“Oh no. I’m really sorry. I suppose that explains why he only made a brief appearance tonight.”
“Yeah. And, I have to admit that while I wish it had worked out better for them, after talking to Sloan, I’m glad for her. She’s, uh, well, found someone else.”
“Oh? I thought Wolfgang was the infamous philanderer.” Their rocky marriage had been section three of the play-by-play.
“He was. Is, in fact. Sloan was fed up and had already told Wolf he either went to counseling with her or it was over.”
“I take it he opted out?”
“Actually, no. He took their marriage counselor to bed. Sloan’s bed.”
“Ouch.”
“Yes, well, Wolf will have to hang his art in someone else’s home. And gallery, I suppose. And the marriage counselor is facing a board inquiry and will likely lose her license.”
“Sounds fair. But where did Sloan’s extracurricular activity come into play?”
“Well, seems she started getting Swedish massages at the gym.”
“Wait a minute, she slams hubby for fooling around with a paid professional, then she—”
“Hold on to your male indignation. She ran into him socially, outside the gym, at some business function. I have no idea how. And they went out for drinks. She switched to a new masseur at the gym, and well, the next time she met with Lars it was for more than after-party drinks.”
“Lars?”
Tanzy snickered. “I know. And he’s about six years younger than she is, too. But I swear, I’ve never seen her happier. She looked . . . free. I guess I never realized just how much of her stress wasn’t work related. Which is another thing. Lars has already talked her into taking some kind of dance class thing with him. And next weekend, they’re heading out of town to go snowboarding.” She laughed. “Sloan. On a snowboard. I still can’t bring up that visual.”
“Sounds like maybe it has worked out for the best.”
“Yeah. Now we just have to talk her into bringing him around so we can all meet him, then dish about him later.”
Riley wanted to ask her if they’d done that to him yet, but managed to take the wiser course.
“When I came out, you were grinning. Who were you talking to?”
“Oh, uh.” No point in even trying to get around it. “Finn showed up. With a date.”
“Your father’s here?” She looked around, eyes wide with surprise. “Can I meet him?”
“We’re going to meet them for Christmas. If you’re up for it.” Maybe Finn wouldn’t be the only one dropping bombshells that night. And despite all the hearts and flowers in the air, Riley wasn’t looking forward to that little revelation. Finn would have a field day with it. “But right now, I’d love to get out of here. I feel like I’ve been sharing you for hours and I’m getting a bit greedy.”
Tanzy smiled up at him. “Funny, I was thinking the same thing. Did you meet any of my other friends? I told them to come make nice with you.”
“Rina. I didn’t meet her husband, though. And I’m guessing you did more than tell her to make nice.”
Tanzy shrugged, her smile turning a bit winsome. She didn’t pull that off all that well. “You don’t mind, do you?”
He shook his head. He could have told her just how accurately he understood her need to tell someone. He wanted to shout it to the world. To everyone but Finn, anyway. “If you’re through with your intervention, let’s blow this pop stand.”
“Yes, my work here is done.” She tugged on his hand, stopping him just inside the door. “I almost forgot. I had a brainstorm. About the whole fingerprint and handwriting-sample thing. I left a message on Martin’s pager inviting him to Big Harry tomorrow. I said I needed to go over the column and I was having some other concerns I needed to discuss. I made it pretty ambiguous, but serious-sounding enough that I think he’ll make the date.”
“During the shower?”
“I figured that was the best way. With all those people around, and you there monitoring, plus Big Harry’s security, it would really be the best place for a showdown.”
“Does he know about the shower? Men traditionally like to be far away, preferably courtside, during those types of functions.”
Tanzy grinned. “Nope. He just thinks it’s a business meeting. I didn’t mention why we were meeting at Millicent’s. He’ll probably assume I’m there for the holidays.”
“And do you actually have something planned to talk about?”
“I’m still working on that part.”
Riley smiled, then squeezed her hand. “Thank you. For doing this. I know this isn’t easy on you. I know he’s been a very important person to you.” He leaned down and kissed her, in front of Rina, Finn, and artwork that defied description, though likely no one was paying the slightest bit of attention.
Riley held Tanzy’s hand all the way home. The silence between them was easy and his thoughts wandered. To all the memories that had rushed to the surface earlier, to the things he’d told her about Finn, her reactions to it all. He thought about his father’s expression tonight and what this new wrinkle might mean to their joint business venture. Which led him to think a great deal about personal happiness and what he owed himself, and Finn. And, maybe, Tanzy, too.
And somewhere between San Francisco and Pacifica, he realized he’d be dropping another bombshell at dinner with Finn and the woman he had a strong suspicion was about to become his stepmother. If Finn didn’t drop it first.
Baby showers.
Does one tiny human being really need all that stuff? And here I thought we didn’t get to be that high maintenance until we fit into our first pair of high heels.
Chapter 22
Tanzy’s mouth dropped open as she stepped into what had been Millicent’s formal parlor. She supposed she should have paid more attention to Sue’s excited ramblings the night they’d come to move furniture around. Then the eight-foot Mother Goose and the close-to-life-size Old Woman in a Shoe, complete with shoe, wouldn’t have been such a shock.
Sue linked her arms through Tanzy’s and Riley’s, her eyes sparkling. “Isn’t it amazing?”
“That’s one word for it,” Tanzy murmured, taking in the rest of the details. Three stuffed mice, each with black sunglasses, each about three feet tall, danced on the hearth in front of the stone fireplace. “Let me guess—”
“Three Blind Mice,” Sue finished excitedly. “I had thought the Mother Goose theme would be fun since that’s how Mariel is decorating the nursery. But your great-aunt just took my ideas and ran with them. I’ve told her a hundred times already that this was far more than necessary, but she kept telling me—”
“It’s my pleasure, dear,” Millicent finished herself, as she stepped into the room. “Riley,” she said, greeting him with a smile and pat on the arm. “Brave man, stepping into the world of babies and expectant mothers and the like.”
Riley grinned, darting Tanzy a quick look when her great-aunt presented her cheek.
Tanzy just winked at him, and Riley bestowed the expected kiss, then gracefully and somewhat abashedly accepted a buss on his cheek in return. “Actually,” he said, after clearing his throat, “I’d hoped to use Tanzy’s office for a while.” He patted the carrying case he had over one shoulder. “I’ve brought some work.”
Tanzy knew he’d brought surveillance equipment as well, or whatever he needed to tap into the stuff Millicent already had set up. He wanted to keep an eye on Big Harry’s grounds and the comings and goings of the guests. Tanzy had drawn the line at making this some high-security, supersecret event. It was Mariel’s day and she wasn’t going to let this other mess interfere. Any more than necessary anyway. Big Harry was well secured and Riley would certainly spot anyone out of the ordinary on his monitors. He had the guest list. And his was the only male name on it other than Martin’s, so it shouldn’t be all that hard.
In the meantime, Ernie was putting in some overtime trying to track down Margaret Swingler’s home address. Riley ha
d sworn to Tanzy in bed that morning that he’d have this dealt with and over before the new year. Tanzy was all for that. She wished she felt better about her upcoming faux meeting with Martin, though. Her stomach wouldn’t stop clenching. She kept telling herself the setup was a good thing, that by the time they left here today, Martin would be in the clear and they could focus all their attention on the Swingler woman.
“I’m going up,” Riley whispered in her ear.
“Okay,” she said, suddenly wishing he wasn’t leaving, even just to go upstairs. She felt more than a little uneasy, and who wouldn’t with an eight-foot goose breathing down their neck? But beyond the meeting with Martin, she also knew she’d been thinking about what happened when the case was wrapped up. Her future. Their future. He’d asked her to accompany him to dinner to meet his father and his father’s woman friend, so that was some indication he saw this—them—sticking around together for a bit longer. She stretched up on her toes and kissed him. “I’ll sneak up later, after Martin comes and goes. I’ll bring you whatever I can get him to touch. And if I’m really good, a handwriting sample.”
“Oh, you’re really good,” he said, investing just enough velvet into his tone to make her momentarily forget about everything else. “I can personally vouch for that.”
She grinned, wishing she could do more than kiss him for the confidence his easy tone and grin instilled in her. “Thanks.” She looked over his shoulder at the women beginning to crowd into the foyer, all bearing gifts wrapped in miles of pastel and ribbon. “I’ll probably need a sanity check within the hour anyway,” she murmured.
Riley grinned down at her, kissed her back. “Be brave, grasshopper.”
She stuck her tongue out at him. He was chuckling as he left the room. Tanzy turned back, to find Sue grinning from ear to ear, arms folded as she waited expectantly.
“What?”
“This.” She motioned between Tanzy and the spot where Riley had been standing. “You’re impossibly cute with him. And that’s so unlike you.”
She stuck her tongue out at Sue. It seemed wrong to flip her the bird in front of Mother Goose. “Ha, ha. We’re . . .” She tried to think of some throwaway line, but it was Riley. And Sue was one of her best friends. And she just couldn’t. She blew out a breath. “This isn’t the time or the place. You’ve got women bearing baby gifts descending on this place any second. But I gotta tell you, Sue, this whole relationship thing is a hell of a lot scarier than I thought.”
“I don’t know, you two seem to have fallen right into it like old hats.”
“That’s just it. We have. Is that normal? I mean, what if just when I start to get used to this, something happens, or he changes his mind, or—” She made a disgusted sound. “Listen to me. I sound like a silly teenager in the bathroom at the high school dance, wondering if Johnny really likes me.” She looked back at Sue with big eyes. “But honestly, do you think he does, Susie, huh? Do you? Will he ask me to the prom?”
Sue cracked up laughing, then tugged Tanzy into a hug. “I’m so glad you’ve joined the herd. We’re all going to enjoy this immensely.”
Tanzy scowled, even as she appreciated the hug. “Yeah, I can hardly wait.”
“Maybe before too long we’ll hear wedding bells.” Sue clapped her hands together. “Just think what Millicent and I can do with that shower!”
“Over my dead body,” Tanzy warned. “And if it does ever get that far—and I’m not saying I’ve even thought about it—we’re eloping. I’ve just decided.”
“And deprive the world of watching Tanzy Harrington, perennial lone wolf, tie the knot? Join the herd? Accept what the rest of us have known forever?”
“Which is?”
Sue threw an arm around her shoulders and hugged her. “That love is a wonderful thing, baby.”
Tanzy shook her head. “Thank you, Michael Bolton.”
Sue laughed, but she went on. “All joking aside, it is a wonderful thing. In all its incarnations. It’s easy to say it’s not for you when you’re not in it, until one day you wake up, and wham! Then there it is, staring you in the face. Daring you to say you don’t want it.” She grinned. “And you thought dating was an adventure. Honey, you don’t even know.”
“Well, don’t get ahead of yourself here.”
Sue merely winked at her as, mercifully, the guests began to logjam the foyer. Tanzy helped herself to a glass of punch, wishing like hell they’d planned this thing for a bit later than two in the afternoon. Then the punch could have been spiked.
Rina showed up next, looking almost as uncomfortable as Tanzy. She stuck close, armed with a cookie in one hand and a punch glass in the other. “Did you talk to Sloan?” she asked Rina, as Sue continued to welcome friends and members of Mariel’s family the rest of them had never met. Thank God for Mariel’s mother, or the guest list would have been very small.
“She’ll be here.” Rina sent Tanzy a look. “We talked. At the gallery. After you left.” She shook her head. “I’m still sort of amazed by it all, but power to her, I say.”
Tanzy raised her punch glass. “To getting rubbed the right way.”
Rina gave her a look, then both of them snickered and clinked glasses.
“Get a load of that one,” Rina said with a nod. She pointed her glass in the general direction of a woman who’d just entered the room wearing a wide-brimmed, rose-adorned hat. “That’s almost as hideous as those mice.”
Tanzy swallowed a laugh. “Now, now. I’m sure she thinks she’s the height of fashion.”
“Circa 1932 maybe. I wonder which side of the family she’s from. Hopefully not Mariel’s.”
“Well, we can’t pick our relatives.” Tanzy made a face. “I should know.”
Sue came in just then and clapped her hands. “Okay, everyone, places. Her car just pulled up.”
Rina and Tanzy exchanged looks. “She missed her calling.”
“Broadway?” Rina murmured.
“No,” Tanzy interjected as they joined the rest of the group. “Dictator of Disney World.”
“Shhh,” Rina said, giggling, as Sue shushed them all, sending a fierce glance their way.
Tanzy and Rina made a silent show of locking up their lips and throwing away the key.
Sue merely rolled her eyes and went back to the foyer.
“Where’s Tanzy? Are Rina and Sloan coming?” they heard Mariel ask as she came in. “I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to the gallery last night. The baby’s taken up Tae Bo or something and my ribs feel like a well-used set of bongo drums.”
“Millicent set up tea in the formal parlor,” Sue was saying.
“It was really nice of you guys to do this for me. You didn’t have to, you know. I appreciate it. I really didn’t want any fuss, so it’s nice knowing it’s just going to be the four of—”
“SURPRISE!”
Everyone stepped forward as one when Sue and Mariel came into the room. Mariel squealed, then grabbed her belly, and Tanzy was certain they’d shocked her right into labor. She ran forward, put her arm around her, with Sue on the other side. “We wanted it to be a surprise, but I swear if you have the baby right here in front of me, I won’t be held responsible for my actions,” Tanzy told her.
Mariel just looked up, tears of joy in her eyes. “Oh my God. I can’t believe you guys did this!”
Tanzy exchanged looks with Sue. She’d said all along that with as much as Mariel loved being the center of attention, there was no such thing as overkill. “You da man,” Tanzy whispered to Sue, who smiled smugly. To Mariel, she said, “You owe this all to Sue.”
“And Tanzy’s aunt Millicent,” Sue interjected. “She took my ideas, and well—” They stepped back so Mariel could enter Mother Goose Land.
Mariel gasped, then cried, “It’s . . . it’s just wonderful.”
After Rina hugged her, the two of them retreated to their place by the mice and watched Sue lead Mariel through the throng so she could accept hugs and cry more tears as she greeted he
r other friends and family.
Sloan scooted in, unnoticed, and took Tanzy’s punch glass by way of hello. After downing the contents, she smiled and said, “Did I miss much?” Only then did she notice the décor. “Oh. My. God.”
“Pretty much sums it up,” Tanzy agreed. “Memo to self: Never underestimate the combined power of Sue and Millicent. It could get scary if they joined forces on a regular basis.”
Sloan’s still wide-eyed gaze wandered the room. “Yeah,” she breathed. “They might rule the world.”
“But at least it would be color coordinated and have a theme,” Rina put in.
“Maybe we should send them to the Middle East,” Sloan added.
Laughing, Tanzy nudged Sloan in the ribs. “You’re looking pretty perky. Cheeks flushed, eyes sparkling. Let me guess, it wasn’t some big account that made you late.”
“Let’s just say it was some big thing and leave it at that.”
Tanzy would have choked on her punch, had Sloan not already downed it. “Hey, those are my lines.”
“Yeah, well, one of us has to be a last bridesmaid, apparently.” She grinned and scanned Tanzy from head to toe. “And, judging from your flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes, I’m guessing it’s my turn.”
Rina and Tanzy hugged her. Despite how happy she seemed, divorce was never easy. “We’re all here for you, you know.”
Rina was watching as Sue seated Mariel beneath a beach-size frilly umbrella that hung from the vaulted ceiling and said, “Maybe we can get Millicent and Sue to throw you a happily divorced party.”
Tanzy shot her a look, but Sloan actually laughed. “Do you think if I mention I want strippers, they’ll be this inventive?”
Rina and Tanzy both laughed with her. “That could be worth the risk,” Tanzy said.
Then someone cleared his throat behind her. She turned to find Martin standing there, eyes still a bit glazed in shock as he took in the room.
The Big Bad Wolf Tells All Page 30