Dating for Keeps by Rachel Hogan Read Free Book Online Page B

this evening; if I had I most certainly wouldn't have ventured in there. It was incredibly dangerous Tessa, what were you thinking?"
    "Well, I wasn't thinking that Michael was the bad guy, obviously," Tessa said a little stung at Lucas's stern reprimand. She saw the pain on his face and then softened her tone. "I'm so sorry Lucas. I believed him when he told me he was an FBI agent and that he needed my help to apprehend you. It was only later that I began to doubt him and it was too late. Honestly, this whole day has been so confusing that I didn't know what to think. I thought that if I was there then maybe some of my questions would be answered. Which it seems that they are, so in fact I don't regret my decision one bit."
    "Well, I guess I just have to be thankful that you are safe and sound. And this all does give me an excuse to fill you in, which really takes a load off of my mind. I didn't know how I was going to handle things."
    "What do you mean?"
    Lucas hesitated. "Let me start at the beginning. As you have probably guessed, I'm not a British businessman."
    "Um, yes, I've gathered that," Tessa smiled.
    Lucas went on. "I work for the FBI. Lucas Griswold is my real name. For months I have been tracking Michael Levy, head of a notorious crime web. Recently it was discovered that a violin used to smuggle a very expensive diamond on his network went missing. The smuggler didn't know that the violin contained the diamond and he sold the instrument for some quick cash."
    "Yes," Tessa frowned, "Michael told me as much. Except he reversed the roles that you and he play in real life."
    "Yeah, Michael may have been the ringleader, but that doesn't mean he didn't have a very active interest in all levels of the organization. He knew me as well as I knew him; the only problem was I never had enough evidence to arrest him. He knew that. I suspect he also realized that the missing violin would be my key to nab him if I was able."
    "I don't quite follow," Tessa said.
    Lucas hesitated. "This is where my story gets a little difficult to say, but I want you to please hear me out. The violin had a tracking chip that few people knew about. I was one of those people. I knew that it would be headed for your shop and would get here either this week or next. My one goal was to reach the violin before Michael did."
    "So what are you saying?" Tessa felt her heart sink. "That you were using me to get to the violin? Was this whole week simply part of your ruse?"
    Lucas stared out the window, unable to look Tessa in the eye. "It started that way, yes. I had planned on just spending a few days with you in order to get the violin, but I wasn't prepared for what happened."
    "Meaning?"
    "I fell in love with you Tessa. I feel terrible about what I did to you and the circumstances, but I love you so much and I wouldn't change that fact for the world."
    Tessa tried hard to wrap her brain around what he was telling her. "But if you love me, why didn't you just tell me who you really were? I still don't know anything about you. How will I be able to trust what you say?"
    "I know, I wish I could have told you the truth, but I couldn't. Doing so would have meant risking the entire operation. What if you decided you didn't want to help me? It was too much of a gamble. I never dreamed that Michael was onto my game and that he would get to you. I was literally shocked to find you in the shop this evening, after you told me you were at home."
    Tessa hung her head in shame, "Yes, I'm so sorry. I screwed up big time."
    "Don't be. How were you supposed to know? Like I said, I really couldn't tell you the truth as much as I wanted to. Especially after I helped you move last Saturday."
    "What do you mean?"
    "That wasn't really part of the protocol. My job was simply to take you to dinner a few times and get you to like me enough that you would promise to let me know when you received the violin. The fancy suits, expensive dinners, personal driver, and my charming