Gentlemen Prefer Nerds (22 page)

Hot Italian blood.

“We should make the most of the time we have left together,” she said slowly.

His silent questioning gaze returned to hers. “Do you mean…?”

Yes, but she didn’t want to make love if he was only doing it as a favor. “The makeover isn’t going to stick. I’ll never be sexy and seductive. And that’s okay because I’m fine with being a nerd.” He stared at her, puzzled. “What I’m saying is, if we were to, you know, you don’t have to pretend to be attracted to me.”

Maddie turned away to climb higher, keeping her back to him.
Way to go, Maloney. Just lay out all your insecurities on the rocks to be withered by his scorching wit.

“I’ve wanted to make love to you since I broke into your workroom and saw you peering into your microscope with lustful sighs.”

Maddie turned, expecting to see amusement on his face and readied herself for a fight. But he wasn’t laughing at her. He was serious and intent. “Did you really?”

He nodded. Then he climbed to the boulder on which she stood. He bent his head, his lips brushed hers and electricity sizzled through her. Maddie lost her breath, lost her balance. Dizzy, she slid her hands over his sun-warmed shoulders. Her bra cup fell down and her bare breast was crushed against his chest when he pulled her close. His hands slid lower, tugging her hips in tight against his thighs, bringing flooding warmth and an ache low in her belly.

She opened her lips on a sigh and his questing tongue took that as an invitation, as in fact, it was. His hands were everywhere, stroking and caressing. Her knees lost their strength and turned to jelly but that didn’t matter because for once she didn’t want to run away.

A shout came across the water. “There they are!”

With great difficulty, Maddie eased back and glanced over her shoulder. Dozens of one-man Laser sailing dinghies were coming around the point, so numerous and small they looked like toys. “Damn. We’re being rescued.”

“Ignore them.” Fabian pulled her close again, taking her mouth in another bruising kiss.

Maddie succumbed for a moment but more shouts joined the first, followed by whooping and whistling. She pulled back to see the sailing flotilla bearing down on the beach, the teenagers aboard watching them avidly. More than one pair of binoculars was trained on their entwined bodies.

“Hold on!” A blond youth stood in the dinghy and waved. “We’re coming!”

Too bad she wasn’t. Maddie banged her head once against Fabian’s chest then she pushed him away, her body throbbing with frustrated need. Fabian, judging by the stiff way he moved as he climbed down the rocks, was in the same boat, so to speak.

They waded out to meet their rescuers. When the dinghies were fifty meters away, Fabian turned to Maddie, his gaze intense and hot. “Tonight.”

“Yes,” Maddie said, breathless. After all they’d been through, she and Fabian deserved one night together before they had to return the Rose to Melbourne.

In moments they were surrounded by bobbing fiberglass dinghies and stared at by dozens of teenagers, mostly boys. Maddie pulled up her bra strap and held it in place, covering as much of her chest as she could.

“Are you the pair that fell overboard at sea last night?” a spiky-haired boy asked.

“How did you know that?” Fabian asked sharply.

“It’s all over Hamilton Island,” a girl with a blond ponytail replied. “My dad’s the harbormaster. He got an anonymous radio call from a man on a sailboat last night around midnight. He said a man and a woman had fallen overboard and gave the coordinates.”

“At least he did that much,” Maddie murmured.

“Too little, too late,” Fabian muttered grimly.

“Everyone’s been out looking for you since first light,” said a dark-haired boy with tattoos of runes circling his bicep. “What happened?”

Whatever Fabian was going to say was drowned out by a helicopter coming low over the top of the island. The teenagers started waving frantically at the chopper. Maddie supposed she should be thankful she and Fabian hadn’t gone any further and been spotted in flagrante delicto.

“I’ll radio my dad to call off the search,” the girl with the ponytail said.

“Which of you young gentlemen will lend Ms. Maloney a shirt to wear?” Fabian asked.

A dozen boys clamored to assist. Maddie pulled on an oversize T-shirt and found a bottle of water thrust into her hands. Too impatient for the thin stream from a pop top, she unscrewed the cap and poured the cool liquid over her sunburned lips into her parched throat. Heaven.

The girl held her hand over the radiophone and said to Maddie, “There’s a William Franklin at the marina who wants to know if one of the survivors is Maddie Maloney.”

“Tell him, yes, and I have the Rose,” Maddie said, wiping her mouth. “He’ll know what I’m talking about.” But her heart sank. If William Franklin was here, then the police would be notified. The whole circus was about to begin.

Having relayed the message, the harbormaster’s daughter turned to Fabian. “The police are at the marina too. They want to talk to you both.”

Maddie’s gaze flicked to Fabian. A look passed between them—dismay and anxiety on her part, stoicism and suppressed regret on his. The universe was reminding her—unnecessarily harshly, in her opinion—that she and Fabian weren’t slated for romance. And never would be.

She wanted to gnash her teeth and wail against fate, the gods, the cops, Ogilvie Diamonds, different countries, different classes, opposing loyalties, personal prejudices—all those obstacles which combined seemed insurmountable.

Instead she waded through the knee-deep water and hoisted a leg over the edge of one of the sailboats and sat on a narrow ledge of fiberglass.

It was the beginning of the end.

In the harbormaster’s office, Maddie opened the clasp of her bedraggled purse. Detective Sergeant Billson, William Franklin and Doug the harbormaster crowded around. On the way back in the boat she’d separated the synthetic stone and the Rose. She didn’t know what she was going to do with the replica; she only knew she wasn’t giving it to Billson.

As soon as they’d arrived, Fabian had asked to make a phone call. He was at one of the desks, guarded by a uniformed officer. Police officers also stood at the door, keeping her and Fabian in, and curious tourists and yachties out.

William Franklin was waiting for her to hand over the diamond. With her thumb holding the synthetic gem within the satin folds, she poured a single glittering pink crystal into her palm.

She’d done what she’d set out to do—retrieve the Rose and return it to its rightful owner. But now that she’d come to it, giving up her namesake was harder than she’d anticipated.

Winning and losing. Two sides to the same coin.

Maddie held the diamond out to William. “I’m really sorry for all the trouble and distress I’ve caused.”

Wheezing slightly, he plucked the Rose from her palm with plump, delicate fingers. He put a loupe to his eye and examined the gem. He took his time, turning it this way and that, holding it up to the light. Finally he removed the loupe. “It’s the genuine Rose.”

Maddie breathed a sigh of relief. “So we can put it on display?”

“No.” William tucked the diamond inside its velvet nest in the wooden box. “The Rose is coming back to Perth with me. The Sultan of Brunei wants to back out of the deal. I need to persuade him the diamond hasn’t been damaged.”

Fabian had counseled her not to say anything without a lawyer present, but Maddie couldn’t help blurting, “Please don’t punish my aunt for what happened. None of it was her fault.”

“I would like to believe you,” William said unhappily. “But the insurance company is still investigating.”

“My research isn’t quite finished. I have to do electron micrographs of the cut diamond. Scientifically the source of color in pink diamonds is a huge deal—”

“I know.”

“It’ll be great publicity for Ogilvie—”

“Yes, I understand,” William said. “I’ll discuss it with the Board of Directors.”

His loss of confidence in her stung worse than the coral scrapes on her leg. Her wounds would be disinfected and bandaged by the first aid attendant waiting outside to tend to her, but nothing could fix the damage to Grace’s business or Maddie’s reputation. “Will you be pressing charges?”

“I’m afraid the Board has already made the decision to do so.”

Detective Sergeant Billson stepped forward. “Madeline Maloney, you are under arrest for theft, resisting arrest and cruelty to animals.”

“Cruelty to animals! I would never hurt a living creature.”

Billson consulted his notebook and raised mild blue eyes that hid a terrible ruthlessness. “Mrs. Shirley Tamworth claims you tortured her dog, Pixie.”

“That’s a lie,” Maddie said indignantly. “And I didn’t steal the Rose.”

“Then where is this mysterious thief you claim has been masquerading as Dr. Rolf Hauzenegger?” Billson demanded. “Is he the captain of the sailboat you jumped off?”

“He…I…well, you see…” She trailed off, glancing past Billson to Fabian.

He’d hung up the phone. From an angle only she could see, he mouthed the words,
No police. Please.

“I don’t know exactly where he is.” That was true, at least.

“We have only your word for it that he even exists,” Billson said. “Your aunt and her other employees have never met him.”

“My aunt spoke to him once on the phone.”

“We checked with the real Dr. Hauzenegger. He confirmed he made a call.”

“Really?” Maddie was genuinely surprised. All along she’d assumed it had been Roland. She thought back to their meetings in the café and at dinner. He’d simply picked up the conversational balls she’d tossed him and bounced them back to her. As much as she hated him, she couldn’t help but feel a grudging admiration for his cleverness.

“Was the thief masquerading as Dr. Hauzenegger on Hamilton Island?” Billson asked.

“No, he was dressed as a yachtsman and didn’t wear glasses. He even had a completely different personality.”

“Then how did you recognize him?”

“He has a small scar in his right eyebrow.”

“Anything else distinctive about his appearance?”

“He’s blond with blue eyes, in his mid-thirties.”

“Didn’t he recognize you?”

“I disguised myself and got him to invite me onto his sailboat. After tricking him into showing me the Rose, I stole it back. Then I jumped overboard.”

“So he is the captain of the sailboat, the man who radioed in your disappearance before sailing away.” Billson’s blue eyes sharpened. “What is his name?”

If she said Robert Price, they’d be able to trace his boat from the list in the harbormaster’s computer. If she said Roland Montgomery, she’d lead them to Fabian. Maddie could feel Fabian watching her closely, willing her not to reveal either name. For the first time, he’d asked for her help. He’d even said please. But this was wrong. Roland should be brought to justice. Unhappily she shrugged.

“Ms. Maloney.” Billson softly tapped his pencil against his notebook. “If we’re going to corroborate your story and bring the thief to justice, I need the identity of the captain of the boat. Otherwise you are still our main suspect.”

Maddie wrapped her arms around her waist, suddenly conscious that she wore nothing but a T-shirt and underwear. “I want a lawyer.”

“Detective Sergeant.” Fabian’s refined accent cut across the room. Even in tattered boxers and naked from the waist up, he commanded authority. “It’s time I spoke. I’m Lord Fabian Montgomery, British Foreign and Commonwealth Office.”

“Ah, the mysterious Englishman,” Billson said.

“Quite. Ms. Maloney has been assisting me in my inquiries regarding a British national engaged in criminal activity at home and abroad. Neither Ms. Maloney nor her aunt, Grace Abercrombie, had anything to do with the theft of the Rose. The government of Great Britain is grateful for their cooperation and would appreciate your discretion in this matter. You may cease your investigation effective immediately.”

“I answer to my Chief Commissioner, no one else,” Billson said. “Until he calls me off the case, this investigation is going ahead.”

Maddie’s fingernails bit into her palms. At a word from her, the police would track and capture Roland. Rightly so. On the other hand, Fabian had helped her get the Rose back. She couldn’t have done it without him. But if she aided Roland’s escape, she’d be an accomplice to a crime. She’d made a promise to her mother as a child. Was she willing to go back on that vow for a man she barely knew and wasn’t sure she could trust?

Everything she’d gone through—dodging the police, confronting Roland, jumping into the dark ocean—would be mean nothing if she caved now.

Then there was Grace. Her aunt was relying on her. It was one thing to make a decision that might harm her, but to harm Grace, who was like a mother to her? She couldn’t do it.

Fabian was very still, waiting for her decision. She would lose him if she turned Roland in. The certain knowledge filled her with despair. Fabian might hate what his brother had done, but blood ties would undoubtedly prove stronger than his brief encounter with her.

I’m sorry
, she mouthed to him. Then she turned to Detective Sergeant Billson. “The name of the boat was the
Beau Sancy.
It was registered for Race Week under the name Robert Price.”

The deed was done.

“Adamson.” Billson lifted a hand to signal one of his officers. “Get the search helicopter on the radio.”

Fabian turned away before she could meet his gaze. Maddie’s stomach hurt. She’d given Roland a sporting chance. But if what she was doing was so right, why did it feel like betrayal?

“One more thing,” Billson said. “What happened to the synthetic diamond?”

“The replica was lost overboard in the scuffle.” She gave him her best wide-eyed look. “Terrible shame.”

The phone on the harbormaster’s desk rang. Doug picked it up, listened then handed it to Billson. “It’s for you.”

“Yes, Chief,” Detective Sergeant Billson said into the phone. He listened, glancing at Fabian. “I haven’t questioned him yet—all right,” he muttered. “Yes, I’ll do that.” Scowling, Billson put down the phone. “That was the Chief Commissioner. The investigation’s been dropped. I don’t know what kind of strings you pulled, Lord Montgomery, but you and Ms. Maloney are free to go.”

“Oh, thank God. Thank you.” Maddie turned to Fabian, ready to hug him. His jaw was set and his eyes as cold as she’d ever seen them. The shock of that wintry look made her shrink back. True, he’d gotten her arrest quashed whereas she’d turned his brother in to the police. But did that give him the right to act as if she was scum on the bottom of his polished Italian shoe? He’d put her in an impossible position. Roland wasn’t her brother. She didn’t have a family name to protect. She’d done the right thing.

“Once you return to Melbourne, Ms. Maloney, you will need to fill out a complete report of the incident at the station,” Billson added.

“I’ll be heading back as soon as I can get a flight.”

“I can offer you a lift in the Ogilvie private jet.” William Franklin glanced at his watch. “If we leave within the next half hour I can drop you off in Melbourne before flying on to Perth.”

“If you don’t mind, I’ll catch a lift to the local airport with you,” Fabian said to William. “I’m required in London immediately.”

“Just one more thing.” Billson stopped them all as they were about to leave. His soft blue eyes picked out Maddie. “How did you know the thief had escaped to Hamilton Island?”

Oh hell. How was she going to get out of this one without implicating her father and brothers? Perspiration prickled along Maddie’s hairline. “I, um…”

“We checked the flight manifests of every plane leaving Melbourne for twenty-four hours following the theft,” Fabian said.

“That information isn’t available, except to Australian police, and I know you didn’t go through us,” Billson said. “How did you get it?”

Maddie glanced at Fabian, biting her lip. Was this tit for tat?

“Ah, now I’m sure you can guess,” he said. “There are geeks who are capable of hacking into the Pentagon. To such a person an airline computer system is child’s play.”

“This geek, is he Australian or British?”

Maddie held her breath.

“Sorry,” Fabian said, blandly. “That information is classified.”

Just when she’d worked herself up into a froth of righteous indignation, he went and protected her again.

Too bad. She wasn’t sorry she’d told the police about Roland. She was just sorry Fabian didn’t see things her way.

But then, she’d known from the beginning they were from different worlds.

* * *

Maddie stood on the windswept tarmac at Hamilton Island airport trying to say goodbye to Fabian before he caught a commercial flight to Brisbane. A Qantas 737 had landed and was taxiing down the runway. Behind her, the Ogilvie Diamonds private Learjet was warming its engines with William Franklin already on board.

She couldn’t believe her time with Fabian was over. Anger and guilt were all jumbled up inside her. Right now, faced with losing him, her anger had faded, and guilt and grief had taken over. “I’m sorry.”

His gaze was fixed on the 737. “You did what you had to do. No doubt Roland deserves a jail sentence.”

“Maybe you’ll come to Melbourne again?”

“Perhaps.”

“We never had our moment in paradise.”

“Some things simply aren’t meant to be.

His icy remoteness was killing her. Why didn’t she just say goodbye and get on her plane? What was she hoping to achieve by tormenting herself like this?

The answer to that was simple. One warm glance, one touch, one smile to show she was forgiven. That she meant something to him.

She dug her tattered evening purse out of her handbag and pressed the synthetic diamond into his hands. “This belongs to your brother. It’ll more than pay for his legal fees.”

Fabian placed it back in her palm and curled her fingers around it. “Use it for Al’s heart operation. Or give it to Grace as reparation. Make a necklace for yourself, whatever. You deserve to keep it.”

If accepting meant she could have prolonged his touch, she might have been tempted. But the warmth of his hand was negated by the brittle coldness in his eyes. She wrenched her hand away, leaving the diamond in his. “I don’t want it.”

His mouth compressed and turned down as he silently pocketed the stone.

The Qantas jet was coming to a halt. Behind a cordoned-off area, a line of people in shorts and sunhats were waiting to board. Fabian started to move away.

Desperate for a reaction from him, Maddie said, “Okay so you’re pissed off at me. I feel the same way about you. You never told me the Chameleon was your brother. Then you wanted me to lie to the police. Who needs the aggravation? Off you go, Prince Pompous Pants. It’s been a slice. The only thing I have to thank you for is making me a redhead. That part was good.”

He just stared at her.

Bloody strong silent type. Why couldn’t he say something, anything?

“Oh and good luck explaining things to Madame C,” Maddie went on recklessly, trying to goad him into speech. “Everyone knows the British Secret Service operates out of the Foreign Office. Before you fly out of my life forever, tell me—are you a real-life James Bond?”

“If I told you, I’d have to kill you,” Fabian said, deadpan. “I have enough paperwork without having to account for your demise.”

Jesus H. Christ. A painful chuckle was torn out of her. He had a knack of making her laugh when she wanted to scream. Or cry. So this was love. Forget never having had a proper orgasm, she’d never been properly in love before. It sucked. It was painful. She didn’t want it. Yet she did. She’d found out too late how much she needed him. But he—he would never want her again.

She filled her senses with him one last time, etching his angular features onto her memory, recording his deep voice in the inner chambers of her ears, breathing in his scent. Absorbing his whole being with all her heart and soul until she could feel his presence all around her.