"Not exactly."
"Please don't tell me you let the editor of that dreadful tabloid you work for talk you into printing a ridiculous story like this just for the sake of boosting circulation."
"It wasn't Mr. Runtley's idea," Sierra said.
"Just tell me it isn't true."
Sierra realized that something had changed in Fontana's expression. It was a subtle shift, nothing more than a faint tightening at the corners of his mouth. The warm, intimate heat that had been in his eyes a moment ago had disappeared.
"Mom, it's only a Marriage of Convenience," she said, trying to project the calm, cool air of an adult woman who is entirely capable of choosing her own lovers.
"MCs are so tacky." Marilyn's voice rose. "Sierra, how could you? How in the world did you ever come to meet a Guild boss in the first place, let alone get intimately involved with him? You've only been in Crystal for six months."
"It's complicated."
"Don't you realize how this will look?" Marilyn said tightly. "We haven't had a Marriage of Convenience in this family since your grandmother Larken entered into one with your grandfather. And that MC only lasted a few weeks before they came to their senses and converted it into a Covenant Marriage."
Sierra seized on that. "Speaking of which, did Grandmother ever tell you why she and Grandpa chose an MC first?"
"She said something once about wanting to be sure because she didn't trust her intuition when it came to love. But that's ridiculous. Your grandmother's talent is legendary in this family. I've never known her to be less than absolutely positive about anything."
Her grandmother had been right to be wary, Sierra thought. When it came to love, things got very murky, even for those with keen intuition.
"Mom, don't worry about me. I'm fine. It's just a simple Marriage of Convenience. People go in and out of them all the time."
"Not people in this family," Marilyn shot back. "What about Jonathan?"
For some reason the mention of Jonathan's name was one button too many.
"You know, Mom, I don't really give a flying chunk of untuned amber what Jonathan thinks."
"How can you say that?" Marilyn's shock reverberated through the phone. "You loved him. You were engaged to him. He called just the other day wanting to know when you planned to return to Resonance."
"Whatever I felt for Jonathan ended the day I found him in bed with Adrianna Silbury."
"Good grief, you never said anything about that when you called off the engagement."
"You're Jonathan's mother's best friend. I didn't want to muck up your relationship with Mrs. Pemberley."
"I… don't know what to say. I'm dumbfounded. I thought Jonathan loved you. He was one of us, a member of the Society. You were matched."
"Jon was fond of me. We were friends. But it turned out that he was primarily interested in me because he saw me as a business asset."
"You mean because you're a McIntyre?" Marilyn asked sharply. "But that's nonsense. His family name carries just as much weight in this city and in the Society as yours does."
"No, Mom." She glanced at Fontana and let her eyes slide away. "Because of the other thing. You know."
Marilyn was no fool. "Your intuition?"
"Uh-huh."
There was a long silence on the other end of the line.
"I'm stunned," Marilyn said finally. "Your father and I had no idea. But if Jonathan's feelings for you weren't genuine, why didn't you sense it? Why didn't the matchmakers pick it up?"
Fontana ate his Earth toast with a grim air. She knew he was listening to every word she said.
"I really can't explain right now, Mom. Let's just say that the experience taught me a lesson. I had a very close call with Jonathan. I'll never contemplate another Covenant Marriage without a trial Marriage of Convenience first. It's just too risky."
"Obviously you didn't need an MC with Jonathan to discover that he was cheating on you," Marilyn pointed out smoothly.
Sierra wrinkled her nose. "You know, that's the problem with having a mom who is a philosophy professor. You're always pulling the logic card on me. Okay, you win that one on points. Nevertheless, you can see why I'm feeling a little skittish about the whole concept of a Covenant Marriage these days. It's a dangerous institution, as far as I'm concerned."
"So you plunge straight into a Marriage of Convenience with a Guild boss, instead?" Marilyn shot back. "That doesn't sound a great deal safer."
Sierra caught Fontana's eye. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, but for some reason the short-term vows they had made to each other yesterday popped into her head. "I promise to remain faithful so long as we both are bound by this agreement…"
She also remembered the strong currents of psi that had accompanied the promise. She had known in that moment that, whatever else happened, Fontana intended to keep his end of the bargain. The MC might not last longer than a week, but for those few days, he was hers. And she was his.
"Got to go, Mom. I'm in the middle of fixing breakfast. Give my love to Dad, and tell him not to worry. Everything's under control."
"You always say that, but things never quite work out that way," Marilyn retorted. "And what about your grandparents' anniversary next month?"
"I'll be there."
"With or without your new husband?" Marilyn asked ominously.
"We'll see," Sierra said airily.
She ended the connection before her mother could respond and turned off the phone.
"Sorry about that," she said briskly. "My mom just heard the news."
Fontana poured more coffee into his cup. "I get the feeling your folks aren't too thrilled to hear that you're in an MC with me," he said, his voice exquisitely neutral.
"It isn't you. It's the whole MC thing. In my family they're considered sort of, well—"
"Lower-class?" he suggested with a cold smile. "Something a Guild man might do, for instance?"
Anger flashed through her. She raised her fork in warning. "Stop right there, Fontana. I've had enough high drama with my mother this morning. Understood?"
His eyes tightened at the corners, and his jaw looked as if it had been carved from stone. She almost smiled. He wasn't accustomed to having people tell him to shut up. Somewhat to her surprise, however, he changed tactics.
"Who's Jonathan?" he asked.
"Don't play the innocent with me. I'm sure you know all about Jonathan Pemberley." She forked up a bite of the toast. "You would never have gotten involved with me unless you had done a very thorough background check."
"I did come across the announcement of your engagement to Pemberley. Also noticed that it had been ended quietly and abruptly about eight months ago."
"Is there any other way to end an engagement?"
Fontana ignored that snappy little riposte.
"Well?" he said.
"Well, what?"
"Are you going to tell me about Pemberley?"
She concentrated on her coffee. "You heard me explain to Mom that I found him in bed with someone else."
He waited. She did not volunteer anything further.
"That's it?" he said after a while.
"That's it."
"Why do I have this feeling that there's more to the story?"
"Beats me." She smiled. "Possibly because you are suspicious by nature?"
"Possibly. I heard you tell your mother that Pemberley viewed you as some kind of business asset."
"Uh-huh."
"Because of your family's power in Resonance?"
"Not exactly." She put down her coffee cup. "Look, I really don't want to talk about Jonathan. Let's change the subject."
"Fine. You want to change the subject, let's get down to business."
"Business?"
"It's time you kept your end of the bargain. I want to meet your source, the one who told you about the alien abductions and the discovery of a secret alien lab."