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“He hasn’t explained. Yet.”
She gave another snort of displeasure, which impressed the heck out of Shayne since the Doña somehow managed to retain her regal air while making the sort of noise capable of cracking glass. It was quite a feat. “Then I’ll wait until he does before rendering my verdict.”
“And you’ll wait because...?”
“Because I want to be certain that you’ll remain his wife once you know why I’m here.”
“I see,” Shayne murmured.
It was a lie and they both knew it, but apparently the Doña intended to let it pass. Clearly this had to do with the secret Chaz had mentioned on the balcony the night they'd madelove.
When she'd asked him if it was anything illegal, he'd replied, “Nothing I can be jailed for.” Somehow it involved this woman. The question was...how.
“...and do what I pay you to!” Chaz’s voice roared through the thick oak door. Aloud thwack punctuated his shout. “Is that the best you can do? Hell, you can’t even throw straight, you ham-fisted excuse for a cook!”
Shayne started in alarm. Now what? “Excuse me, please.”
Hurrying to the door, she yanked it open. Chaz stood with his back to her, shaking his fist at a huge, muscle-bound giant of a man who rapidly disappeared down the hallway. From the way her husband’s muscles were knotted beneath his shirt, he’d soon give physical expression to his anger. She hastened to close thedoor.
It didn’t take any great mental acuity to realize Chaz and the Doña were at odds. No point in giving her more ammunition to use against her husband. Now she just had to figure out why he was also at odds withMojo.
“What’s going on?” she whispered.
“Just explaining the facts of life to my mule-headed idiot of a cook.” He raised his voice. “My mule-headed, idiot, soon-to-be-unemployed cook.”
“I don’t understand. Why is he so upset over our marriage?”
Chaz glanced at her over his shoulder, his expression reflecting a wariness that cut to the quick. At a guess, he didn’t know how she’d respond to the situation and if there’d been time, she’d have blistered him forit.
“I guess I should have spoken to him before I left and warned I might be bringing home a wife. But since I didn't know for sure I’d find someone, I—”
“Chickened out?” she interrupted without giving due thought to the ramifications of her comment. “Considering the size of him, Idon’t blame you.”
Chaz’s eyes narrowed, irritation vying with amusement. To her relief, his sense of humor got the better of him. “You think that’s intimidating, you oughta see him with a meat cleaver in his hand.” He nodded to the front door off to her right.
The sight of a meat cleaver imbedded deep in the wood stopped Shayne’s breath in her throat. Her knees wobbled. “He—” She gulped. “He threw that at you?”
“Aw, hell, honey. He wasn’t serious or I wouldn’t be standing here. He was just punctuating some of his choicer remarks.”
Shayne closed her eyes and whispered a Spanish prayer her Costa Rican nanny used to repeat each night to chase away the demons hiding under the bed. Of course, once she’d been taken to Florida, she’d had to say those prayers all on her own. Not that they’d worked.
“Why is he upset that you married me?” she asked again.
“He’s afraid you’ll try and change things. He’s sort of possessive about his kitchen.”
Was that all? She felt instantly better, though she had trouble communicating that fact to her knees.
“Hey, you okay?” Chaz gathered her into his arms. “He won’t hurt you. Honest.”
If only she could believe that. She buried her face against his shoulder. His arms wrapped around her replacing the chill with sweet heat. She drew in a deep breath, his spicy cedar scent filling her lungs. Held like this, she did feelsafe.
His hands snagged in her hair, tipping her head back. Fierce blue eyes focused on her with explosive need. He murmured something, something that sounded remarkably like “my love.” But that couldn'tbe.
And then she couldn’t think. His hands tangled deeper in her hair, forcing her up into a scalding meld of lips and tongues and heated breath. She slipped her hands beneath his shirt, reacquainting herself with the flesh embodiment of strength and power.
“Everything will work out,” Chaz muttered against her mouth. He drank deeply once more, drugging her with his taste. “You’ll see. I’ll take care of it.”
How typically male. He had a lot to learn about the woman he married, if he thought he could cut her out of the loop. “Is Mojo one of your secrets?”
