Strangers In The Night. Kristin Gabriel
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“I’ve already offered to let you call my mother. What more can I do to prove to you that I’m telling the truth?”
“Tell me something about Adam Delaney,” she challenged. “The real Adam Delaney. His past, his work, his life. Because I’ve done enough research on the man myself, I probably know his life better than you do.”
He grinned, ready to prove her wrong. “I was born in Pleasant Valley, Colorado, population five thousand and twelve. My parents are Lila and Steven Delaney. Mom’s a cook at the high school and my father practices law.”
“All facts you could have found in public records. How about something more specific?”
“Maybe you should have put my impostor through this interrogation before you started dating him.”
“Maybe you should tell me more personal details about Adam Delaney.” She arched a brow. “Or don’t you know any?”
Now he felt like the one getting poked with a stick.
“I broke my ankle playing in the state basketball tournament my senior year, but we won anyway. I earned my bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice at the University of Colorado in Boulder and got accepted to Yale Law School. But I decided to travel the world instead.”
She didn’t say anything, but the color faded from her cheeks.
“I know you believe me,” Adam said softly, “even if you don’t want to admit it.”
She shook her head. “I’m not sure what to believe. You could have looked all that up in the archives of the Pleasant Valley Gazette.”
“So could my impostor,” Adam replied, ready to end this battle between them. “Look, the fact is this guy duped both of us. Now I’m not going to sit back and let him get away with it. I plan to track him down and I want you to help me.”
Her green eyes widened. “How can I possibly help you?”
“The way I figure it, my impostor has to be someone I know. Someone who knew I’d be out of the country for several months. Hell, he even knew my neighbor across the hall was taking care of Horatio. He finagled the damn apartment key from him.”
“Then maybe you should ask your neighbor to help you.”
He shook his head. “Tried that. It’s a dead end. You’re the only one who can help me, Jo.”
“Josie,” she said, correcting him. “And I really don’t want to get involved.”
“It’s too late. You got involved the moment you climbed into my bed.”
She stood up. “A moment I intend to forget. I suggest you do the same.”
But he wasn’t about to let her walk away from him again. “It’s your choice. Either help me voluntarily or I’ll be forced to find out the information in other ways. Like having intimate conversations with all of your coworkers. Your friends. Your family. Anyone who might have seen the two of you together.”
Her nostrils flared. “To tell them what? That I was dating an impostor? That you and I…”
“I’ll do whatever is necessary to find out who did this,” he declared, hoping she wouldn’t call his bluff.
Fury lit her green eyes. “So, basically, you’re blackmailing me?”
He thought about it for a moment. “Yes.”
She shot him a look of pure loathing. “You are despicable.”
“But never boring.”
Josie turned and marched out of the restaurant without another word. He followed her, much too aware of the luscious body that lay underneath that boring suit. Maybe that’s why she wore it—to keep strange men, like him, at bay. No doubt she regretted the intimate night they’d spent together.
He, on the other hand, couldn’t seem to stop thinking about it. And that surprised him, since Adam rarely reminisced about one-night stands. But for some reason, Josie was different. Which might explain his reaction to her. He’d always loved a challenge.
Adam caught up with her on the sidewalk. “I want your answer.”
She kept walking. “Too bad. I’m due back at work.”
“And I’ve got an assignment waiting for me halfway across the world. It might be an inconvenience to both of us, but I need to find this impostor so I can get on with my life. Will you help me?”
She whirled on him. “I can’t help you. I don’t have any idea where Adam is. I mean, my Adam.”
For some reason, the way she kept saying my Adam grated on him. “We both need answers. That’s why we should work together to find him.”
She arched a skeptical eyebrow. “How do you suggest we do that?”
“Simple. I’ll introduce you to everyone I know here in Denver. Like I said before, this impostor has to be someone who knows me—knows personal details about my life. When you spot your boyfriend, just point him out to me.”
She hesitated, obviously mulling over his plan in her mind. “And then?”
“And then we never have to see each other again.”
JOSIE STARED UP AT HIM, resisting the temptation to slide her palm over the shadow of whiskers on his jaw. He stood much too close to her, making it impossible to think clearly. But she refused to back away from him or give him any other signs of retreat. A man like Adam would use it to his advantage, and he already seemed to have all the advantages, which left her caught in a trap she couldn’t escape.
A trap of her own making.
“Fine,” she said at last, knowing she had little choice. Though she truly did want to find her boyfriend. To feel safe again. “The sooner we end this, the better.”
He smiled. “Methinks you protest too much.”
His smile made something warm uncurl in her belly. She ignored the sensation, telling herself it was a hunger pain. “In your dreams.”
“My dreams have been quite stimulating lately.”
She didn’t know what he was talking about and told herself she didn’t want to know. Adam was everything her boyfriend was not—brash, pushy and overconfident. She couldn’t wait to prove him wrong.
So why not join him in his search and discover the truth? Maybe her boyfriend was in trouble. Maybe he needed her. She looked up at the man in front of her, wondering if he’d ever needed anyone.
“Well?” he said, waiting for her answer.
“All right, I’ll help you.”
“Good choice,” he said with an approving nod. “We’ll start tonight.”
“Start what exactly?” she asked, hoping she hadn’t just made a big mistake.
“The hunt.”
She saw the gleam of anticipation in his dark eyes and wondered if this was only a game to him. Another adventure he could add to his extensive collection.
Josie had endured enough adventures growing up to last her a lifetime. Now she just wanted stability in her life. A good job. A place she could call home. A man who made her feel safe and secure. Like her boyfriend. The complete opposite of the man standing in front of her, who could stir up passionate emotions inside of her that she hadn’t known existed. Emotions that she didn’t want to feel.
Passion had made her mother leave her father for another man. It had made her father steal her away out of desperation and revenge. Passion had destroyed her family. But she refused to let it rule her now. She had to control herself, no matter how much he provoked her.
“Let’s meet at my apartment around seven,” he suggested. “Unless you want me to pick you up at your place?”