No doubt about it. The smart move would be to bail while the bailing was good. But sometimes you ignored the odds.
"What was the plan?" she asked, coming to a halt at the railing.
"I wanted to talk about some things tonight," he said. "Things that had nothing to do with Burns & Co."
"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I realize my timing was bad. It's just that your brother seemed so anxious, and the whole situation sounded very urgent."
"I'd rather you didn't refer to Nick as my brother."
Her eyes widened. "But he is your brother."
"Technically speaking, he's my half brother. Believe me, on the rare occasions when we think of each other, it is strictly in technical terms."
She searched his face. "You have no sense of a family connection with him?"
"Why would I? I've only met him and the others twice. Once at my father's funeral and once in the lawyer's office afterward."
"I see." She turned away to look down at the Green Gate. "Well, I've said my piece. I promise you I won't mention Nick or Burns & Co. again."
She sounded truly chagrined. It was her determination to abide by the vow that made him smile.
"Right," he said.
"What's so funny?"
"The thought of you trying to keep silent about Nick and the business."
She raised her chin. "You don't think I can do it?"
"No. Sooner or later you'll bring up both subjects again."
Her brows snapped together above the dark frames of her glasses. "How do you know?"
"Because you won't be able to help yourself." He laughed. "You are what you are."
"And just what is that?"
"Goal-oriented, just like me. Just like the others in your family. You can't rest until you've achieved your objective and, at the moment, your objective is to convince me to save Burns & Co. For my own good, of course. Your fancy, high-grade intuition is probably telling you that I'll get some of what the para-shrinks like to call closure out of the whole thing."
Her mouth opened, shut, and opened again.
"What are you talking about?" she finally managed. "I'm not like you or anyone else in my family. I'm a walking definition of the word underachieves Just ask anyone."
"I don't have to ask around." He rested both elbows on the railing. "You're the living, breathing definition of achiever. The only difference between you and the rest of us is your goals." He held up one hand to silence her. "And before you start arguing with me, remember that I'm where I am today because I'm damn good at figuring out what people want."
She folded her arms and bristled. There was no other word for it.
"What do you think I want?" she asked.
"To make the world a better place. Justice for those who can't get it for themselves. Help for people like Jake Tanner and the other hunters who disappeared. In short, you're a classic do-gooder."
"And you think do-gooders are naive, gullible, unrealistic, and downright pesky."
"I didn't say that." He paused, the glass halfway to his mouth. "Although, now that you mention it—"
"If you feel that way about me, I'm surprised you didn't file for immediate termination of our marriage this afternoon when you came out of Patterson's office. In fact, why are you even here in my apartment tonight?"
"I haven't made any move to terminate our MC because I like being married to you."
She blinked. "You do?"
"I'm hoping that the reason you didn't rush out to file for divorce yourself today is because you aren't one hundred percent opposed to the idea of being married to me."
"No." She swallowed. "No, I'm not opposed to the idea."
"Okay, that settles that. We're staying married for a while."
"In spite of the fact that I may not be able to resist urging you to try to rescue Burns & Co.?"
"In spite of that."
"Gee, Fontana, I don't know what to say. This is all so romantic. You're really sweeping me off my feet here."
"No rule says a Guild boss can't be romantic."
"My comment was intended to be taken as thinly veiled sarcasm."
He pulled her into his arms. "I'll give you a little tip."
"Yes?"
"When you use sarcasm with a Guild chief, you have to unveil it."
She smiled. "I'll remember that next time."
He kissed her before she could say another word. Her mouth was soft and warm and inviting under his. After a moment he picked her up and carried her indoors and down the hall to the shadowy bedroom.
It wasn't a full and complete victory, he thought, more like a strategic move in a delicately balanced game of chess. But it would do for now.
Chapter 36
SHE CAME AWAKE TO THE REALIZATION THAI SHE WAS alone in the bed. When she opened her eyes, she saw Fontana silhouetted against the window. He wore his briefs but nothing else. Elvis was perched beside him on the sill. They were both looking out into the solid wall of luminous fog. A couple of hunters bonding in the night.
She pushed back the covers and sat up on the side of the bed. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Fontana looked at her over his shoulder. "I'm just doing a little thinking."
She got to her feet and walked across the room to join him. "What about?"
"My big plan. The one I intended to talk to you about tonight."
She stilled. "I thought the plan was for us to stay married for a while."
"It was actually a little more complicated than that."
Her intuition hummed. Whatever this was about, it was important to him. She tried and failed to squelch the little spark of hope that leaped to life within her. Maybe he was beginning to understand that what they had was very, very special.
"More complicated than an MC?" she asked.
He thought about that briefly and then shook his head. "I doubt if there's anything more complicated than an MC."
"What was the rest of your plan?"
He draped an arm around her shoulders. "I'm going to offer you a job."
"Doing what, for heaven's sake?"
"Managing the Guild's charitable foundation."
So much for her intuition.
"Are you kidding?" She waved her arms. "The Foundation is a joke. Jenner used it as a private slush fund for bribing politicians and shady CEOs. Hardly any money trickled down to legitimate charities."
"I'm aware of that. The Foundation needs to be cleaned up. Who better to do it than someone who really cares about doing good with the Guild's money?"
"Huh."
"You're a natural for that job."
"Huh."
"I should warn you that it's going to be a full-time position. You would have to give up journalism."
"Huh."
"Any questions?" he asked.
"I don't know where to start. The thought of working for the Guild is, well, it's mind-boggling."
"More mind-boggling than being married to the boss?"
She contemplated the matter closely for a moment. "Guess not."
"If it doesn't work out, I'm sure you could always go back to the Curtain."
"Huh," she repeated. "I'll have to think about it."
"You do that." He dropped a kiss into her hair. His hand closed gently around her breast. Heat and longing rose inside her. Energy flared. So did suspicion.