Page 33 of Hidden Gem
“You might be right about the food. Do you have any?” Marnie straightened her spine, looking across the room at the very tidy, very bare kitchen.
“No, sorry. I don’t really cook. I was going to just order something. I kind of live on takeaway, to be honest.”
Marnie shuddered at the thought, her chest filling with a sudden desire to cook for him. The man needed real sustenance.
She got up and wandered into the kitchen. He was right. There was nothing there, not even a piece of fruit in the bowl on the counter. “Maybe I should order something. I might have to break my fast just so that I can make it back home without falling over.”
“You’re not going home.” Jason appeared behind her, his hand slipping around her just as the alarm in his words shot through her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it to sound so serial-killerish. But I can’t let you go.”
Marnie chuckled, gripping the edge of the kitchen counter for support. She had to get out of here. Part of her melted at his every word, her heart lighting up at every joke. But it wasn’t real. He was a young, single, unmarried man. He needed to find a young, single, healthy woman. Someone he could start a family with.
“What’s wrong?” Jason brushed the hanging curl off her face.
“I’m older than you.”
“Yeah, I can’t believe it. You don’t look thirty-nine. That’s why I was going to Auckland to look for you. I had two leads, and the other one was thirty, with the middle name Beatrice so I thought that must be you. I was supposed to go there this weekend, but something else came up, and I had to come home instead.”
He’d really been looking for her. Marnie’s chest glowed, but her fuddled brain piped up with nagging doubts. “You want me to tell someone about Kathleen, right?”
Jason shook his head. “No. I never should have asked you to do that in the first place. That’s not why I was looking for you.” He shifted his hips, pinning her against the kitchen island.
Warmth flooded through Marnie, pooling at the bottom of her belly. Danger zone. “You don’t know me. I’m not what you’re looking for. I’m divorced. I have two grownup kids...” Marnie buried her face in her hands.
“That’s great! Not the divorce, obviously. But I’m happy you’re single.”
“You don’t get it.”
“You’re right, I don’t. Are you saying I’m not old enough to be with you?”
Why was he twisting her words? Marnie slumped against the kitchen island, hiding her face in her hands. “You know what I mean. You should find someone young, someone ... not like me.”
“Would you like some ashes to sprinkle on yourself?”
“What?” She looked up at his grinning face.
“I mean, let me quickly burn something. I’ll try to find you a sack to wear with it.”
“You’re making fun of me?” She raised her head and blinked at him, incredulous, but couldn’t help the amusement bubbling up in her chest, ruining the perfectly good glare she was about to give him. “I’m serious!”
“So am I! I’ll take up smoking to provide the ashes. I’ll sacrifice my lungs for you.”
She playfully punched his side.
Jason pretended to the take the hit, doubling over the kitchen counter. “I’m just trying to join your pity party, you thirty-nine-year-old, ancient woman.”
Marnie’s face blazed but laughing with him felt so good it didn’t matter. “You shouldn’t mock the elderly.”
“I would never! It’s an important part of my voter base. The old ladies think I’m cute.” He flashed her a shit-eating grin that turned her heart into a puddle. She couldn’t stick to her bid, no matter what her head told her.
Sensing the weakening of her defences, Jason drew her closer. “I’m sorry. I can’t change how I feel. I want you, Marnie Browne. Please stay with me tonight.” He pronounced her name slowly, with meaning. His voice didn’t hold the thinly veiled threat Kathleen’s had but served as an apt reminder.
“Kathleen called me about that bathroom incident,” she whispered into his chest. “She saw us talking at the gala and she... warned me about you.”
Jason grabbed her by the shoulders, his eyes wide. “Shewarnedyou?”
“Yeah. She said you’re digging for dirt, that you’re after her portfolio. She must have been worried I’d tell you about her.”
Jason let go of her and slammed the kitchen counter, the muscles in his neck twitching. “She has no right to go after you like that. Fuck! That is too far.” His volume dropped and his eyes filled with regret. “I’m so sorry, Marnie. I never wanted to put you in the middle of this, dealing with her—”
