Remembering his stern lecture yesterday on the beach, and the possible repercussions of venturing out alone, she tried not to let her resentment of the situation overrule common sense. “Crystal clear.”
“Good,” he said, satisfied with her acquiescence.
Grabbing her briefcase and slinging the long strap of her purse over her shoulder, she exited the car. Josh met her on the sidewalk, looking casually handsome in a pair of black jeans and a beige and black patterned knit shirt overlaid with a black leather bomber jacket-which concealed the gun secured in his shoulder holster. He didn’t look like a detective, but the gorgeous rebel who supposedly was her lover.
He eased into the role effortlessly. Sliding his hand into her free one, he wove their fingers intimately together. Paige’s pulse tripped all over itself at his brazen, possessive display, and she tugged her hand back, but to no avail.
“Relax, Paige,” he murmured, bestowing a dazzling, loverlike smile on her. “And act natural.”
“Taking on a lover is hardly an everyday occurrence for me,” she said in a low, heated voice while smiling to Janice, the woman who owned the hair salon next to her shop and was currently eyeballing the two of them with interest.
“If anybody questions the employees in the shops around yours I’d like them to be able to verify that you’re seeing someone.”
She understood his purpose, she truly did, but she hated broadcasting that she and Josh had actually become lovers. Especially when she was desperately trying to put their relationship back into proper perspective, which didn’t include the illusion of having an affair.
Since they were early, Josh hung out for half an hour, passing the time by strolling around the boutique filled with women’s clothing, lingerie and accessories while Paige counted out the cash drawer and readied the shop for the day.
Liz arrived first, surprising Paige by looking exactly like the kind of sophisticated salesperson she herself would have hired for the Wild Rose. The young woman was tall and slender-not at all the muscular type Paige had anticipated-and was dressed immaculately in an outfit that could have been selected from Paige’s own inventory: cream slacks, a rose-hued silk blouse with a light, linen jacket, and fashionable leather pumps. Liz’s rich, sable hair was cut into a short, chic style that emphasized her pretty features and striking blue eyes.
Paige immediately felt comfortable with the other woman, who was friendly and outgoing, despite the grimness of her occupation and the seriousness surrounding her current assignment. When Paige jokingly commented that Liz looked about as intimidating as a butterfly, Josh assured her that Liz was well trained, and one of the best female undercover officers they had in the department.
Pam entered the Wild Rose shortly after Liz, and because she’d been with Paige from the day she’d opened the boutique, and Paige trusted her implicitly, Josh briefed the younger woman on the situation. He skimmed the more dangerous, relevant details he’d shared with Paige, explaining just enough for Pam to understand the need for Paige to be guarded, yet not enough to put her own life at risk for knowing too much.
By the time Josh was ready to leave, Paige was ready to see him go. Her stomach was in knots, and the beginnings of a headache throbbed at her temples. This entire scenario had her feeling cornered, edgy and irritable. She walked with him just outside the boutique, and they stood beneath the awning above the shop.
“I’ve got a lot to take care of today on the case,” Josh said, retrieving her car keys from the front pocket of his black jeans. “I’ll be back at closing time to pick you up.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “So, you’re leaving me here without a vehicle?”
“If you need to go anywhere, Liz will take you. That’s what she’s here for.”
She opened her mouth to issue a mild objection out of pure defiance. At the same moment, he curled a hand around the back of her neck and brought her lips to his He kissed her, taking advantage of her parted lips to boldly slide his tongue inside her mouth. The kiss was quick, but hot, shockingly erotic, and extremely possessive. The emotional impact shook Paige to the core made her melt against him when she knew she should make some attempt to push him away.
He ended the kiss, and she was horrified to hear a whimper of protest purr from her throat. He looked extremely pleased with himself, cocky and arrogant and triumphant.
She straightened away, grasping for her composure “Was that necessary?” she asked primly.
His grin was unapologetic. “Oh, yeah, it was,” he said huskily, unmistakable desire brightening his eyes. “Not only have I had the urge to kiss you the past two days, but to anyone who might be watching, like that nosy lady in the hair shop next door, we look like legitimate lovers.”
She was in trouble, she realized, instinctively knowing that kiss had been more than a charade. It was neant as a reminder of the intimacy they’d shared-one he wasn’t about to let her forget.
He brushed his knuckles down her cheek in a loving caress at odds with the sudden seriousness of his gaze. ‘Now go back inside and be good for Liz.”
The order made her bristle, but she obeyed. There was no point starting an argument with Josh while they had an audience. Without so much as a goodbye, she went back into the boutique and headed to her office to take care of the most important business she had on her agenda. Setting her briefcase on her rolltop oak desk, the opened it and searched for the file she needed.
“So, you finally hooked up with Josh, huh?”
Paige glanced up sharply from her task, watching as Pam entered her office. Other than Josh, Pam was one of he closest friends she had in Miami, though she’d shared very few of her marital problems with the other woman. However, considering that the rare times Pam had met Anthony he’d been hostile, rude and hardly a loving husband, it wouldn’t have been difficult for anyone to deduce that her relationship with Anthony had been strained. But for Pam to make a comment about her and Josh was a little unsettling.
“It’s not what it seems.” Finding the folder she needed, she set her briefcase back on the mauve carpetng beside her desk. “That kiss you witnessed is just a pretense,” she said, striving for a vagueness she didn’t quite feel, not when that breath-stealing embrace still had her heart pumping faster than normal. “Nothing more.”
“Uh-huh,” Pam said, her expression doubtful. “But it didn’t seem like either one of you had to pretend too much.”
“Excuse me?” she croaked, praying that her feelings for Josh hadn’t been so obvious from just a kiss.
Her prayers went unanswered. “There’s always beer something between you and Josh, a rare kind of chemistry you don’t see between two people very often.”
“I understand.” Pam smiled and shrugged. “I just thought you’d finally realized that the guy is absolutely crazy about you.”
Paige knew. Her chest burned with the knowledge Oh, Lord, Josh had made his feelings and intentions plain with every touch, every word, every action since the night they’d made love.
But her biggest fears remained lodged in her throat and Pam finally left her office, dosing the door behind her. And because she knew that she had no future with Josh, that to remain in Miami would only cause her more heartache, she flipped open the file folder and searched for the business card she’d tucked in there a few weeks ago.
Then she reached for the phone and forced herself to dial the Realtor’s phone number.
5
JOSH BROUGHT Paige’s Volvo to an abrupt stop in the driveway of her beach house. On some level, he acknowledged that the For Sale sign posted on the front lawn shouldn’t have come as a surprise considering the revelations of the past week, but he was more than a little irritated that she hadn’t thought to share this momentous decision with him.
The woman sitting in the passenger seat next to him stared straight ahead, waiting for him to park the car in the garage, as was their nightly routine. She looked poised and distant, as if putting her house up for sale was
