue, Sierra's personal phone rang. She jumped a couple of inches. Annoyed with herself, she reached into her pocket, took out the small device, and glanced at the incoming number. She groaned and answered.

'Hi, Mom.'

'What in the world is going on, Sierra?' Marilyn McIntyre demanded.

Her voice was crisp, authoritative, and deeply concerned. Sierra was also pretty sure she detected an underlying edge of panic.

'I can explain, Mom.'

'Your father just called. He said that his executive assistant heard a news report about a woman with your name marrying the CEO of the Crystal City Ghost Hunter's Guild. I assume its some sort of mix-up.'

'Not exactly.'

'Please don't tell me you let the editor of that dreadful tabloid you work for talk you into printing a ridiculous story like this just for the sake of boosting circulation.'

'It wasn't Mr. Runtley's idea,' Sierra said.

'Just tell me it isn't true.'

Sierra realized that something had changed in Fontana's expression. It was a subtle shift, nothing more than a faint tightening at the corners of his mouth. The warm, intimate heat that had been in his eyes a moment ago had disappeared.

'Mom, it's only a Marriage of Convenience,' she said, trying to project the calm, cool air of an adult woman who is entirely capable of choosing her own lovers.

'MCs are so tacky.' Marilyn's voice rose. 'Sierra, how could you? How in the world did you ever come to meet a Guild boss in the first place, let alone get intimately involved with him? You've only been in Crystal for six months.'

'It's complicated.'

'Don't you realize how this will look?' Marilyn said tightly. 'We haven't had a Marriage of Convenience in this family since your grandmother Larken entered into one with your grandfather. And that MC only lasted a few weeks before they came to their senses and converted it into a Covenant Marriage.'

Sierra seized on that. 'Speaking of which, did Grandmother ever tell you why she and Grandpa chose an MC first?'

'She said something once about wanting to be sure because she didn't trust her intuition when it came to love. But that's ridiculous. Your grandmother's talent is legendary in this family. I've never known her to be less than absolutely positive about anything.'

Her grandmother had been right to be wary, Sierra thought. When it came to love, things got very murky, even for those with keen intuition.

'Mom, don't worry about me. I'm fine. It's just a simple Marriage of Convenience. People go in and out of them all the time.'