Chris shrugged. "Okay. I just hope he isn't too long. I'm starving."
As the minutes ticked past, the last vestige of Maria's hope trickled away and weariness fell over her like a heavy blanket. Had she really been deceiving herself like everyone seemed to think?
A noise jerked her head around to see a tall blonde woman standing in the doorway. Maria stood slowly, her heart racing. She had seen enough photos and videos of Rachel Tanner to recognize her. In the flesh, she was even more stunning. Reams of thick, honey-blonde hair draped her shoulders, her face perfectly made up, her eyes impossibly blue. She wore a shiny green dress under a fur jacket. Maria suddenly felt dowdy in her jeans and sweatshirt.
A man came through the door behind Rachel and stopped dead. He was older than them with a touch of gray at his temples, power-dressed in a steel gray suit. There was a tense moment when they all stared at each other. The man recovered first and stepped forwards, hand outstretched. "You must be Maria Gardener. I'm Dino's manager, Freddy Short."
Maria took his hand cautiously. This was the man who'd persuaded Rachel to put Dino's son up for adoption. He looked like a businessman, but he obviously wasn't trustworthy. "And you are?" he asked, grasping Chris's hand.
"Maria's sister, Christine."
"Lovely to meet you, girls."
"How do you know who I am?" Maria asked.
"I have my sources," he said with a slick smile. He turned and angled a hand towards the woman. "This is Rachel Tanner. I'm sure you recognize her from the television."
"Lovely to meet you," Chris said, eager to shake Rachel's hand. "You have a lovely voice. I've listened to all your albums."
"Thank you," Rachel murmured.
Maria shook Rachel's hand as well and stepped back. Not sure what to say next, she stated the obvious. "We've come to see Dino."
"Ah." Freddy rubbed his hands together. "That might be a problem. He's very busy for the next few days. It's opening night tomorrow. He's got a press function tonight and Rachel's his date. That reminds me." He turned to the glamorous blonde and rested a hand on her shoulder. "You'd better head back to the hotel, love, and get ready."
Rachel gave Freddy a tentative smile, glanced once more at Maria, and left without another word. Freddy watched her go and then closed the door. His smile dimmed, and his lips tightened. "Sorry you've wasted your time coming all the way out here, love. Dino's got back together with Rachel."
His words seared through Maria. She caught Chris's sympathetic gaze and tried to mask her hurt and disappointment. "Dino and Rachel make a great team, Maria," Freddy said gently. "They work together, socialize together, look good together. A man like Dino needs a woman who understands the type of pressure and stress he's under."
"Dino sent me a postcard saying he missed me," she blurted, then realized how pathetic that sounded.
Freddy shrugged. "It takes at least a week for a letter to make it across the Atlantic. A lot can happen in a week." Her heart dropped. Dino had written the postcard two weeks ago when he first arrived here. Even if he had missed her then it didn't mean he still missed her. Life moved on. He and Rachel had been an item in the past and everything Freddy said made sense. Were her mum and Chris right? Was she shooting at the moon?
A sigh wrenched at her chest. Perhaps she was being foolish, but she had travelled a long way to see Dino and would not be put off. "If Dino doesn't have time for me, I'll understand. But I want to hear it from him."
"Hadn't you better clean up first? Do something with your hair and put on some makeup?"
Maria glanced in the mirror and ran a hand over her loose hair. It wasn't too bad. But she did look tired. Her skin was pale with dark rings under her eyes, and she felt sweaty and rumpled.
"Look, love. Dino's going to be really tight for time tonight. As soon as he comes out of rehearsals, he'll be dashing off to this press dinner. Go and get some sleep. See him tomorrow when you're feeling fresher."
"I don't know." She didn't want to interrupt Dino if he was busy, but it would only take a moment to say hello and gauge his reaction. "I'd rather talk to him tonight. He's got to come back here to pick up his jacket. I'll just wait."
"He isn't coming back." Freddy grabbed Dino's jacket from her and put it under his arm. "He asked me to fetch it for him to save time. It's best if you speak to him tomorrow."
Maria sagged. Her brain felt as though it was full of cotton wool.
"Have you booked a hotel?" Freddy asked.
"Yes." Chris stepped up beside Maria. "We're taken care of, thanks."
"Right." Freddy narrowed his eyes on Chris.
"All we want is a minute of Dino's time," Chris continued. "I'm sure he can spare that, even if he's busy. We're friends of his."
"How about I ask him to phone you?" Freddy said. "Give me your cell phone number. He'll call as soon as he gets a moment."
"How about you give us Dino's number and we'll call him?" Chris retorted.
Freddy's gray eyes homed in on her, cold and serious. "Look, love, if he wanted you to have his mobile number, he'd have given it to you. If he wants to see you, he'll call."
Maria quickly pulled her phone from her purse and checked it was charged. She gave Freddy her number and Chris passed over hers as a backup. "So Dino will call tomorrow morning, will he?" Maria asked. "We're only here for four days."
Freddy pulled a business card from his pocket and handed it to her. "If he doesn't contact you in the next couple of days, let me know, and I'll remind him." He gestured towards the door. "Shall I see you out?"
"We'll find our own way, thanks." Chris and Freddy Short stared each other down for a few seconds then he turned and walked out. "What a snake!" Chris cried the moment he was gone. "I want to see Dino just to tick him off."
"He's not going to pass on the message, is he?" Maria stared after Dino's manager, feeling defeated.
"Probably not. He doesn't want us seeing Dino for some reason. He was totally freaked out when he saw you."
Wide-eyed, Maria gazed at Chris in surprise. "Wasn't he just surprised to find us here?"
"It was more than that." Chris poked her head out the door. "Quick, he's heading back to the exit. Let's follow him to see where he goes."
Maria grabbed the handle of her case and followed Chris out. They hurried along the corridor and caught sight of Freddy Short as he neared the stage door. The wheels on the cases hummed on the tiles, so they were hardly stealthy, but he didn't look around. Maria caught the door as it was about to close and they both peeped out to see Freddy climb in a black limousine in the parking area. A moment later it pulled away.
"Blast!" Maria said. If they could have followed, the car might have led to Dino's hotel. "I wish there was a taxi handy so we could jump in and say 'follow that car' like they do in movies."
"I thought the same thing," Chris said. Maria and her sister shared a grin, and her mood lifted a little. It would be good to spend time with Chris. They would not let slimy Freddy Short ruin their holiday.
Chapter Nine
The moment the limo door closed, Freddy pulled out his phone. First he keyed in the number for security at the Met and blasted them for allowing the two women access to Dino's dressing room. Something was seriously wrong if any Tom, Dick, or Harry could just walk in off the street and get inside.
Seeing the Cornish bird had given Freddy a shock. But it wasn't all bad. He now knew Dino hadn't trusted her with his mobile number. That meant she wasn't important to him. She must have just been in the right place at the right time to offer Dino a little TLC when he needed it. Freddy could relate to that.
He dialed Rachel and tapped his fingers on his knee as he waited for her to pick up. "Hi, love. You make it back to your hotel okay?" He listened to Rachel's worries about the press reception and reassured her that she'd be great. "Listen, love, don't mention anything to Dino about the two women in his dressing room. He needs to focus on opening night tomorrow and we've got a big announcement to make after the performance.
I don't want to muddy the waters."
Rachel agreed to keep quiet as he knew she would. Freddy slotted his phone back in his pocket and frowned at the crawling traffic. Although he didn't think Maria Gardener posed much of a problem, he wasn't going to risk her getting together with Dino. He would have her watched and run interference if necessary.
***
Maria woke late the next day and immediately checked her phone for missed calls. She gave a resigned sigh to see there weren't any. The hotel included in their package deal was rather basic and didn't have a restaurant, so she and Chris went to a diner down the street for breakfast and gorged on fluffy pancakes filled with blueberries and slathered in warm maple syrup.
"I vote for shopping!" Chris said, leafing through a tourist guide.
Maria wanted to head back to the Met and ask for Dino, but he was unlikely to arrive for his evening performance until later in the day. "Okay, where do you want to go?"
"Fifth Avenue. Check this out." Chris spread out a map that showed the stores.
"How much have you got to spend?"
Chris dug in her purse and waved her credit card.
"If you max that out, Eric's going to kill me when we get back."
"I'll just tell him I've bought early birthday presents."
"Very early! Your birthday isn't for six months."
Chris simply grinned and gathered her purse and coat. "Come on. I'm hyperventilating at the thought of new shoes." They squeezed between the packed tables to reach the door and hailed a taxi. It dropped them off on Fifth Avenue near Central Park. "Oh my gosh, look, there's Bergdorf Goodman."
"What do they sell?" Maria said, turning a circle to take in the wide street and the tall buildings.
"Maria! You're hopeless. Don't you know anything? And why are you wearing those horrible training shoes again. I thought they were just for traveling. You can't walk around New York wearing the same clothes you'd hike along the coast path at home in."
Maria eyed Chris's heels and bet herself that by the end of the day it would be her sister who bemoaned her choice of footwear.
"I hope we don't get thrown out of the posh shops because you look like such a scruff." Maria rolled her eyes and hurried after Chris as she took off along the pavement. They wove through the crowd, pausing to admire window displays of clothes and accessories. "Oh my, I've died and gone to heaven. Look at that, and that." Outside Prada, Chris squealed like a kid in a sweetshop.
Was anything in her price range? Maria bit her lip. She would love a new dress and shoes to wear to meet Dino. If she got to see him. She pulled out her phone and made sure it had a signal. "You haven't had any messages, have you?" she asked Chris.
Her sister checked and shook her head. "Come on. I want to see as much as I can." They went into Juicy Couture and Chris bought a T-shirt. Then they stopped and shared a small gold box of Godiva chocolates.
"Look there's Saks." Maria trailed after Chris as she bustled through the metal doors. They headed across the cosmetics section towards the escalator. "Let's check out the handbags. I need a new one." They spent a while examining bags and then moved on to shoes. Chris tried on a few pairs while Maria pretended to watch, her mind busy with thoughts of Dino.
Even if he were back with Rachel, he would not be mean enough to ignore her after she'd come all this way to see him. That meant Freddy hadn't told him she was in New York. She'd known he wasn't to be trusted.
She dug in her purse and found Freddy's business card. While Chris paraded around in five-inch heels, Maria called Freddy's mobile. Her call went through to voicemail. "Hi, Freddy, it's Maria Gardener. I haven't heard from Dino yet. If you've forgotten to tell him I'm here, can you do so now and ask him to phone me this afternoon before opening night, please? I'm only in New York for another two days."
She ended the call and pushed her phone in her pocket with a sigh. The only way to be certain of seeing Dino was to buy tickets to his performance. At least then she would see him from afar. After the opera finished, she would try to catch him outside the stage door.
"I'm buying these," Chris said, sashaying up to where Maria sat, wearing a pair of red pumps with diamante hearts on the front. "Don't you just love them?"
"They're gorgeous!"
"You try some on."
Maria kicked off her trainers and tried a few of the pairs Chris had discarded. "Oh, look at these." She posed in front of the mirror, angling her foot to see the glittery heel. In the reflection she noticed a bald man watching her from behind a display. As soon as she saw him, his gaze darted away and he moved off. Instinctively Maria clasped her handbag closer.
Her pleasure in the shoes disappeared. She slipped her feet back in her old trainers. "Pay for your shoes and let's go back to the hotel," she told Chris.
"Already?" Chris must have seen the discomfort on Maria's face as she didn't argue, simply paid for her purchase and accompanied her out of the store.
Maria kept glancing over her shoulder, looking for the bald guy. They hailed a taxi and it headed to their hotel. "What was that all about?" Chris demanded the moment they were safely inside the vehicle.
"There was a man in the shoe department watching me."
"He probably fancied you."
"Not that kind of watching. Creepy watching."
"Are you sure?"
"I think so."
Chris was thoughtful for a moment. "I suppose we should be careful. In all big cities you get thieves who prey on tourists."
They ate a late lunch in the same place they'd had breakfast and headed back to their hotel to change. Maria wore a purple dress and some black heels she borrowed from Chris while her sister matched her new red pumps with a cream skirt and red jacket. "Don't we look hot?" Chris said, twirling in front of the mirror. "All dressed up for the opera."
"We haven't got tickets yet."
"They're bound to have returns. Theaters usually do just before a performance."
It was after five by the time they left. The temperature had dropped, so they wrapped up in coats, scarves, and gloves and took a taxi back to Lincoln Center.
The sun had started to set and lights were already popping on across the city. The buildings surrounding Lincoln Center plaza glowed, and the fountain was lit from below, the bursts of water sparkling like a fireworks display. Since the previous day, rows of plastic seats had been set up facing the opera house, some already occupied.
Maria headed straight to the Met and passed beneath the arched entrance into the magnificent lobby. An unusual, cantilevered staircase curved elegantly up to the next floor, while eleven huge chandeliers hung from the ceiling like starbursts of light. People milled around, laughing and chatting, most in evening dress. "Oh," Chris said, looking crestfallen. "I think we're underdressed."
"We're fine. Not all the women are wearing long dresses." Maria led the way to the box office and joined the line. When they reached the front, they asked if there were any tickets available. The woman serving gave them an incredulous glance. "The opening night sold out months ago."
"What about returns?" Chris retorted.
The woman sighed and tapped on her computer screen. "A pair of tickets has just become available. I do have a waiting list, but as you're here I'll let you have them."
"How much are they?"
"$675 each."
"What?" Maria and Chris chorused. The woman couldn't be serious. But her expression said she was.
"That's ridiculous. Our flights over from the UK didn't cost that much," Chris said.
Maria turned away despondently. "You can watch outside for free," a young woman in the line suggested. "There's a big screen on the front of the building where they show the performance live. If you hurry, you should get a seat."
"Thank you." Maria exchanged smiles with the woman and grabbed Chris's hand. "Come on. Quickly, before the seats fill up." They darted through the gathering crowd to the doors.
"I wondered what these plastic chairs were for," Chris said.
They found two seats on the end of a row. While Chris kept their places, Maria bought takeout pizza and a cup of coffee for each of them. They hugged their coats close and munched while the few remaining spaces filled and a crowd collected in the plaza. As people around chatted, Maria felt a flash of pride in Dino every time she heard his name mentioned.
After an hour, the plaza was packed and Chris was shivering. "I'm not sure I can stick this out. It's so darn cold."
"Once the performance starts, you'll forget the cold."
Chris gave Maria a doubtful look.
A cheer went up as the screen finally burst into life. The picture and sound quality were fantastic. Maria's heart leaped when Dino first appeared. She touched the tiny gold heart at her throat and her eyelids fell as memories flooded through her at the first sound of his voice. The songs he sang on the CDs were wonderful, but his voice was so powerful and expressive in La Bohème. The 'sound of beauty and emotion,' he'd called this type of music that day in the car. When he was the one singing, she agreed. The plot seemed to be a love story that ended with the heroine dying in Dino's embrace. Maria chewed the fingers of her gloves as he held the beautiful, dark-haired singer, wishing she was the woman in his arms.
The opera ran for nearly three hours. About halfway through, Chris left to get more coffee and didn't return until near the end. "Sorry I was so long. I sat in the coffee shop to warm up," she whispered. "Can we go now?"
"Not until it's finished." Maria was determined not to miss a moment. After the performance, interviews with the cast were broadcast as they went into a gala dinner. Maria's heart beat faster as Dino appeared on the screen in a midnight-blue dinner jacket and matching bow tie, but her pleasure faded a little to see the ever-present Rachel on his arm, looking stunning in a shimmering, scarlet evening dress. He graciously accepted praise for his performance and answered questions, his easy smile and enthusiastic manner so familiar that tears pricked Maria's eyes.
The Ultimate Romance Box (6 Bestselling Romance Novels) Page 48