heard the last of Spalding,” she murmured. “He takes his role in this seriously.”
“As he should,” Sam said, matching her low tone. “I’ll cooperate with him, but I’m not handing over proprietary technology or software.” Again he reached to push his glasses up so he could rub his eyes and remembered in the nick of time he was wearing his contacts. “By noon tomorrow, I’ll have better location intel for the FBI to work with as well as a comprehensive protective program for the museum. At a fair price.”
“Remarkable.” She stopped, placing a hand on his arm again. “I have one more favor to ask.”
He arched his eyebrows, waiting.
She glanced up and down the hallway before meeting his gaze. “Spend a few minutes at the reception with me. News of my, um, husband’s arrival has made people curious.”
He kept her waiting, but she didn’t flinch. “Okay, on one condition.”
“Only one?”
He reconsidered his position. “One condition and I reserve the right to add conditions based on your answers.”
She held her ground and his gaze. “I reserve the right to refuse on a per item basis. Name your primary condition.”
He felt the smile curl his lips, saw her lovely mouth curve in reply. “Tell me where and why we married.”
“Not here.” Her smile faded. “You deserve a full explanation and you’ll get it, I promise. As soon as I navigate the minefield this evening has become. I don’t have any right to impose further, but I could use a buffer in there.”
He suddenly wanted to step up and be that buffer. For her. “I’m no asset in social settings, Madison.”
“No one’s expecting you to be a social butterfly. You only have to be yourself and pretend to be proud of me.”
He didn’t care for her phrasing. Before he could debate the terms further, she leaned her body close to his and gave him a winning smile. “Later,” she murmured, tapping his lips with her finger. “Let’s go. There’s only an hour left.” She linked her hand with his and turned, giving him a start when they came face-to-face with one of the guests.
Her moves made sense now. She’d known they were being watched while he’d been mesmerized by her soft green eyes. The intimacy had only been for show. Thank goodness.
If her smile was any indication, he’d managed the first introduction flawlessly. They were soon surrounded by others eager to meet Madison’s elusive husband. Beside her, working the room wasn’t difficult. She never left him to fend for himself and listening to her answer the same repeated questions, he learned she’d kept details of her married life private. It made the hour easier to bear.
The only thing that came naturally to him was demonstrating pride in his fake wife. She had a flare for diplomacy—no surprise, considering her career. He admired her ability to say the right things or politely evade questions she didn’t want to answer.
When they entered the gallery where the prized white jade cup glowed under soft lights surrounded by guards, he was the only person close enough to catch her relieved sigh. She squeezed his hand. “Thank you, Sam. You saved me tonight.”
He couldn’t recall ever hearing similar words aimed at him. “We should dance,” he replied, noticing other couples dancing on the terrace where live music was under way.
“You don’t have to do that,” she said, resisting.
This was a new role. Not the one she’d created for him with the marriage ruse, but being the eager and willing dance partner. He tipped his head to the open doors, urging her to come along. “It’s a gorgeous night and it’s our public debut as a couple.”
“It’s not necessary,” she murmured as they lingered on the fringes of the dance floor.
“Afraid I’ll step on your toes?” He managed to keep the growing list of questions to himself, though he couldn’t wait to hear how she’d passed her security clearances with a fake husband. “Come on,” he cajoled. “We deserve a little fun.” Besides, he had more he wanted to say. Nothing as eloquent as the cheesy lines he’d just delivered—something far more relevant to his real reason for being here.
With a little spin, he turned her into his arms and they joined the flow of dancing couples.
“Impressive.” She gave him an open, friendly smile that suited her better than the cool reserve she’d shown all evening.
“My mom was a stickler for all the traditional manners.” If he focused on her, he didn’t mind the other people milling about, watching them.
Madison peered up at him through her lashes. “Was that before or after juvie?”
“Both, actually,” he admitted. Why conversation had always been easy with her was a perpetual mystery to him. She’d always been out of his league and yet she’d never been rude about what she needed when he tutored her. The sobering thought brought him back to the reason she’d called on him to help.
He bent his head close to hers and whispered in her ear. “There’s more to the problem you had tonight, isn’t there?”
Her hand smoothed a small circle across his shoulder. “Yes.” The serene mask she kept between the world and her emotions fell back into place.
“I’d like to talk about it in more detail.”
“As soon as I’m home I’ll call you and fill you in.”
“No.” Based on who she was, the people around them and the disjointed threats from the hacker and online chat rooms, he didn’t trust her phone or email right now. Knowing how she’d reached out to him, he had a few concerns about the security of his phone and email. “In person is better. Smarter,” he added.
Her body tensed under his hands. “Sam, stop. You’ve done enough for me. I can handle it with the FBI’s help from here.”
“I’m serious, Madison.” He guided her through a turn and brought her closer to his body. “You know the history of this situation. You know the protocols and risks in your world better than I do.”
When concern flared in her eyes, he knew she was following his line of thinking. If she’d used his name from the beginning of her marriage charade, he had reason to worry that his condo might be compromised. It wasn’t simply his fondness for spy novels fueling the paranoia. He and Rush had survived several corporate espionage attempts, from local to global threats. As he’d watched Madison work the room, he realized several people in the Chinese delegation recognized him and were reassessing her because of it. He sensed serious trouble brewing and he needed her insight to get ahead of it.
“How long have people believed I’m your husband?”
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