The car purred as the driver pulled through an impressive set of stone gates and drove up the long drive, circling around to the wide veranda and front doors. A moment later, he cut the engine and smoothly exited the driver’s door to unload the luggage.
Sliding out of the back seat, Chloe leaned back against the car door to stare up at the massive white house with green-shuttered windows, bay windows, and cupolas.
“When we were kids, my brother and I, along with Mercedes and her sister, Celine, played tag and hide-and-go-seek among the gardens and shrubbery around the back. I think the house sits on five acres.”
“Your childhood sounds idyllic,” Katey said.
Chloe gave her a faint smile. They did have moments that were idyllic, but both she and her cousin had shared a lot of stress, too. Mercedes rarely saw her father, who was often away on international business, and her own father was constantly in campaign mode from the time he first ran for mayor when she was a young teen.
Her parents often warned Chloe to watch her back and be aware of what she said and to whom, because they were constantly quoted out of context and had to choose their staff carefully for loyalty.
“Where did you grow up, Katey?” she asked now, wondering if she was up to the week’s task. First in the role of bridesmaid for a demanding Mercedes—and second as a spy for the FBI.
What made her agree to this? she wondered for the hundredth time. It was insane.
What if Mercedes’s fiancé actually was part of a jewelry theft gang who manufactured copies to pull off a heist? She could be here for weeks cleaning up the emotional mess.
“I grew up in Hollywood, actually,” Katey replied, pulling Chloe out of her reverie. “My mother’s an actress who does commercials. Playdates with her were watching hair and makeup people transform my mom into a star—that and shopping along Rodeo Drive.”
“Washington isn’t so different, then? Everyone here is playacting, too.” Chloe gave a wry grin, and Katey laughed.
“East Coast, West Coast—totally different, let me tell you! I want to do something more with my life. My dream is to become a congressional aide. Be part of the democratic process. Watch history being made. That’s what brought me to Washington.”
“Really?” Chloe wouldn’t have guessed that at all.
“Miss Romano said she’d introduce me around. She knows a lot of politicians.”
“That’s probably true. A congressional aide is ambitious. Do you have to get a college degree for that?” Chloe asked, wondering how long Katey had been out of high school.
“That helps immensely. Unless you’re an offspring of a politician, of course. I have a B.A. in political science.”
Chloe had newfound respect for the young woman. She must be older than she looked. “Impressive. But such a long way from the hills of Hollywood. Do you get homesick?”
Katey shrugged. “Only for the ocean. Trips to San Diego with my friends. My mom. When she’s home. Filming is very demanding.”
Chloe suppressed a smile, realizing that she played a role as an actress every time she got on a plane as a hired bridesmaid with her alias and New Mexico desert cover story.
When their driver carted her luggage up the brick steps to the house, long-forgotten memories continued to assault her senses. The smell of jasmine growing along the side yard. The creeping ivy. The towering woods surrounding the property.
“We built a tree house one year,” she said now. “The cousins, I mean. I wonder if it’s still in the back acre.” Chloe had a sudden memory of Mercedes, Celine, and herself with a picnic hamper up inside the huge limbs of a big oak, chewing pink bubble gum and competing for the biggest bubble before the sticky gum popped all over their faces.
When the front door swung open, Mercedes stood before them in a white, sleeveless dress and heels, her hair dark lustrous, and one hand on her hip in a striking pose. Who was the Hollywood starlet in Washington, Chloe thought with amusement?
“Chloe, darling!” Mercedes cried, pulling her inside. “You’re doing something different with your hair. I don’t think our humidity is doing you any favors.”
“It’s nice to see you, too, Mercedes,” Chloe said with a small grimace.
“Katey will work wonders on us both. She’s a whiz with a curling iron and makeup kit.”
“She must get her talents from her mother.” The early morning flight suddenly hit Chloe, and she wavered on her feet.
Katey gestured toward the wide, curving stairs leading to the second floor. “Your bags are already in the guest room next to Miss Romano, Chloe. I’m sure you two have a lot to talk about. I’ll bring up some food and tea.”
After the young woman ran off to the kitchen, Mercedes led the way up the wide, graceful staircase. “She’s adorable, isn’t she? I found her through a temp agency a few months ago.”
“We always think Valley Girls are just airheads,” Chloe said. “But she’s impressive, actually. The house looks fantastic. It’s the same, but different, too.”
“Mother has such a brain for interior decorating. The floors and wainscoting are all new, including the two-tone paint.”
Reaching out a hand, Chloe ran her fingertips over the smooth mahogany wainscoting, made from the same stunning wood grain as the staircase banisters.
“Peek into the kitchen when the cook goes home tonight. Completely remodeled two years ago. All black and white and stainless steel with granite counters ten feet long. Gorgeous picture windows galore and French doors that lead straight to the grounds behind the house.”
“Makes me want to race in and out of the rooms and sing as loud as we can,” Chloe said. “Remember when we did that as kids, back when your parents had just bought this place, and we came to visit? The rooms were mostly empty, and the sixteen-foot ceilings echoed gloriously.”
“Oh, yes, I do remember,” Mercedes said, her lips curving upward at the childhood memory. “Such ancient history now.”
“And now you’re getting married,” Chloe said, giving Mercedes a hug. Surprisingly, her cousin didn’t pull away and didn’t just air-kiss. Perhaps she was developing a heart after all these years. “Right here at home.”
“Such a quaint idea to get married at home, isn’t it? I spent months looking at halls and in the end decided that Mother did such a spectacular job with the landscaping last year that we should have the ceremony and reception right here.”
“Honestly, it sounds lovely,” Chloe agreed. “I love more personal weddings.”
“Just wait until you see the fountains and the multi-level flower beds. The first crew begins setting up tomorrow. Bowers and tables and gazebos. It’s going to take them two days and five truckloads.” Mercedes gave a quick wink and a laugh. “Now that it’s all happening, maybe renting a hall would have been easier.”
“It’s going to be beautiful,” Chloe assured her. “If I know you and your mother, it will be the wedding of the year.”
“You’re so sweet, Chloe. Thank goodness for my wedding planner. She knew exactly what I wanted. I found a picture of the perfect backyard wedding, and we’re replicating it almost exactly.”
“On Pinterest?” Chloe asked with a grin.
Mercedes smiled faintly. “Something like that. Before I forget, Mark and I have the final meeting with our minister first thing in the morning, so sleep in, and we’ll go over the dresses and hairdos after that.”
“Sounds good.” Chloe paused. “We need to talk. Sooner rather than later.”
Mercedes lifted an eyebrow. “Oh, Chloe, more wedding lists? I think I’m going to lose my mind.”
At the landing, Mercedes turned left, passing closed doors, the carpet plush under Chloe’s feet. The interior of the mansion was pristine and brand-new. When they came to another turn in the hallway, the wall disappeared and a railing opened up, overlooking a breathtaking view of the open great room. High ceilings and French furniture in golds and blues decorated the room in stunning décor.
“This is absolut
ely gorgeous. I love it,” Chloe said.
A door slammed below and Mercedes cocked her head. “Probably Mother. We’ll meet up with her later for dinner. Meanwhile, here’s your room, two doors down from mine.”
She opened the bedroom door with a flourish into a bright, cheery room painted lemon yellow with windows that overlooked a rose garden two stories below.
The canopy bed was the main feature of the room, with graceful, gauzy curtains and a high mattress that looked extremely inviting after the crack-of-dawn flight.
“I adore canopy beds,” Chloe said, resisting the urge to sprawl all over the thick duvet.
“It’s en-suite, and you even have your own private balcony,” Mercedes went on, pointing to the walk-in bathroom with gleaming tile on the far side of the room and a pair of French doors that opened to the balcony. “But no nude sunbathing, darling,” she said, putting on her slight British accent. “We do have neighbors this high up, unfortunately, and there will be oodles of men setting up all over the grounds for the next few days.”
“Have you ever known me to sunbathe? Let alone naked?”
“That’s true. You always were a tiny bit prudish. No bikinis. No miniskirts. And you have such a fantastic figure, Chloe.” Mercedes eyed her up and down. “I don’t know why you hide it. Or how you manage to keep looking so fabulous. I’m intensely jealous, you know. And I’m the bride.”
“I promise I don’t upstage any of my brides. It’s written into the contract,” Chloe added with a grin.
“Do you run fifteen miles a day or something hideous like that?”
“Only four. Guess I get it from my FBI training, and it just stuck. Mom hired a healthy cook last year, too. Mrs. Harvey prepares super-healthy meals at the request of Mom and never makes sugary desserts, except for donuts, which are my kryptonite.”
“You actually eat donuts? My envy just rose to a ten. If I merely breathe the smell of a donut, I gain a pound.” Mercedes glanced around the guest room and headed for the door. “Let Katey know if you need anything. I’ll let you unpack and get settled, and then we’ll discuss the wedding itinerary.”
“Um, Mercedes.” Chloe wasn’t letting her get away without answering her questions first. “We need to talk. Like, now.”
Her cousin heaved a sigh. “There’s no time to have a sisterly kind of chat. My to-do list is a mile high.”
Chloe sidled toward the bedroom door to prevent her from darting away. “You’re not leaving this room until we talk about why an FBI agent showed up at my house three days ago.”
Chapter 8
“Honestly, Chloe, I hardly know a thing about that.”
Grabbing Mercedes’s hand, she dragged her cousin to the bed and made her sit knee-to-knee on the thick duvet. “You sicced an FBI agent on me—like a dog.”
“But was he devastatingly handsome?” Mercedes’s eyes twinkled.
Chloe tried not to blush. What she really wanted to know was how much her cousin knew about a planned diamond heist—and the man she was planning on marrying Saturday night.
Agent Esposito said that Mercedes knew nothing about Mark Westerfield’s potential involvement. That Uncle Max had only told his daughter that Chloe would be assisting in keeping the diamonds safe while they were under the Romano roof.
She wouldn’t be marrying him if she knew the FBI suspected her future husband. Would she? It was a sobering thought, and Chloe had to make sure, although she couldn’t come right out and ask her point-blank.
Mercedes glanced up at Chloe under long lashes. “I know all about how you’re going to be guarding the wedding diamonds. Daddy told me that since you were an FBI agent you would be perfect, and nobody would suspect that you have dual roles as guard and bridesmaid both.”
“Right. Yes. Did Uncle Max say anything else?”
“No. Like what?” Mercedes’s expression was so innocent and disarming, Chloe was sure her cousin knew nothing about her fiancé’s potential involvement.
“Nothing. I got trained in the diamonds, so we’re all set. All good.”
Mercedes twisted her finger around her engagement ring. “When I heard that Daddy was going to have you be my guard—well, the diamond jewelry’s guard—I told my father to request that agent you used to know. To be the one to talk to you and Uncle Albert. The one you trained with at Quantico, although I’ve never known his name. And you never came to visit me here in Virginia while you were training. But I forgive you. I figured you were a little busy.”
Chloe gave a small laugh. “That’s an understatement.” She blinked back the sudden emotion biting at her eyes. Talking about Quantico did that, including the memories of Jenna, her best friend since kindergarten.
Jenna’s father had been a police officer and used to regale them with stories about life on the streets. She and her best friend had played softball on their high school team and ran cross-country in the fall. They had signed up for the FBI rookie program together. Aced the tests.
That first month of training was the best. Challenging both physically and mentally, but forging she and Jenna’s friendship stronger than it had ever been. They always had each other’s backs. Until it was too late.
“I heard rumors that you had feelings for that FBI agent,” Mercedes said now.
Chloe let out a snort. “Are we talking about the same man? I can hardly stand the sight of him. You know about Jenna, don’t you?”
“I do,” Mercedes said, her eyes holding Chloe’s with sympathy. “Daddy and Mother told me all about it.”
Chloe tried not to cringe. Nobody knew the real details of the worst night of her life.
“I also know that the heart knows who its true love is,” Mercedes said quietly. “Even when hate clouds the heart’s vision.”
“You’ve been watching too many rom-coms,” Chloe said.
“I’m not sure you know this, but I talked to Jenna when she answered your phone one night while you were here at Quantico. I think you were in the shower or something. Anyway, I heard that dating another FBI agent was forbidden. And wasn’t he your team leader?”
Chloe pressed her lips together. “We did not date! Oh my gosh, you have this all twisted.”
“Jenna said all the women thought he was the dreamiest FBI agent they’d ever laid eyes on. I do believe there was some jealousy within the ranks of the other female rookies.”
“This is not a game, Mercedes. Please, I don’t want to talk about it.”
Her request fell on deaf ears. That’s how it was with her cousin. When she got an idea into her head, there was no correcting it. “It’s time you faced this guy. You need to clear the air.”
“My best friend in all the world is dead, Mercedes. And at least part of the fault lies with him. I never wanted to see him again, let alone talk to him or get blackmailed into working with him.”
Mercedes’s features lit up. “So he is the one that came to your house and gave you the assignment to guard my crown jewels?”
Chloe sucked in a breath, holding herself still. “Yes, Mercedes. He is. End of story.”
“Crown jewels—don’t you love that?” her cousin continued dreamily. “I feel like a Duchess of England. Kate and William are so gorgeous together. I love keeping up with them online and their precious babies.”
“I think you have royal family envy, dear cousin.”
Mercedes laughed, twisting her long hair into a knot on top of her head. “Anyway, you’re here to guard the jewels, right? Seems straightforward, and I trust my guests implicitly. Besides, nobody is going to walk up and yank them off my body.”
“You hope,” Chloe muttered while she rose to unzip her suitcases and hang up her clothes in the walk-in closet.
Wearing the diamonds all day wasn’t exactly true. She’d read the details ahead of flying here. Memorized them and then burned the brief back at the governor’s mansion where there was security. She’d even stirred the ashes in the library fireplace to make sure there was nothing left.
Davis
Jewelry would send an armored car to deliver the jewelry to the Romano residence on Friday before the wedding rehearsal dinner. They would be stored in Uncle Max’s safe in his office. Sunday morning, the armored car and accompanying guards would whisk them away again.
The entire charade reeked of vanity and flaunting how rich Uncle Max was. As if they were D.C.’s royalty. On one hand, it was amusing, but on the other hand, it smacked of just plain showing off. Mercedes would be wearing so many diamonds she’d probably tip over from the weight.
Perhaps renting out wedding jewelry gave prominent jewelers a chance to show off their wares—while also bringing publicity to both the store and the Romano family.
Chloe was under instructions to inspect the jewels at least twice each day and keep Mercedes in her sight during the rehearsal dinner and on the evening of the actual wedding—just in case someone did try to steal them right off of Mercedes at gunpoint. The probability of that was highly unlikely with so many guests and the governor’s security on the premises, but you never knew how desperate somebody might be.
Her role as bridesmaid was the best position to be in for the job. Chloe often said that “multitask” was her middle name.
“Before I forget,” Mercedes added, “my dressmaker is coming tomorrow afternoon to do a final fitting. You’re getting your own fitting done, too.”
“I meant to ask you about that. My bridesmaid dress didn’t arrive at my apartment.”
“The dressmaker made alterations according to the measurements you sent us. There wasn’t time to ship it off. What if FedEx lost it?”
“It’s probably for the best,” Chloe agreed. “I didn’t have to worry about stuffing it into a suitcase.”
Mercedes flopped backward on the queen-sized bed, the fluffy sunshine-yellow duvet sinking into an outline around her figure. “I can’t wait for you to meet Mark! He’s a dream. You’ll love him.”
“How did you two meet? I haven’t heard the story.”
“Let’s just say it was love at first sight.”
The Undercover Bridesmaid (The Undercover Bridesmaid Romance Series Book 1) Page 5