She glanced at him, regret clouding her gaze, telling him she still planned on leaving him after her part in the case was over. “Your parents’ place reminds me of home. Laid-back. Casual. None of the hustle of the city. I can’t tell you how much I miss that.” Reaching down, she stroked Desirée’s withers. “I always thought I’d marry someone from Connecticut, maybe settle down on a farm, have half a dozen kids…” Her voice trailed off wistfully.

“And instead you moved to Miami and married Anthony.”

“Didn’t think twice about it, either,” she said, not without a note of self-recrimination. “I loved him, Josh, and I honestly believed he loved me, too. I wouldn’t have married him otherwise.” She gave a humorless laugh. “Unfortunately, I was wrong about Anthony’s intentions.”

Josh’s jaw tightened. “Anthony didn’t know how to appreciate what he had.”

She shrugged, resignation in her expression. “What I wanted was so simple, really. A faithful husband, a warm home filled with love and laughter, a family of my own. The kind of things most women want, I suppose.”

“I want to give you those things, Paige.”

Her fingers tightened on the reins. “And I want those things with you, too, Josh, but I hate what you do for a living, the danger, the uncertainties-”

“Then I’ll find another job.” The words spilled out automatically, desperately, without thought. His heart thudded as he waited for her answer, because he wasn’t sure if he could give up something that was so much a part of him.

She understood. “No, you won’t, because I’d never ask you to do that for me. You honestly love what you do, and I respect that, but I can’t live with it again. The long hours, the sleepless nights…the fear of loving someone I might lose.”

Frustration twisted inside him. “Life, or marriage, doesn’t come with guarantees. You won’t find them with me or anyone else.”

Sadness dimmed her green eyes. “Oh, I know that, but I can lessen the risk.”

Josh’s mood veered sharply to anger. He damned Anthony for tainting her perception of being a cop’s wife. Mostly, he damned himself for not being more assertive three years ago and laying his own claim to Paige.

Now it was too late.

“Josh…I started my period this morning,” she said quietly.

The finality of her statement sent a shaft of disappointment straight through his heart. In the deepest recesses of his soul, he realized he’d been hoping that she’d be pregnant with their baby, which would have kept her bound to him in ways his declaration of love couldn’t. Selfish, yes, but the thought of losing her tied him up in knots.

He tried to separate his anticipation from more immediate concerns. “Do we need to make a quick trip to the store?”

A small smile played around the corners of her mouth, but didn’t diminish the shadows in her eyes. “I had a feeling I was going to start soon and came prepared. I think getting away from everything finally alleviated the stress my mind and body have been under.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” His voice was rough, and he swallowed to ease the dryness.

“It’s for the best, Josh.”

He forced himself to nod. “You certainly don’t need the worry of being pregnant right now.”

“No, I don’t,” she agreed, staring toward the open field of tall grass and wildflowers stretching ahead. “Another week, two at the most, and I’ll be back in Connecticut.”

Without him. Josh’s chest tightened and his mind sifted through the dozen different ways he could coerce Paige into remaining in Florida with him and marrying him. Desperate thoughts. Self-indulgent thoughts.

He didn’t voice any of them. If he pressured her to stay, she’d be miserable, possibly grow to resent him, and he’d be no better than Anthony, who’d had no qualms about manipulating her emotions.

The decision to remain had to be made of her own free will.

He loved her and there was only one thing he could do to prove how much he cared.

He’d let her go.

10

PAIGE HUNG UP the phone in her office, her hand amazingly steady considering her insides were trembling with an abundance of nerves. Remaining behind her lesk, she glanced over at Josh and the high-tech recording equipment he’d set up to monitor every incoming md outgoing call on her business line since Monday. Wednesday had finally produced the results they’d been anticipating.

They’d been expecting the call from Carranza. Josh had briefed her on possible situations and answers, so she’d been prepared to handle whatever direction Victor chose to take the conversation. She’d been calm and poised during their verbal exchange, had even managed to interject light laughter at the appropriate times. The man had been charming and straightforward in his approach, stating a further interest in the Wild Rose, and the diamond-and-emerald necklace she had in her possession. He wanted to discuss both at the dinner party he’d invited her and her “companion” to.

His interest in her boutique was merely a smoke screen, she knew, and the idle comment he’d made about having his jeweler duplicate the emerald neckace if she wasn’t willing to part with hers was a nice, eassuring touch, she thought.

Josh pushed a button to stop the recording tape and slipped off the headset he wore. His gaze met hers warm and encouraging. “You did great, Paige.”

“Well, it sounds like we have ourselves a date for Saturday evening. A black-tie affair, no less. I guess this means I’ll be getting a new dress for the occasion.” A forced smile curved her lips, but did nothing to veil the edge of sarcasm in her voice. “And I thought it was quite generous of Carranza to offer us weekend access to his guest cottage, didn’t you?”

Josh stood and stretched, his gaze turning cautious “If everything goes as planned, we won’t be there beyond Saturday evening.”

She gathered the inventory sheets she’d been working on before Carranza had called and stuffed them into a file folder. Between her contact with Victor, and the earlier conversation she’d had with her Realtor with regard to a solid offer on the beach house-a discussion Josh had heard word for word, including the fact that she’d accepted the bid without hesitation-Paige’s concentration was shot. “If leaves a large margin for error Marchiano. What if the entire weekend is a complete bust and nothing happens? Then what?”

“Then, come Monday morning, we’ll be sending you back home to Connecticut.” His gaze searched her face as if committing every feature to memory. “No matter what happens this weekend, by Monday evening you’ll be back home with your family, where you want to be.’

The folder in her hand slipped to the desk, and a huge lump formed in her throat. “What?” she breathed unable to believe what she’d just heard.

“I’m not willing to risk your life any more than we already have, and I’ve told Reynolds as much.” He opened a black case and began putting the recording equipment away. “I don’t even want to put you through this weekend, but we all know if we backed out now it would look suspicious and we’d lose whatever ground we’ve gained. And we may never get another chance to get as close to Carranza as this weekend will allow.” He glanced up at her, a powerful combination of gentleness and determination darkening his eyes. “You understand that, don’t you?”

“Yes.” She understood that he regretted the situation she’d been forced into because of Anthony. And, as a result, he’d been thrust into the danger, too. Together, they’d do whatever was necessary to put an end to Carranza’s exploits. They had no choice.

“And with luck, Carranza will attempt to seize the necklace while we’re there. If not, I’ve already talked to Reynolds about your leaving after this weekend, and he’s making all the necessary arrangements to make sure you get home safely and have the protection you need until Carranza is arrested.”

More than words could express, she appreciated the efforts he’d made to grant her wish to return home. They hadn’t spoken of their relationship since returning from his parents’, but his eyes reflected his emotions, and so did his actions.

He truly loved her, more than Anthony ever had. He was letting her go, giving her what she said she wanted… So why did she feel she was making the biggest mistake of her life?

Shaking off the question that had begun to haunt her, she left her desk and approached Josh, rerouting her thoughts back to the case. “If Carranza isn’t apprehended this weekend, what will happen with him and the necklace?”

“We have a fence who is currently working with the police, and we’ll have to filter the necklace through him and have Carranza believe that you’ve sold it.” Closing the lid on the black case, he secured the locks, then faced her. “It’ll be more difficult to apprehend Carranza, and will take longer than we’d anticipated, but I’m not willing to risk your safety beyond this weekend.” His jaw clenched fiercely.

They stood so close, she ached to reach out and touch him, but didn’t dare for fear of doing something incredibly stupid…like kissing him as she’d been longing to since their return trip from his parents’.

“I want him caught, Josh.” This horrible nightmare wouldn’t end for her just because she was safe in Connecticut, not when Josh’s life was still at stake. She’d worry endlessly about him as long as Carranza remained a free man. “I’d like to see him, and Bridget, behind bars this weekend.”

“That’s what we’re hoping for, too.” The first smile she’d seen in days kicked up the corner of his mouth, softening his expression. “We’ll be on Carranza’s turf, and our guess is that’s where he’ll most likely make his move to obtain the necklace, though we can’t predict how or when he’ll approach you, which is the difficult part.”

She drew a deep breath, resigned to what she had to do, despite her aversion to the situation. Both of their lives depended on her cooperation, and her ability to anticipate the grimmest of circumstances. “Then prepare me for the worst.”

Bracing his hands on his hips, he stared at her for a long moment, a spark of admiration entering his gaze. “All right. I want you to make arrangements to have Pam run the store so your days will be freed up.”

“She’s agreed to manage the boutique until it sells,” she said, having already discussed her plans to leave Miami with Pam. It had been a tearful, emotion-filled conversation, but ultimately Pam had understood her decision, and had already begun to take charge of the day-to-day business dealings. “I’m hoping the new owner, whoever it is, will keep her on.”

Josh nodded. “Over the next three days, we’ll practice self-defense maneuvers, and we’ll spend a few hours each day at the shooting range so you’ll feel comfortable with Liz’s derringer.”

The apprehension Paige thought she’d experience never materialized. It was as though her acceptance had bolstered her courage, made her stronger internally, and pushed aside all uncertainties. She could do this, she realized, as long as she kept her focus. “Okay.”

“I’m taking the tape that recorded your call with Carranza to Reynolds, and he can use it to brief our officers who’ll be working undercover this weekend. We’ve already discovered who is catering the party and assigned men to stand in as part of the crew. Same with the valet service. We’ve been able to post at least two dozen officers at Carranza’s estate for Saturday night.”

Paige’s mind spun with all the information he offered, and she struggled to absorb it all.

He went on. “You’ll also be sitting in on any briefings so you’ll know exactly what our strategy will be, how our men will be set up, and what will happen when Carranza makes his move for the necklace.” His eyes narrowed shrewdly. “The next three days will be intense. Are you up for that?”

“Yes,” she said, meaning it.

A satisfied light came into his gaze. “Then let’s get started.”


SATURDAY AFTERNOON, Paige and Josh headed across the Rickenbacker Causeway to Carranza’s private estate in Key Biscayne. Despite the unpredictability of what lay ahead, Paige felt surprisingly calm, and knew Josh was the reason for her stable frame of mind. For the past three days, he’d committed himself to preparing her both mentally and physically for any confrontation she might possibly face, at times pushing her to the edge of exhaustion and frustration. Still, she’d endured his vigorous demands, knowing the skills he taught her would keep them alive. She’d learned to decipher subtle cues from Josh, knew how to fire a derringer blindfolded, and mastered half a dozen ways to incapacitate a person.

She would wear the Ivanov necklace and knew exactly how to handle any encounter with Carranza or his supposed appraiser. The wireless microphone that had been sewn into the bodice of the gown she’d wear tonight-along with the one Josh would use-was a bit of security Reynolds had insisted upon, just in case she and Josh were separated. The undercover officers would be outfitted with receivers, enabling them to hear their conversations throughout the evening.