Sex, Lies and Valentines (11 page)

“Gabriel?” Pandora said quietly, pressing her fingers lightly to the back of his hand. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m okay,” he lied. He’d have to be. A man didn’t take the risks he did without being willing to pay the price. “I’m just enjoying this little family reunion.”

And wondering at the vicious timing of fate, that he now realized for the first time in his life just how much he wanted, needed, his family. And that by this time next week, he would, quite likely, have ruined any chance of reconciling with any of them.

He glanced at the pretty blonde sitting next to him, her eyes sharp as she looked around the room like she was taking a criminal inventory.

Just doing her job, he realized. A part of him wanted to hate her for dragging him back here. For making him face what he’d lost, and accept that to save his family he had to give them up.

The rest of him, though, was still remembering how she’d tasted. What her body had felt like pressed against his. And wondering just how long it’d take to taste her—to feel her—again.

DANITA WAS MISERABLE.

Her stomach hurt. Not from the appetizers a roving waiter had brought around, which had been delicious. But from guilt.

Her head ached. Not from the conversation, which was entertaining and fun, but from stress.

These people were not what she expected.

Instead of a family of hardened criminals and weak-willed sycophants, they were all nice and friendly. Laughter and teasing, great food and warm conversation.

Between chatting to any partygoers who stopped at their table to visit, Caleb doted on Pandora. He’d listened to his sister’s teasing about wearing a top hat and tails for the ceremony with an easy grin. Maya was like a cheerful ray of sunshine, beaming at everyone like a kid on Christmas morning. She went from conversation to conversation, making everyone smile as she raved about her own fiancé, who was apparently on a job—she didn’t say what kind—but would be joining them the following week.

Pandora was a calm oasis. Whenever the room seemed to be heading toward frantic she smoothed the conversation with an easy word, a soft joke or in the case of her fiancé, a soothing touch.

Danita even briefly met Gabriel’s Aunt Cynthia, who after confirming that Danita was registered in the state of California to vote, had spent ten minutes lecturing her on the necessity of energy reform. Danita was just as baffled as Gabriel that the woman would be at a party celebrating the wonders of new beginnings, fertility and spring.

Through it all, Gabriel and his father were mirror images of each other. Not only in looks, although Tobias had genetically blessed all three of his children with striking looks, especially his youngest son, but in attitude. Both smiled, charmed and interacted. And always held back.

It bothered her, a lot, that she found that fascinating in Gabriel. Because she damned well didn’t want to find anything positive about a grifter like Tobias.

By the end of the evening, she wasn’t sure if Gabriel was keeping her separate from his father on purpose or if it was just party happenstance, but she’d yet to share more than a dozen words with the man she’d come to town hoping to arrest.

Then again, that was about ten words more than Gabriel had shared with him.

“Danita, we put away most of the stock for the party. So you’ll have to come back tomorrow,” Pandora said as they each nibbled on the after-dinner cookies she’d set out. Her sweet serenity was a contrast to the more vivid, dynamic Black family. “I’d love to show you a few things. I have a sodalite sphere that I think will be perfect for you.”

“Sodalite? Is that something you serve here in the café?” Danita asked with a hesitant smile.

“No.” The other woman slipped a strand of smooth, auburn hair behind her ear as she laughed. “It’s a stone. It’s wonderful for clarity and inner peace. It’s also great for seeing the truth and for building trust.”

Danita’s smile dimmed. Did she seem like she needed any of that? A little nervous, she smoothed one hand over the leather of her skirt. But before she could form the question, Pandora continued.

“The stone is a lovely blue that is a perfect match for your eyes,” Pandora told her.

The knot in her stomach loosened as Danita accepted the invitation.

“This is a wonderful party. Do you have them often? I have to admit, I’m surprised to see Gabriel’s entire family here,” she said with a casual smile. “He said something about a little family tension, but I’m not seeing it.”

Pandora’s hazel eyes narrowed for just a second, like she was looking deep into Danita’s soul. Then she shifted, pushing her hair behind her shoulder and gave a little shrug. “The store has eight gatherings a year. When the mayor suggested it, I agreed that it’d be fun to invite the townspeople now that I’ve taken over the store. A way of bringing everyone together.”

“Maya’s father must be thrilled to have her moving back. And Caleb too?” she said with a look of pure innocent curiosity. “Didn’t Gabriel mention he’d just recently moved back as well?”

“Caleb came home to…visit,” Pandora said, her hesitation so infinitesimal that only Danita’s training picked it up. “He came into my store his first day home to see his dad, and, well, I guess our romance started there.”

It was damned hard for Danita to accept that a woman whose face was lit with that much happiness and was practically overflowing with joy was lying to her. But there were too many tells. Tiny ones. The hesitation between words. A slight twitch of Pandora’s fingers, loosely clasped on her lap. But why?

To protect the man she loved?

Danita’s FBI resources offered plenty of information on Tobias Black, enough dirt on Gabriel Black, to make her attraction horribly uncomfortable and just a little info on Maya Black and her single arrest before she’d dropped off the map. But Caleb Black? The only information she’d found on him was brief mention in his father’s file with his date of birth.

Why?

Hunter knew.

Her expression rapt and focused on Pandora as the other woman shared a few details of her and Caleb’s courtship, Danita mulled over just what it was that Hunter knew. What was he keeping from her and why would it be necessary? And, the big question, how soon would she find out?

“I need to check the desserts, but I’ll be right back.” Pandora excused herself, waiting for Danita’s nod before sliding gracefully to her feet.

Welcoming the brief alone-time, Danita’s gaze shifted to the other side of the room.

It all came down to him.

Despite the fact that he was staying quiet and mellow from his position in a curvy iron chair in the corner, Tobias Black was clearly in charge of the room. And, she suspected, of whatever was really going on here.

The crime ring itself? Maybe.

Hunter’s operation? Probably.

Was Tobias behind bringing all his family members together for his own purposes, regardless of whatever else was going on?

Most definitely.

Then Tobias’s gaze landed on her. Speculation, admiration and just a hint of suspicion were clear in the dark blue depths. Before she could help herself, she arched one brow in challenge.

His eyes widened, then sparkled with laughter.

And with the grace of a man half his age, he rose and headed across the room.

Shit.

Danita’s stomach dropped. Her nails dug into her palms as she tried to smooth her breathing. What was she thinking? She was here as the fake bimbo fiancée. Fake bimbos didn’t issue challenges unless they involved Jell-O or tequila shooters.

She tried to align her thoughts and pull together all the threads of her control and her various roles.

Before Tobias could reach her, though, Gabriel stepped between them. With his back to her, all she could see was the breadth of his shoulders and, she sighed a little, the sweet view of his tight ass. Both looked a little tense, though.

“Sit down and relax, Gabriel. I just came over to get to know your friend. Not to share any family secrets,” Tobias said. Then his grin turned crafty. “Or should I say, your fiancée? Isn’t that how you introduced her to Caleb today?”

Danita wondered which comment had made Gabriel’s shoulders stiffen. That his brother had ratted him out. Or that his dad had secrets on the mind.

“Maybe I’m not so crazy about Danita getting to know you, though,” Gabriel shot back.

“Don’t be silly,” Danita broke in. “Of course I want to know your family, Gabriel, sweetie. That’s why I’m here, silly boy.”

She added a vapid smile and flirtatious flutter of her lashes to keep the rebuke from being obvious to anyone but Gabriel. His glare told her he’d got the message loud and clear. Tobias simply brushed his son aside to take a seat across from her.

“Well, let’s chat then,” he said with a smile that had enough edge to keep it from being fatherly, but was friendly enough not to be threatening. “Where are you from, Danita?”

“Bradford. That’s a small town in Pennsylvania,” she lied with a smile. “I moved to California hoping to be a star. You know, Hollywood with all its glitz and glamour, it was so appealing.”

Standing behind his father’s chair, Gabriel gave a rude eye roll.

“Indeed. Acting is a fine art. Are you focused on the big screen or the small?”

“Oh, neither,” she said with a bubbly giggle, waving the options away with one hand. “I got here and within three months found out I was a horrible actress.”

“That’s too bad. But you stayed in California anyway? What are you doing now?”

“Well, I had to stay. I mean, my car broke down and I was pretty much out of money,” she said with a helpless sort of shrug. “So I turned to Plan B.”

“Well, now,” Tobias said with an impressed sort of nod. “Backup plans are always clever. I’m impressed that you came out here with a dream and when you saw it wasn’t going to work, you had an alternate. What’s Plan B?”

“To be a singing sensation.”

Gabriel wasn’t quick enough to quell his laugh, but he did quickly turn it into a cough.

“You’re a singer?” Tobias asked after blinking a couple of times.

“Well, no. I have a horrible voice. But I love the costumes,” she said earnestly. “And I really thought they could kinda hide my voice. Synthesize it or something.”

“Or something…” Gabriel snickered.

While Tobias shot a glare over his shoulder at his son, Danita worked up a pouty look. Jutting lower lip, puppy dog eyes and tucked-in chin.

“But they wouldn’t. Not for me. I was really bummed,” she said when the older man met her gaze again.

“That’s a shame that you had to give up your second choice,” Tobias said. She could see the glint of humor dancing in his eyes, just ahead of what might be suspicion. Whether he suspected her story, or suspected his son had horrible taste, didn’t matter. Her story would stand. And Gabriel was the idiot who’d hauled her along as his fiancée instead of his bimbo, so his taste deserved to be questioned.

“It was a shame,” she agreed.

“Did you give up on Hollywood then?”

“Oh, no,” she said with a quick shake of her head. “I went to Disneyland.”

“No place happier, right?”

“Right. Well, that and I got to be a princess there.”

“Beg pardon?”

“I dressed up as a princess. I wore a gown and a tiara, waved to the kids and had my picture taken.”

“You worked at the park?”

“Oh, no. They didn’t give me a job. They said I didn’t have the right look. But I did go every day for a week dressed as a princess, just to cheer myself up. It was great. And it got me over that whole star dream.”

This was the point in her spiel that usually confused most people enough to start rubbing their temples and looking for an excuse to leave the discussion.

But not Tobias. He leaned forward, his hands hanging loose between his thighs. Laughter danced in his eyes.

The same laughter she saw reflected behind him in Gabriel’s.

“So acting didn’t pan out and singing was a disappointment. It sounds like you made a great princess. And what brought you this far north? You are living up here in Northern California now, right?”