Page 17 of The Mountain Man's Mail-Order Mafia Princess

“You accepted the request.”

“I know.”

“You gave them my address.”

“It was already on your business listing.”

“That doesn’t make it yours to use.”

“I had no right.”

Talia folded her arms. “At what point did the woman become part of your joke?”

Cade met her eyes. “She didn’t. You didn’t. I saw the request from the concierge account, and it only said Talia R. I clicked accept because I thought it was still online nonsense. Then emails started coming in.”

“What emails?” I asked.

“Itinerary notices. Dates. A delivery window. I skimmed them. I thought they were automated reminders trying to make the match look official.”

“You thought travel details were decoration?”

“I thought nobody would put a person on a plane without talking to the man she was supposed to meet.”

Talia gave a short, disbelieving laugh. “My family believed the acceptance came from him.”

Cade closed his eyes for a second. “I understand that now. I got a delivery confirmation last night. I tried calling you, but your phone went to voicemail. I drove up as soon as there was enough light.”

I nodded toward the folder beneath his arm. “What’s in that?”

“Every message I could print, the profile information, and the login.” He held it out. “I deleted nothing.”

I took the folder and opened it on the hood of my truck.

The first page showed my photograph, my name, my business description, and an address Cade had no right to enter into anything. The contact email was his. So was the phone number.

The placement request identified her as Talia R.

There was no surname and no explanation for why a woman from New York had agreed to spend a week at a remote cabin with a stranger. The concierge messages confirmed dates and transportation without naming whoever had arranged her side.

Talia stood close enough to read over my arm. The diamonds at her wrist brushed the folder.

“You really didn’t know,” she said.

“I told you I didn’t.”

“I’m acknowledging new evidence.”

“That sounds painful.”

“It is.”

Despite everything, she almost smiled.

I turned another page. “You ignored all of this?”

Cade leaned against his truck but didn’t relax. “I saw the first itinerary notice and thought it was pressure to keep the match going. I didn’t read the rest until last night.”

“You didn’t read a delivery confirmation until after she’d been delivered?”