She shook her head, a strand of hair getting trapped in her mouth and she angrily swiped it away. "Cash I don't have."
She shoved him away and he let her go, aware she needed to vent. He understood her frustration; boy, did he understand. The excitement of devising a new deal only to have it flounder because the right people wouldn't come to the party.
Her arms flung wide. "Take a look at this place. You'd think it would be enough, right?Seaborn, allit stands for." She made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat. "Apparently not."
"Is there anything I can do?"
Just like that, all the fight drained out of her and she sagged onto the stool in front of her workbench.
"No, I'm just offloading." She kicked the rung of the stool with her heel. "It just makes me so mad. People have this preconceived notion I'm the ditzy, inadequate Seaborn."
Regret mingled with sadness tightened her mouth and he reached out but she held him off.
"They don't take me seriously. I want to make a go of saving this place, but how can I when they won't give me a go and nothing I do seems to work…" She trailed off, darting a concerned glance his way.
"Hey, this marriage is working." He reached out and smoothed her hair back. "It may be unconventional but we're doing the best we can."
"I guess," she muttered, her sceptical tone less than convinced.
Sadly, it looked as if it would take them a while to get what they wanted. Unless… his gaze fell on the exquisite pieces she'd made, laid out in black velvet boxes on steel shelving next to her workbench.
She had talent.
He had cash.
Why couldn't she sell her pieces if she had the right backing?
"I've got an idea."
"Yeah?" She sounded less than impressed.
"How about Maroney Mine puts up the collateral for your auction? That way, you can have your auction, sell your pieces, and prove to everyone you've got what it takes to make a go of this."
Her eyes widened and his throat constricted at the expressive gratitude he glimpsed.
"Why would you do that?"
Because he cared, damn it, but no way would he complicate this situation with emotion.
“It’s a win-win. Maroney Mine gets some good publicity, you get your auction."
She pondered for a moment before her mouth stretched in a wide grin that had him feeling as if he'd saved a crew of trapped miners single-handedly.
"That's a super idea." She leaped into his arms, linking her hands around his neck and wrapping her legs around his waist. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."
She peppered her liberal thanks with kisses and he wished he could be this altruistic every day.
When she finally—and regrettably—stopped kissing him, she stared at him as if he'd given her the Hope Diamond. "I can't believe you'd do this for me."
His heart lurched, and he covered his uncertainty with bluster. "I married you, didn't I? That's a way bigger investment than throwing a few dollars around."
She tapped him on the nose. "That gruffness doesn't fool me, mister."
She slid her legs down and stood, still within delicious full-frontal contact as she patted his shirt over his chest. "In here? Made of gold."
He didn't like being cast as tender and mushy, so he did the only thing possible to distract her.
He kissed her.
