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“History? That’s the short of it. That man broke me in two. I can’t …” She gulped and took a long breath.
“Do you still care for him?” Shawn asked quietly.
“No!” she yelled so loud all three men turned and looked into the plane. “No,” she gritted out. “That ship has sunk. But back to you. I’m terribly sorry to hear Mercedes is ailing.”
“Me too.” He met her gaze. His eyes were a cool, piercing blue. Unnerving. “Please, Belinda. All Mercedes wants is to have her charity shows go well. She and Julie have schemed and worked untold hours, and this is Mercedes’s ‘swan song.’ Can you please bury …” He cleared his throat. “Hide your feelings for Jagger, get through the next six days, and hopefully win the million dollars for your charity?”
“Will I have to be around him?” She bit at her lip.
“That depends on how good you and Lieutenant Braven are. I’ll explain it all in a moment, but he and Hays will be chasing you two, so you’ll mostly be running away from him.”
“That’s new. I’ve been wishing for the past fourteen years that I could find him.” She clamped her mouth tight. From the interested look in Shawn’s eyes, she should not have admitted that. “So I ignore Jagger, run away from him, and don’t quit on you for all the children I can help and the sweetheart, sickly Mercedes Belle?”
Shawn nodded tightly. “Please.”
Belinda glanced back out at Jagger. His back was turned to her. Even through his T-shirt she could see his broad build, the muscles bulging as he had his arms folded tightly across his chest. He’d grown into himself beautifully in the past fourteen years.
He’d have to chase her this week. Maybe he’d feel a little of how she’d felt wanting to chase after him but never being able to find him. She wanted to win the money for the children. She wanted to help Mercedes and Shawn. And she wanted Jagger to hurt like she’d hurt. He was so competitive; it would kill him if he couldn’t catch her.
“This is going to be nigh impossible,” she admitted, drawing a breath, “but I will do it.”
Shawn’s eyes flashed with relief.
“I will stay on the show, and I will be delightful and happy. I will avoid coming unhinged and yelling at Jagger. If you can tell him to …”
What? What did she want Shawn to tell him to do?
She wanted answers. Why had he blocked her number? Why had he stopped responding to emails? Why had he never come to visit her?
But did she really want answers? What would answers do besides break her already shattered heart? She wasn’t enough for him. He’d stopped loving her because they’d grown distant that summer. He’d realized her parents would make things tough for them and she wasn’t worth the hassle to have to deal with them. He’d wanted to commit himself a hundred percent to his Navy career. Who knew? All she had were theories.
“Please inform Jagger to pretend we don’t know each other for the cameras, and I will do the same. The heartbreak I have experienced is in the past. Let’s keep it there.” She was a liar. She hadn’t buried anything but her marriage to Mike. “The children I will help and your sweet Mercedes are my focus right now. Also.” She gave a nervous laugh. “Let’s please cut my initial reaction to seeing Jagger and strike that from the final production. Does that work for you?”
There. She was calm, collected, a real southern lady. She folded her hands primly in her lap, straightened her spine, tilted her chin, and crossed her legs at the ankle to reinforce the picture.
Shawn gave her an appraising glance, and then he nodded. “That’s very kind of you to put it all behind you and focus on the show and helping the children and Mercedes. We will cut the footage you requested. Thank you.”
“Yes, sir. And you’ll tell Jagger?”
“You both pretend you don’t know each other in front of the cameras?”
“Yes.”
“What about if you find a spot where the cameras aren’t rolling?” He gave her a calculated look she didn’t like. What was he to Jagger? A friend? A military buddy? Did he want her to forgive and love his maybe-friend? She had no idea.
“Let’s pray we don’t find that spot.” She tilted her chin up to him. “If Jagger has the misfortune of meeting me alone and without cameras, the outburst I had a few moments ago will be mild. I will sting him like a bee.” She shouldn’t have added that last line in. If he relayed that to Jagger, would Jagger come after her for the sting and the sweet honey or stay far away? She didn’t want to find out.
Shawn smiled and shook his head, rubbing at his jaw. “You seem like the perfect woman for Jag.”
Her eyes widened and all her breath rushed out. “Please don’t,” she managed, feeling like he’d slugged her.
“Forgive me.”
“And please don’t say anything to him about the ‘sting like a bee’ comment.”
He held her gaze, and something in his eyes scared her. “I’ll tell him not to get you alone,” he said. “Thank you.”
She nodded, and they both stood.
