Not So Snow White

by Donna Kauffman

It had been sex. Wild, fun, exciting, and definitely satisfying. But sex all the same.

  At least, that's what he struggled to tell himself as his hand drifted to her hair and he fought against the urge to tilt her mouth up to his and kiss her again. Only this time the kiss would be gentle, and tender. And claiming. As if he had any right. Or any hope. She was his only for the moment. He'd be wise to remember that.

  She'd probably done wild stuff like this a hundred times.

  He'd done it precisely once. And exciting as it had been, had it been up to him, he would have rather had her in bed. A nice big one, where they could play and taunt and tease. But also where they could fall asleep in each other's arms. And where he could wake up and watch her as she slept. Then make love to her again as the sun came up.

  God, he was such a sap.

  Any minute now he was going to get over this sentimental crap and sit them both up so they could collect themselves and get dressed. Then he'd figure out what the new normal was going to be between them. At least for the next couple of days, anyway.

  His heart clutched a little at the thought of that. Of her leaving. So he decided not to think about it. It was going to happen soon enough, whether he did or not. For once in his life, he wasn't going to plan and schedule everything. For once, he was going to do his damnedest to live in the moment.

  Tess shifted up from where she'd been nuzzling into his chest, so her lips were pressed beneath his chin. "Do you know what I can't believe?" Her voice was delightfully drowsy and soft.

  Talk about a loaded question. Max could name a long list of things he couldn't believe at the moment. For once he took the safe route. "What can't you believe?"

  She lifted her head and smiled up at him. "I can't believe we've been under the same roof at Wexley for weeks now, with a gazillion bedrooms, all outfitted with huge, down-filled beds—" She laughed. "And when we finally do this, it's in the back of a limo."

  His arms tightened around her, seemingly of their own volition. "I was just thinking something along those same lines myself."

  "Were you?" she teased, then nipped his chin.

  Given the considerable effect she had on him, it shouldn't have come as any surprise that his body stirred again. Why, why did he only carry one condom? was the first thought that came to mind. "Maybe we should do a compare-and-contrast kind of study," he told her, sliding one hand up her back so he could cup the nape of her neck. "Bed versus limo."

  "You think?" She didn't need any provocation to tilt her head back and invite his kiss.

  Yeah, he was in such serious trouble here. Just as his mouth brushed against her, the chirping of a cell phone filled the air.

  Chapter 24

  "Not mine," Tess said, slipping down, nipping his jaw along the way, before nuzzling against his chest once again.

  Max groaned a little, held her closer, but the phone kept chirping. Swearing, he reached a hand out and grabbed for his shorts, fumbling in the pockets.

  "Who is it?" she mumbled, quite intent on her exploration expedition.

  "I don't care, I'm going to turn it off." Then he looked at the screen and flipped it open instead. "Aurora?"

  Even Tess could hear Aurora's excited chatter coming through the phone, and an instant later they were both shifting to a seated position.

  "What's wrong?" Max asked, gripping the phone to his ear. "Slow down, I can't understand you."

  "What is it?" Tess scrambled off his lap and began gathering their clothes in a heap on the seat. "What's going on?"

  He held up his hand to stall her so he could hear. "What?" he said a second later. "She what?"

  " 'She what' what?" Tess asked in a heated whisper. "Who 'she'? Gaby?"

  Max shushed her and switched the phone to his other ear. "How in the hell did she disappear in the middle of high tea at a five-star hotel?"

  Tess dug her nails into his thigh. "Gaby took off?"

  "Yes, yes," Max said into the phone. "I know, Aurora. Listen, just—listen, don't worry about that right now. You think she's with who? Who the hell is Ranee?" He shot a look at Tess, who shot him a look right back and shrugged.

  "I have no idea," she mouthed.

  "Okay, okay," he said back into the phone, "we're on our way—yes, I'm with Tess. We're… hell, I don't know where the hell we are, we're in the limo." He paused, looked at Tess again. "Yes, still. Look, I'll be there as fast as I can. Don't go anywhere. And for God's sake, don't talk to anyone."

  Max clicked off and immediately began dialing again. "They can't reach Gaby on her phone." After repeated tries, he didn't have any better luck. He finally flipped the phone shut and threw it against the back of the opposite seat. "I take my eye off the ball for one second…" He swore under his breath as he took the clothes Tess handed him and began quickly dragging them on.

  "Hey now, wait a minute," Tess said, not ready to be so easily dismissed. "I know you're worried, but Gaby isn't a little kid."

  "She's certainly acting like one."

  Tess yanked her damp T-shirt over her head and shuddered as the cold cotton clung to her skin. "She's acting like a teenager with raging hormones, who's been kept barricaded in her room for too long."

  Max paused in the middle of tugging on his shorts, his expression incredulous. "Are you blaming this on me?"

  "Of course not. I know you've only done what you thought was best for her. God knows, I wouldn't have had the first clue how to raise a younger sibling, much less one who is a professional athlete. Thank God Bobby was already grown when our mom died. You've done an amazing job. Gaby is a tremendous young lady. I'm just saying, she's at an age where she needs to be given a little room to take some personal responsibility, make some personal decisions—"

  "Oh yeah. And look at the first one she makes! Running off in the middle of tea to race around London with some Belgian punk."

  Tess tried not to smile. It would be a wholly inappropriate response at the moment. From Max's point of view, anyway. But he was being such a… well, a guy about this. "Of course she screwed up and did something over the top. Isn't that sort of a teenage rite of passage?"

  "She could have come to me! Could have asked me—"

  Tess just folded her arms and stared at him.

  Max looked like he was about to pop a vein. But a moment later, he slumped back in his seat and blew out a long breath. "Hell."

  "You couldn't have known, okay? This is the trial-and-error part of life." She smiled a little. "Just ask my dad. You'll both learn from this little escapade of hers." Tess saw that beneath the anger, he was truly concerned about Gaby, afraid for her safety. She leaned forward and put her hands on his knees and gripped them tightly. "Listen to me. I know you're scared for her. But despite immediate evidence to the contrary, she's a very smart girl. A very smart girl who has a lot of personal pride and very strong opinions about things. She's not about to let that 'Belgian punk' as you call him, do anything he shouldn't be doing."

  Max let his head drop back and covered his face with his hands, groaning. "I'm going to kill them both."

  Now Tess laughed. Which brought Max's head back up as he glared at her. "I'm glad you're so highly amused by this. She could be out there right now—"

  "In a cute little sports car, being driven around London by an even cuter young guy, and just enjoying herself. Nothing more."

  "What do you know about this guy? Ranee somebody. Apparently he's on the men's tour. I don't know him."

  "I wish I could help you out, but I don't know him, either. As much as you don't want to, you might trust Gaby just a little bit here. I know that teenagers make stupid mistakes all the time, so do full-grown adults, but she just wanted a few hours to be young and carefree and fancy herself in love a little. It's romantic."

  "Only you would think this is romantic. That's the girl point of view. Trust me, Ranee isn't thinking anything of the sort."

  "I think Gaby can hold her own. And if things get out of hand, she can use her celebrity to help her out. So
meone would recognize her if she wanted or needed them to."

  He swore again. "Christ, you're right. And we thought the paparazzi situation was bad already."

  Tess smiled. "It'll be okay. We'll weather this storm just like we have all the others. And it's harmless. She's sixteen and having a spin around town with a boy. Yes, it might make the papers, but come on, it's not like she's hanging out in some nightclub and being snapped leaving at three in the morning, underage, and doing God knows what."

  "Are you speaking from personal experience?"

  Tess let the snide tone and accusation slide, because she knew he was under extreme stress at the moment. And because she was still foolishly hoping to salvage at least a little of what had just transpired between them. A moment in time that was rapidly receding into the distant past as the limo continued to roll along. "If I am, then know that everything I'm saying today carries some merit. We'll find her, and you'll have your turn to jump all over her. All I'm saying is to listen to what she has to say. Sure, she can't just go taking off. But maybe you two need to talk, figure out some sort of compromise for her to have a little personal freedom, too." She paused for a moment, and when he didn't say anything else, she pushed a little harder. Someday she'd learn, but apparently that day hadn't arrived yet.

  She slid across the space between them and sat next to him, tugging at his shirt until he turned to look at her. "I'm sorry. I know you're scared. She's going to be fine. And you two will work things out. But before all hell breaks loose here, I want to tell you one more thing."

  He just stared at her. And she hated the distance she saw in his expression. He was pulling back, and pulling back fast.

  "You need some personal freedom, too. Don't beat yourself up because you both decided to try to fit a little fun in your life. You both deserve it. And though it sounds a little self-serving at the moment"—she paused and smiled at him—"you'll both be better off if you find a little balance."

  He held her gaze for the longest time, then said, "I appreciate what you're saying. I do. But she's my sister. And you're going to have to let me handle this my own way."

  Anything else she might have said was cut off when the limo pulled to the curb and Aurora, Vivian, and Mercedes came rushing out of the hotel lobby to greet them. Max opened the door and went to get out, but the three women pushed their way in, instead.

  Tess had a moment of panic as she looked around the inside of the limo for any telltale signs of just what she and Max had been up to before Aurora had called. If any of the godmothers were thinking along those lines, they didn't show it. Their faces were lined with worry. And, in Aurora's case, abject apology.

  "I'm so sorry, Max. I should have talked to you about her little crush sooner," Aurora said as they crammed together on the opposite bench seat, facing Tess and Max. "I never thought she'd do something rash like this. One moment we're having tea, the next she's excusing herself for the ladies' room, and—"

  Vivian sighed. "Aurora, honestly. She's a young woman having her first romance with a boy. And a very handsome one at that."

  Everyone turned to look at Vivian.

  "What?" she said, looking innocent, or trying to, anyway. "While you were on the phone with Max overreacting, and Mercy here was making certain the hotel security kept mum about the situation, I went back and asked to take a look at the security cameras for the rear entrance to the hotel and saw him come in and meet her." She smiled. "Very cute. Nice choice."

  Tess thought the top of Max's head might blow off. " 'Cute'? 'Nice choice'? Vivian, she's out there in London with some hooligan—"

  Vivi reached forward and patted his knee. "Dear boy, calm down. I borrowed the security office's computer—and he was quite the charmer, I must say—and did a little search on our young Belgian. He's from a very good family and there are no scandals attached to his name."

  "And yet he came to the rear entrance of a hotel and helped a sixteen-year-old girl sneak off."

  "Almost seventeen, and my goodness, Maxwell, didn't you ever do anything daring when you were a teenage boy?"

  "Of course I did. Why do you think I'm so worried?"

  All three godmothers smiled at that. Tess, on the other hand, just looked at him. "You did daring things?"

  He didn't look at her. "This isn't some little game here. She's not some regular teenager. She's God knows where. Paparazzi could be chasing them through the streets. We have to do something!"

  Mercedes spoke up for the first time. "I think the best course of action is for Vivian and me to remain here, in case she returns to the scene of the crime, as it were." Her tone was well modulated and calm, as it always was. "You three should head back to Wexley and wait for her there. If any of us gets word of anything, we'll communicate accordingly."

  Mercedes was always the voice of reason, and the tension in the idling limo seemed to go down several notches almost immediately.

  "I think we should do more than sit around and wait," Max insisted.

  "Like what," Vivian asked, "drive around London in hopes we cross paths? Call in the local constabulary? Involve the media? I think that is asking for more trouble."

  "It's the middle of the afternoon, broad daylight," Aurora said, trying to sound reassuring, but obviously more worried than her counterparts. Guilt was still clearly written on her face. "Perhaps Mercy is right and we should wait her out. The police wouldn't do anything at this point, anyway."

  "Overkill, trust me," Vivian said. "She's fine. You can play big brother when she gets home and send her to her room, or ground her, or take away her tennis rackets if you want. But being any more alarmist than we've already been won't resolve this situation any faster."

  "I understand what you're saying, Vivian, and I appreciate all of your concern, but if you think I can just sit by and wait while she's out there—"

  "There she is!" Tess shouted.

  A shiny black convertible zipped past the limo, which was still idling curbside in front of the hotel. The top was down—at some point the rain had ceased—and Gaby's long, shiny ponytail flashed in the sun as they whipped into the narrow lane that ran alongside the hotel.

  Max immediately rapped on the partition. "Follow that car!" he shouted.

  Vivian clapped her hands together. "I've always wanted to say that."

  Before they could turn into the side street, two motorcycles and a tiny Renault tucked in right behind Gaby and Ranee.

  "Photographers," Aurora gasped, nose all but pressed to the tinted glass of the passenger window.

  "Goddamn son of a bitch," Max swore, pounding on the partition. "Get moving!"

  The driver was already on it. He moved them in behind the little motorcade, turning into a rear circular drive, enclosed by a small, walled courtyard in the back of the hotel. After pulling through the gates, he turned the car so it blocked both entrance and exit.

  "Nicely done," Mercedes observed to no one in particular. "I'll make sure to note that on his service record with Valerie."

  Max was already lunging for the door as Vivian reached across and grabbed his arm. "Remember, she's young and fancies herself in love. Don't do anything rash. You'll regret it later. And there are cameras recording everything."

  Vivian's delay gave Tess all the time she needed to flip the locks and keep Max right where he was. "We need an exit strategy."

  "We need to get out there and keep those animals from—"

  "Trust me," Tess said. "They have all the photos they need already. And if we all go piling out of this car, we're only going to increase the drama quotient. They're not going to give up their cameras and blocking them in here is only going to set everybody on edge."

  "Open the doors, Tess."

  She ignored the warning tone. "Have the driver move along into the courtyard, then let Mercedes get out and shuttle Gaby and Ranee inside. She has the least recognizable profile of any of us, they won't know who she is. Once their picture-taking opportunity is over, they'll leave." She looked at Max. "Then we
can get out, go inside like normal people, and you can have a talk with both Gaby and the young man who dared to take her out for the afternoon."

  "Brilliant," Mercedes said, while Aurora and Vivian nodded in agreement. She pressed the intercom and directed the driver to pull around.

  "Your experience in these matters is invaluable, Tess," Aurora said, patting her knee.

  "Glad somebody thinks so." She held Max's gaze as she popped the locks. And she could tell it cost him dearly to sit by while Mercedes slid out of the car and made her way through the small cache of photographers who were busily snapping the young couple as a grinning Ranee got out, waved to the camera guys, who kept their distance seeing as their quarry was being receptive, and went around to open Gaby's door.

  "Did you see?" Aurora said, beaming at Max. "A young gentleman."

  "A young gentleman asks permission." Max's hands were fists on his knees. "He doesn't sneak his date out the back door."

  "Desperate times," Tess murmured, catching Vivian's wink.

  "He's so proud to be seen with her," Aurora went on in a wistful tone. "He's keeping them all at bay, as well."

  Mercedes walked up and Gaby had a moment where she saw the limo and froze. It was hard to make out her expression, given the big black sunglasses she wore, but she smiled a moment later and waved one last time at the picture-taking pack, before letting Mercedes usher them past the doorman and on inside. Two of the photographers tried to follow them in, but whatever Mercedes said to the doorman worked, as he kept them firmly on the other side of the revolving door.

  Max was all but clawing at the door by the time the photographers boarded car and bikes and drove off, They'd barely cleared the courtyard gate before he was out of the limo like a shot.

  Tess was hot on his heels, knowing Aurora and Vivian would catch up. She wanted to do whatever she could for Gaby. And for Ranee, for that matter.

  "Where are they?" he demanded of the concierge, who met them just inside the door. He was well trained enough to personally and discreetly deliver the quartet to the nearby room where Mercedes, Gaby, and Ranee awaited them.