Even though it had been a quickie marriage in Vegas that’s the way he’d made her feel ten years ago. Her words produced barely a flicker of an eyelash but she knew they’d hit their target again. Well, too darn bad. And the exhilaration she felt right now was proof that she’d deliberately provoked him. Not smart to cut off her nose to spite her face but she just couldn’t help it. That’s not something she would have said to any other client and she had better try to rein in the sarcasm because there was no telling how far he could be pushed. “I’ll rephrase,” he said. “Whatever your interior-designer fee is I will pay it, along with travel and living expenses while we are in Blackwater Lake.”
“You’re going, too? It can all be done in email—”
“I have business there anyway.”
Of course she’d suspected he probably would be going but when he put the words out there the reality of it all really sank in. If she was going to back out it would have to be now.
Control was an illusion because she really had little choice. No way her business was going down without a fight. She met his gaze. “Agreed.”
“Excellent.” He looked decidedly pleased and that was irksome.
Which was why she added, “I’m glad you decided to have this meeting in person. I felt it necessary to emphasize how much I don’t trust you and wanted to see your reaction to my terms.”
“And?”
“You fooled me once, but this time I’m in the driver’s seat.” Although it was kind of a pathetic seat since she had very little bargaining room.
The waitress returned with a tray bearing food and she set plates in front of them. “Can I get you anything else?”
“Ketchup,” she and Linc said together.
“You know each other pretty well.” The woman smiled and pointed to the condiments next to the napkin dispenser. “It’s already on the table.”
Linc met her gaze when they were alone. “So, you haven’t forgotten that I like ketchup with fries.”
“If memory serves it was practically a religious experience,” she said.
“Yeah. Nice to know some things don’t change.”
And some do when the man you’d loved with every fiber of your being treated you like a mistake. Anger flared again but she willed it away. Losing control with Lincoln Hart was not an option. “Where does the divorce stand?”
“My attorney is working on it.”
“Are you paying full price this time?” Darn. The sarcasm just popped out of her mouth. Apparently he didn’t bring out the best in her.
But Linc smiled. “With what I’m paying Mason he could put a child through college and multiple postgraduate degrees as well as buy several vacation homes and probably a boat.”
“Does Mason have a child?”
“He’s not married. And before you remind me that vows aren’t necessary to produce a child, I’ll just say no. He doesn’t have any kids.”
“So one can assume that the dissolution of our marriage is progressing at an appropriately acceptable pace?”
“It is.” He took a bite of his hamburger and chewed. After swallowing he said, “Is there some reason you want to accelerate the process?”
“Nothing has changed since we last spoke.” She pushed lettuce around her plate without eating any. “I just don’t like loose ends.”
He set down his burger and wiped his hands on a napkin before pulling a business card from his wallet. He set it on the table and slid it over to her. “This is my lawyer’s contact information. Feel free to get in touch with him anytime and ask anything you want. Or have your attorney get in touch with him.”
“Okay.” She picked up the card and put it in her purse and made a mental note to pass it along to Vicki. “As long as everything goes smoothly I’ll be happy.”
“How do you define a not-smooth divorce?”
“You disappearing without explanation would put a speed bump in the divorce road.” This saying the first thing that popped into her head was becoming a bad habit that only seemed to happen with Linc.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be around until the papers come.”
That would be an improvement over last time, but doing better than he had ten years ago wasn’t setting a very high bar.
In the meantime she had a job. That was the good news. Unfortunately she would be working for the man she was just a little bit married to. Did that make her nervous?
Did beavers build dams?
“So your dad wasn’t using the private plane today?”
Linc stared at Rose, sitting across from him in the cushy leather airplane seat. They’d taken off and reached cruising altitude, and there was a steady hum in the pressurized cabin of the Gulfstream jet. They were on their way to Blackwater Lake and hiring a jet for transportation was the most efficient way to get there. Comfort didn’t hurt, either. And there might be a little bit of trying to impress her going on.
“If you’re talking about Hastings Hart, he’s not my father. This aircraft doesn’t belong to his company. And you should let it go. I have.”
“Really? It doesn’t feel that way to me.” She tapped a finger against her lips. “Is the jet yours?”
“Not yet.” It would be soon. But her comment had him curious. “In what way do you think I haven’t let the paternity thing go?”
“You’re awfully defensive. You were a grown man when you found out the truth and never suspected before that, which means you were loved and there’s a bond. That doesn’t just go away.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Right. My bad.”
Hell, how could she understand? He didn’t, and it had happened to him. But his defensive response only served to sharpen the wary look in her eyes that never disappeared. It was as if any second she expected him to jump out of the plane and skydive so he could be anywhere but here.
It was on the tip of his tongue to say he’d left for her and she didn’t understand, but that retort didn’t work a moment ago and wouldn’t now. “I don’t remember you being this annoying.”
“Probably because I wasn’t,” she said cheerfully. “We were firmly in the adoration stage of the relationship. And your abrupt departure didn’t give me a chance to trot out the real me.”
“Well, this is going to be fun. A guilt trip from Texas to Montana.” They’d settled on her giving him four weeks to get the job going, then periodic trips back when necessary. So, for the next month he was going to let her say whatever she wanted to get off her chest. Redemption wasn’t going to come without a price, he reminded himself.
“Suck it up, Linc. My attitude has been ten years in the making.”
It was going to be a long flight if he didn’t get her off this. And he had just the thing to ask. “What does your boyfriend think about you flying off with your husband for a job?”
Her smug expression slipped and she had no stinging comeback, which was a big clue that there was a ripple in the relationship pond.
“Rose?”
“What?”
“Did you tell—” He stopped. If she’d told him the guy’s name he couldn’t remember?
“Chandler,”