Ten. The countdown to midnight began in Cantonese.
Nine. ‘The shop you speak of sells funeral vases, sure enough,’ said John.
Eight. ‘But they don’t sell them empty.’
Seven. ‘What do you mean, not empty?’ she said.
Six. ‘The one I bought was empty.’
Five. ‘Well, they don’t deliver them empty,’ said Kai.
Four. ‘When you bought Nick that vase…
Three. ‘…you ordered his execution.’
Two. ‘I what?’
One. ‘That’s why someone’s been trying to kill him.’
Oh, dear.
The crowd roared as fireworks erupted in the sky, huge blasts of colour raining down from the heavens, each one more spectacular than the last, and all around them people were laughing and embracing, kissing and shaking hands, their faces alight with pleasure and the glow from the fireworks.
She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. They were all staring at her: Jasmine, Kai, Nick and John; all waiting for her to speak, but she had no idea what to say. Her hands were trembling, hell, her entire body was trembling with a mixture of fear and disbelief. This was a joke, right? It had to be a joke. But the expression on Kai’s face assured her it wasn’t.
A fresh blast of fireworks opened up the sky with a crack that made her jump; a kaleidoscope of red, green and gold, while her gut roiled and her head ached with the sure knowledge that in buying Nick that damned vase, she’d made a huge and deadly mistake.
‘I—’ What on earth could she say? She looked to Nick. ‘You—’ Nope, she still couldn’t find any words. She put a hand to her aching head and shrugged, still helplessly enmeshed in Nick’s gaze. Good Lord, she’d put a contract out on him. How the hell was she supposed to explain that?
She couldn’t. Not now. Maybe not ever. It was just too bizarre.
But they were all still waiting. Waiting for her to say something. Anything. She opened her mouth and took a deep breath. ‘Sorry about that,’ she said finally.
CHAPTER EIGHT
HALLIE had never pegged Nick as the coldly furious type and he wasn’t. His was more of a simmering, bubbling fury and only his iron control, and quite possibly the presence of Kai and the Teys, kept it contained. They’d left as soon as the fireworks were over and the drive home had been mercifully conversation-free. Once at the villa she and Nick had said their thank yous and their goodnights and headed for the bedroom, and once they were there, Nick wasted no time in shrugging off his jacket and tie and opening a couple of shirt buttons.
Hallie eyed him warily as she set her purse down on the counter and folded her wrap. Her brothers had tempers, all of them. She was no stranger to eruptions of the masculine variety. Pete’s was like a summer storm, all noise and flash and gone in an instant. Luke’s involved pacing, pointing and a great deal of arm-waving. Jake’s was controlled and biting, and Tris…Tris didn’t do temper very often, but when he did he flayed people raw. Hallie was hoping, really hoping, that Nick was going to be a little less like Tris and a lot more like any one of her other brothers in that regard.
A timid knock sounded on the door and Hallie opened it to find Jasmine standing there holding a tea tray.
‘Peppermint tea,’ said the younger girl, pressing the tray into her hands. ‘It’s very soothing,’ she added, and fled.
‘I knew it,’ said Nick as Hallie nudged the door closed and set the tea tray on the sideboard. He was pacing now, from one end of the room to the other. This was good. Pacing she could deal with. Pacing expended energy that could otherwise be used for yelling. Tris never paced.
‘I should never have gone shoe-shopping with my mother,’ he was saying now. ‘She’s a bad influence. I should have gone to the country club and found Bridget instead. Bridget would have pretended to be my wife for a week. She’d have ripped Jasmine to shreds, alienated John, tried to seduce Kai, and driven me insane, but so what? At least she wouldn’t have ordered my execution!’
Uh, oh. He’d stopped pacing. ‘Tea?’ she offered.
‘Why me?’ he roared. ‘Why you? Why now? Do you know how close we are to securing this deal? Do you have any idea how much it’s worth?’
She knew. ‘I have a plan,’ she said quickly.
‘No! No more plans. I know your plans and they never, ever work!
‘Are you sure you wouldn’t like some tea?’ Hallie sniffed a steaming cup. ‘I think she put alcohol in it.’
He stared at her. Stared at the tea.
‘I’m calling your brothers,’ he said abruptly. ‘I’m going to tell them all about this man, wife and funeral-vase fiasco and then I’m going to get them to come and take you home.’