“I’m so glad you’re here,” she whispered, catching his scent, something the disguise couldn’t hide from a knowing nose. She nibbled hungrily at his mouth. There was no disguise for his taste either.
“I’m glad to see you too,” he assured her, dipping his head to deepen their kiss. She moaned, a ripple of pure, powerful euphoria went through her.
“But how?” Gia asked when Seth lifted his head.
“After talking things over with Madeline and Charles, they started to get the bigger picture of what was happening. Not only with that story breaking, but what was going on between us. After a lot of back-and-forth on the matter, I managed to convince them it would be in their best interests if they let us see each other.”
“As long as you looked nothing like Seth Hightower when you did it?”
“Exactly. Madeline wants to avoid that at all costs. So we came up with this little plan last night to fool any reporters. Should anyone spot us, they would just see various members of the prosecution team arriving for a quick consultation with the witness before her testimony begins. We all took different entrances and left in varying groups in order to throw off any possible watchers. We made sure there was at least one identifiable member of the prosecution team with each group that arrived and left.”
Gia lowered her hands to his biceps and squeezed again. Amazed laughter bubbled out of her throat. He wasn’t wearing any padding here. The bulging, dense muscle definitely belonged to Seth.
“How were you able to convince Madeline? From a couple things she and Charles said, I thought they were dead set against the idea of us seeing each other until after the trial.”
“I told Madeline that I thought it would affect your ability to be as convincing a witness as possible. I told her your heart wouldn’t be in it if you didn’t get a chance to settle your anxiety with me first.”
“My anxiety?” she asked shakily.
He nodded, caressing her cheek.
“I know you by now, Gia,” he said quietly. “I know you care, even if we’d parted ways. I knew you would be worried.”
A tremor of unease went through her when he mentioned their parting ways like it was an established fact. Which it was, she supposed. Still . . . he was here right now.
“Worried doesn’t begin to describe it,” she whispered. “I feel so miserable about this happening. I know how protective and bad you felt about Dharma Jana. To have her photo plastered everywhere—and her sad story—and all those lies they told about you. It was obscene.” Her voice broke. “I thought you’d never want to talk to me again.”
“Look at me,” he said, tilting up her face with his hand. She bit off her anguish. Even through his brilliant disguise, she felt as if she really was looking at Seth in that moment, seeing his quiet, mountain-sized strength. “There’s never going to be a time that I don’t want to talk to you. Do you understand me?”
She bit at her trembling lip to still it and nodded. He rubbed the pad of his thumb along her cheekbone. Her rising guilt made the caress almost unbearably sweet.
“But you don’t know what I know,” she insisted.
His caressing finger paused. “What do you mean?”
“This really is my fault. Or at least I think it is.”
“Are you referring to Jim?”
She blinked in shock. “How do you know about Jim?”
“I know he was responsible for the story breaking. I told Charles I suspected it. Charles sent a deputy over to question Jim.”
She took a moment to absorb the news that Seth had already suspected Jim’s complicity. “I just spoke to Anna, my housekeeper,” she said shakily. “I haven’t even told Charles about it yet. Anna arrived at my house today after a two-day absence. She only comes a few days a week. Jim is a live-in though. He’s out in the carriage house. Anna cleans out there as well once a week. She told me a few minutes ago that Jim’s apartment had been cleared out. He’s gone, without even leaving a note.”
Seth looked grim. “I’m not surprised. The deputy couldn’t get anything out of him, but Jim must have realized someone was suspicious, and it was just a matter of time before you knew what he’d done.”
“Charles told me that he, Madeline, Alex, you and I were the only ones who knew originally where we were. But then I gave Jim the information. I trusted him,” she said slowly.
?
?He was probably bribed or blackmailed. I told you that McClarin and his people would find a crack in the armor. That’s what spiders do,” Seth said, his mouth slanting in anger.
“Then I am the one to blame for all of this,” she said, the certainty of what was formerly just a suspicion hitting her in a wave of misery. “I’m the one who called someone on the outside when you specifically told me not to, all because I couldn’t stand the idea of saying good-bye to you in that airport.”
“Gia, it’s okay,” Seth said, his fingertips moving on her cheek.
“No, it’s not. You had things planned so that there was no chance of a break in the security bubble you’d created. I ruined that. I caused your worst nightmare. It’s everything you suspected could happen, being with a celebrity. Forget nightmare,” she mumbled. “It’s like some kind of cosmic joke.”