Page 18 of The Fiancée Farce
Tansy stood there, staring at the wall, searching for something to say and coming up empty.
Which wasn’t a problem, apparently, because Gemma grabbed her hand and tugged. “Teddy, I know you’re looking forward to getting to know Tansy, but we have business to attend to.”
“Right.” No matter how hard Tansy tried, she couldn’t tear her eyes off that wall. “Business.”
“That’s cool. We’ll just put a pin in it for now,” Teddy called out. “Give you some time to think about those deep, dark secrets!”
Gemma led her down the hall and into the first room on the right.
“My room,” she said.
The walls were painted a soft shade of mint, the pillows, curtains, and rug bright pops of pink and turquoise. A half-empty bottle of Pedialyte and several cans of LaCroix sat on the nightstand nearest the window.
Gemma turned, obstructing her view of the room as she stepped into Tansy’s space. She reached out, shutting the bedroom door with a quiet snick, but she kept her hand on the frame, boxing Tansy in between her body and the wall. “Hi.”
“Hi.” The echoed greeting came out embarrassingly breathy. Gemma’s vanilla and vetiver perfume clung to her hair as it formed a curtain, brushing Tansy’s sleeve when Gemma leaned close. The sweet scent conjured the memory of last night’s dance, Gemma’s hands gripping Tansy’s hips, her teeth nipping at Tansy’s bottom lip. Tansy swallowed hard, verging on a gulp. The left corner of Gemma’s mouth kicked up in a grin. “Alone at last.”
Tansy’s cheeks prickled and burned.
“Just like I remembered,” Gemma breathed. With her righthand, she reached out, fingers tracing the spread of heat up Tansy’s jaw without actually touching skin. “That blush slays me.”
“Thank you? I think.”
Gemma beamed. “I think you and I are going to have a lot of fun together, Tansy. But first.” Gemma dropped her hand and stepped back. “Down to brass tacks.”
Tansy nodded, feeling steadier without the heat of Gemma’s body and the smell of her perfume suffusing her senses, distracting her from reason. “All right.”
Gemma took a seat on the edge of the bed, leaning back on her palms. She hooked one bare foot over the other, crossing her legs at the ankles, the picture of ease save for the tightening at the corners of her eyes as she stared at Tansy. “Tell me, Tansy, what do you want from me?”
Tansy shifted her weight from one foot to the other, unsure of whether she should have a seat and where. “Who says I want anything?”
Gemma threw her head back and laughed, the sound rich and melodic, with a hint of smoke that sent another shiver racing up Tansy’s spine. “The day I meet someone who doesn’t want something from me is the day I’ll know hell froze over.”
Tansy frowned. “That’s awfully cynical.”
Gemma stared at her.
She crossed her arms. “Well, it is.”
“Forget my cynicism for a moment. You told me you thought about my offer. Between now and when I left the wedding,somethingmust’ve changed your mind, because—correct me if I’m wrong—you seemed pretty adamantly against accepting last night. What was it you called my proposal?” Gemma’s lips quirked at the corners. “Crazy?”
“It stilliscrazy,” Tansy muttered. “This is absolutely insane.”
“And yet here you are.” Gemma nodded at where she stood. “No one forced you to come here. Andyoucontactedme, no less. If I were you, I might refrain from playing fast and loose with the insults.” Gemma flashed a smile. “Glass houses and all.”
Tansy’s cheeks burned.
She’d come here to bargain—money for her hand in marriage, as old-fashioned as that sounded—not to have her nose rubbed in her desperation. Yes, she needed money, but at what cost? Getting tangled up with a Van Dalen?AnotherVan Dalen?
Clearly she hadn’t been thinking straight.
“I think coming here was a mistake. I think I should probably just go.”
And get to work brainstorming some other solution to save Belltown Books, because she had less than three months to come up with an alternative. A six-million-dollar alternative.
Damn it.
Tansy’s fingers rested on the doorknob, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to open the door.
