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Tenaya paled, her gaze shooting to the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Tai grimaced. “Nice going,” he muttered silently.
He tugged at the collar of the fancy golf shirt Tenaya and Paige had kitted him out in. He should be grateful they’d agreed not to buy him any suits. He wanted to reassure her after that stupid comment, but no matter how cruel it seemed, she needed to be on edge.
There was a fine line between being paralyzed with fear and letting it fuel that extra level of awareness that kept people alive.
He was talking to himself, here, too. The team would be there every step of the way, but once Tenaya’s stalker made his move, Tai would be her last line of defense.
She hefted the sleek little carry on. “I’m going to unpack and fix up the guest room for you.” She hesitated in the middle of the hallway. “Make yourself at home.”
Yeah. Home. He stared out over the busy streets far below, allowing the awkwardness of their predicament sink in. Days. Weeks, maybe, pretending to be so star-struck-in-love that they’d up and eloped.
Yeah. There was no doubt now. This assignment was going to kill him.
16
“You, you’re… What?”
Jarrod’s expression shifted from shock to disbelief, then back again. “Ha ha. Nice joke.”
Tenaya swayed from foot to foot in the doorway of Jarrod’s swank corner office. “I’m serious. It’s not like me, I know, but sometimes lightning just strikes.”
Her pulse raced. As she’d expected, her boss looked stunned by the news she’d just broken about her sudden marriage. But she was unprepared for the flash of anger that darkened his gray eyes. Her feet trembled in her designer heels. She suddenly wished for the sturdy boots she’d worn at the ranch. Her favorite green suit wasn’t doing its job today. Usually, the fitted ensemble boosted her confidence. And her luck. She’d never lost a court case wearing it.
“You’re...married?” Jarrod repeated slowly, as if he hadn’t quite processed her words. “Since when?”
“Friday night.” Tenaya clasped her hands together, trying to still their shaking. She should have insisted Tai come with her for this conversation. Having him waiting down the hall in her office suddenly seemed like a very bad idea.
Jarrod considered her silently, features set in stone. The modern office with its wall of windows looking out over Westwood Village felt colder and more intimidating than usual.
She forced a brittle smile, aiming for an air of casual happiness. As if impulsively marrying a near-stranger was perfectly in character for her. “I know, it seems crazy. But I can’t explain it any better than that.”
Jarrod’s mouth flattened.
When he still didn’t speak, her confident facade started to crack. Nervous words tumbled out. “It was a whirlwind romance.” She gave an awkward laugh. “Tai—that’s my husband—convinced me to take a leap.”
Just saying the word ‘husband’ in relation to the stunning Marine made her face instantly hot. They’d only spent a few days in each other’s company, yet she had to sell that they shared an uncontainable passion.
She clasped her left hand, diamonds glinting on her ring finger. The jewelry still felt foreign. As did the elaborate backstory Paige and Kate had concocted to explain her and Tai’s supposed prior friendship. A friendship none of her work colleagues knew about.
“I’m just so head over heels, I couldn’t wait another day to be his wife,” she gushed, the falseness grating.
Tenaya squirmed under his scrutiny. She couldn’t read his stony expression at all. “We didn’t even have time for a honeymoon, but Tai’s planned everything. But don’t worry. I’ll make sure all my cases are covered during my absence.”
Jarrod’s eyebrows shot up. “Your absence?”
“Uh, yeah.” Tenaya rubbed suddenly sweaty palms against her fitted skirt. “Tai—I mean my husband—he has a private jet. He’s taking me to Bora Bora for an extended honeymoon. Not before I get my active cases arranged. Don’t worry about that. It’s going to be a month or so before we leave. What I can’t reschedule, I’ll make sure I can handle from my hotel. Tai says the WIFI is outstanding. I’ll be able to conference with opposing counsel over video chat.”
She held her breath, praying her impromptu addition to their cover story didn’t sound as vapid, and stupid, as it did in her own head. Appeals to Jarrod’s love of wealth and prestige usually worked.
“You understand, right?” she added.
Jarrod’s flinty look said he did not, in fact, understand.
His gray eyes remained flinty. He leaned back in his leather desk chair, steepling his hands. “Any particular reason you two chose such a remote location?”
Tenaya’s smile froze. Was he implying they had something to hide? She shouldn’t have embellished without running it by Tai first.
