Dealing Double Page 27

  “Yes.” The uncertainty in his eyes touched her all the way to her soul. “Even when I tried not to these past few days, I couldn’t help but love you, Jake.” Her heart would always belong to him. No matter what. “But me and my not-so-perfect family are a package deal.”

  “Understood.” He released his hold on her and stepped back. Einstein took that as an invitation to jump into Jake’s arms. He caught the dog and said, “Gabby, will you please come to New Mexico with me? Start a new life there. And if after a year or so you can still stand me, will you consider marrying a stubborn, bossy ex-cop like me?” He dug something out of his pocket.

  It was a plastic decoder ring. James Bond Jake had remembered their dinner conversation.

  He tried her ring finger, but the kid-size ring was too small, so he slipped it onto her pinky. “This is a placeholder until you find the real one you’d like.”

  Her heart nearly soared out of her chest. She’d almost given up on ever hearing words like that. Having a chance to have a family. Or a normal life with a great guy like Jake. He drove her nuts sometimes but mostly made her the happiest she’d ever been when she was with him.

  She’d like her father’s blessing but wasn’t going to refuse the gift he’d given her to choose to live her life with Jake, rather than insisting she disappear again. She was tired of that life. Ready to start her new one.

  Both Einstein and Jake had equally eager expressions on their faces. No way she could refuse that much cuteness. “Yes, on one condition.”

  Aunt Suzy yelled, “No time for condition. My show starting!”

  Jake, still petting his new best friend, asked, “What’s the condition?”

  “That after this year or so, if you can still stand to be around such a generous, card-carrying Pollyanna like me, maybe you’ll consider getting on a plane with me to Peru? I might need help selling a couple of statues. I have the real ones. The others were just fakes.”

  “What?” Jake’s jaw flopped open. “You. No. You have the real statues? You stole them?”

  “Still want to be with me?” She moved a step closer.

  “Yes.” He moved a step back. “But only after we find a way to return them. That’s why you weren’t worried about money?” His voice had raised three decibels.

  “No.” She gave him a quick kiss. “That’s because I have a big fat trust fund from my mom. And I was just kidding about the statues.”

  His whole body slumped with relief. He lifted Einstein’s face level with his. “You didn’t think that was funny at all, did you?” He lowered the dog. “He said you just lost your Pollyanna card.”

  Aunt Suzy called out, “Pretty funny. Had me going for a minute.”

  “The look on your face, Jake. Priceless.” She slipped her arms around his waist and snuggled as close as she could with a dog between them. “You once asked me how I could ever love a criminal. Remember? And yet you still loved me when you thought I was one for all of ten seconds.”

  He gave her rear end a sharp pat. “Life with you won’t be boring, Gabby.”

  “Never.” She smiled as she hugged her two favorite guys.

  A year or so later . . .

  Gabby sat on the edge of her seat, waiting to hear the verdict in her father’s trial for shooting Pablo Garza. The outstanding charges for her father’s other alleged crime had been dropped. The plaintiff in that case had died the previous year, and the grand jury didn’t have enough evidence anymore to bring the case to trial. She didn’t want to know how the evidence against her father had disappeared. She chose to believe her father really had cleaned up his act and wasn’t guilty. “Don’t ask, don’t tell” still applied.

  Her dad’s freedom had hung mostly on Jake’s earlier testimony.

  Jake took her hand and held it as the judge read the verdict the bailiff had just handed him. The judge’s brows arched before he said, “The jury has found the defendant not guilty.”

  The breath Gabby had been holding whooshed from her lungs as Jake gave her hand a squeeze. The crowd watching buzzed with opinions, mostly in disbelief that Moretti had slipped through the hands of the law again.

  Her father stood, shook his lawyer’s hand, and then swept his gaze across the gallery. He locked gazes with her for a nanosecond, gave a slight nod, and then turned and gathered his things. People streamed out of the courtroom, mostly reporters hurrying to post the news. When her father walked by behind his lawyer, just a few feet away, he didn’t look at her. He wouldn’t risk it. But she’d missed him terribly the last year she’d been living in New Mexico.

  Jake whispered, “Do you want to go say hi?”

  She shook her head. “The press is all around. I can’t. What reason would I have to talk to him?” She hadn’t seen her father since London. He looked thinner, older, and tired. It still broke her heart that he wouldn’t be able to come to her wedding next month. They couldn’t give Garza any reasons to make the connection.

  Jake tugged on her hand. “Come on. We’ll use the press to get what you want, Gabby.”

  “What are you talking about?” She followed behind as Jake pulled her through the crowds. As usual, he had a plan he’d forgotten to share with her. But she’d gotten used to that and didn’t mind nearly as much anymore. It was just Jake. And she wouldn’t change a thing about him.

  When they hit the courthouse steps, reporters surrounded them, but Jake didn’t stop until they were right behind her dad. A reporter asked, “Mr. Morris, how do you feel about the verdict? Was justice served today?”

  All eyes, including her father’s, were on Jake. “Absolutely. And as many of you know, Ms. Knight and I met during this case and are engaged now. I’d be honored to shake the hand of the man who saved my fiancée’s life.” Jake held out his hand toward her dad.

  Crap! What was Jake doing? Her father would never shake the hand of the man responsible for his arrest.

  The lawyer discreetly nudged her father, who narrowed his eyes at Jake but stuck his hand out to return the shake.

  Jake closed the gap between them and clasped her dad’s hand. Jake smiled and said loudly, “We’d be honored if you’d attend our wedding next month. It would never have happened without you.”

  The crowd went wild for that. The whirl of cameras was overwhelming. She was careful to keep her face turned away, watching the men shake.

  Happy tears stung her eyes. Jake had found the perfect way to justify her father coming to the wedding. She met her father’s gaze and smiled. “We’d be honored, Mr. Moretti.”

  Her dad said, “Thank you. I wouldn’t miss it, Ms. Knight.” Then he pumped Jake’s hand while he slapped him on the shoulder. Hard. “There’s nothing better than young love, am I right?”

  Jake’s left eye winced slightly as if he were in pain, but he quickly recovered. “Nope. Looking forward to seeing you there.”

  When the reporters moved on to other questions for her father’s lawyer, Jake leaned in and whispered, so only the three of them could hear, “Knew you’d shake my hand one day.”

  Her dad said, “I won’t again until I see a grandchild, cop.” Then he moved away and down the steps to an awaiting car. Sal opened the door for her dad, then turned and smiled at her. A big genuine smile. She lifted her chin slightly.

  He nodded in return. A whole unspoken conversation that he was happy for her. As the car drove off, memories of all the years with her guards filled her mind. She’d been a prisoner in the nicest cell on record.

  The jury had just decided that her father had saved her life, but it had really been Jake who’d done that. Not only in London but also on that first day in the cabin. When he cared enough to help someone who’d just bashed his head in.

  She smiled and found Jake’s hand to tow him down the steps to their rental car. She wanted to go home. Where she belonged now. With Jake.

  When they arrived at the car, Jake opened her door for her. “You heard your dad. If I want him to shake my hand at the wedding, you’d better be pregnan
t. You wanna work on that on the plane ride home?”

  Jake still hated to fly, but Annalisa was generous enough to let them use her plane to make it easier for him. “But then what do we tell our kid when she’s born eight months after the wedding?”

  Jake rounded the car and then slipped beside her. “That we didn’t want to wait nine whole months to meet him.”

  Gabby slipped on her sunglasses. “Or, I guess we could say she was early.”

  The corner of Jake’s mouth tilted. “Did I mention Dani had another dream?”

  “We’re having a boy?” Gabby whipped her head in his direction.

  Jake winced slightly. “Two actually. At the same time.”

  Twins? Wow.

  Wow.

  Twins.

  She could barely wrap her head around that.

  Just to poke at him a bit for knowing that and not telling her sooner, she said, “We should name one after my dad. He’s the one who started all of this.”

  “Never happening. Not ever.” Jake slipped their car onto the freeway to head for the private airport.

  “Okay, bossy pants, Sal and Louie it is, then.”

  He opened his mouth to protest but snapped it shut. He’d been working on his pushiness. “How about we open that discussion again when the time gets closer?”

  “How very diplomatic of you, Jake.” She picked up his hand that lay on the console and entwined her fingers with his. “I think I’ll keep you.”

  He glanced her way with a raised brow. “You don’t have a choice. Cut me loose and I might have to press charges for your earlier crimes.”

  “Really?” She smiled. “And how long is the statute of limitations?”

  “For stealing a man’s heart?” He pretended to ponder for a moment. “Ninety-nine years, with no time off for good behavior. You’re basically stuck with me forever.”

  “Ah. But what’s to keep you from kicking me to the curb?”

  He lifted their entwined fingers and kissed the back of her hand. “Love, of course.”

  “Yes. Always that.” Ninety-nine more years with Jake didn’t seem long enough. But it was a sentence she could live with.

  Acknowledgments

  As always, I’d like to thank everyone at my wonderful publisher, Montlake Romance. Each and every person on the team, from those who acquire, edit, and market to those who give superb author gifts. You all make it such a joy to work with you. And of course, thanks to my critique partners, Sherri, Louise, and Robin, for reading my pages each and every week. A special shout-out for this book goes to Louise, who knows just about everything when it comes to history. And she’ll be the first to tell you she’s always right! :0)

  I also want to thank my agent, Jill Marsal, and my family, who is always there to support me. But, mostly, I want to thank my loyal readers, for you are what makes writing books fun!

  About the Author

  Photo © 2012 Robyn Adams

  Tamra Baumann became hooked on writing the day she picked up her first Nora Roberts novel from her favorite bookstore. Since then, she’s dazzled readers with her own lighthearted love stories: Dealing Double is the second installment in her Heartbreaker series, which started with the novel Seeing Double. She’s a Golden Heart winner for Contemporary Series Romance and has also received the Golden Pen Award for Single Title Romance. Born in Monterey, California, Tamra led the nomadic life of a navy brat before putting down permanent roots during college. When she’s not attending annual Romance Writers of America meetings, this voracious reader can be found playing tennis, traveling, or scouting reality shows for potential character material. Tamra resides with her real-life characters—her husband, two kids, and their allergy-ridden dog—in the sunny Southwest. Visit her online at www.tamrabaumann.com and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/author.tamra.baumann.