Alpha Billionaire’s Bride, Part Two (BWWM Romance Serial) by Mia Caldwell

yet.”
    He knew she was joking.
    “So,” Ian said, “Marina is off the suspect list. Who else
have you got?”
    “That’s it. I’m all out. Well, except for Sullivan and
anyone else you might think of.”
    “Forget about Sullivan. And I find it hard to believe that
anyone who cares for either of us would ever do something like this. An enemy?
Yes. Friends and family? I should hope not.”
    “You’re right,” she said. “I guess I’m out of the detective
game, for now.”
    He grinned. “Don’t worry about it. Tomorrow or the next day,
we’ll learn what happened. Guaranteed. And when I do, whoever did it is going
to dearly wish they’d never tried to burn me.”
    “That sounds kind of personal.”
    “Well, this was personal, wasn’t it? Thanks to this fraud,
I’ve been made to look like an unfeeling cheater and you’ve been dragged
through the mud even worse. When I think of that woman on that program and the
things she said about you, I get ... well, never mind. It’s not right. That’s
all. And I want you to know that I respect the way you’ve handled yourself in
the face of all the criticism and outright lies. I don’t think I could have
been as classy about it as you’ve been. No, I know I couldn’t have
been.”
    She gave him a wavering smile then looked in the opposite
direction. “Thanks.”
    “You can talk to me about how you feel, you know. I might be
able to help. I’ve been dealing with gossip and public opinion my entire adult
life.”
    “I appreciate it,” she said, turning back to him, her eyes
unnaturally bright with unshed tears. “But I’m okay. I tell myself once the
truth comes out, everyone will realize they were wrong about me.”
    In Ian’s experience, the public didn’t care about gossip
being wrong; they merely moved onto the next scandal. Telling Jada that
wouldn’t help, though.
    They’d broken out of the forest and were now within sight of
the house and lake.
    Jada cocked her head. “What’s that sound? A kind of choppy
sound.”
    Ian listened, and heard it too. He knew exactly what it was,
and it was a little early, too. “I don’t know. What is that?”
    They walked on and the noise grew louder. Ms. Kitty wasn’t
impressed and scampered off toward the house, rapidly leaving them in her dust.
    Jada peered into the distance beyond the tree line. “Sounds
like it’s coming from there.” She pointed. “You know what? I think it’s a
helicopter. You don’t think the press has found us, do you? Or maybe you’ve got
someone coming. Tell me you’ve got someone coming.”
    “I’m sure that if it were the press, Lydia would have
already called me.” He held out his phone. “See? No calls.”
    She pressed a hand to her chest. “Whew. That’s a relief.”
    Irritation surged through Ian. CGTV and their
gossip-mongering had put Jada under too much strain. He briefly considered
buying the station just so he could close it down. “Let’s head to the landing
pad,” he said. “It’ll be fine, I promise.”
    And then he did the silliest thing: he took her hand in his.
They walked toward the landing pad, hand in hand, as if they were a couple of
kids. And he liked it. It was ridiculous. And nice. Mostly nice, the way her
tiny hand fit in his. The way she smiled when she looked up at him. The trust
on her lovely face.
    This truly was getting dangerous. And here was indisputable
proof. He had never, ever, held hands with a woman. It always seemed juvenile,
even when he was still a juvenile himself. So he’d never done it, until now,
with Jada.
    They stood well back from the pad as the helicopter flew in
low, over the trees and toward them.
    “That’s your helicopter,” Jada yelled, her voice barely
carrying over the noise and the wind.
    “It sure is.”
    Raul made his usual skillful landing, touching down like a
feather. He slowed the rotors and Mr. Forest, the estate manager, jogged out to
the copter, wind whipping his hair as he opened the passenger