by Nora Roberts
“Yeah. Six layers, fondant with a pleated skirt and gum paste orchids to match the bride’s signature flower.” She rolled out the first sheet of fondant. “Wait, I thought your car was in the shop.”
“It is, and it’s ready. Del’s going to drop me off at the mechanic’s.”
“Oh.” Frowning, either over Del or the air bubbles she spotted, Laurel pricked the tiny bubbles with a straight pin.
“Any message—for him or your shoes?”
“Funny.” Working quickly, Laurel lifted the fondant with both hands and laid it over the first tier. “You could tell him to stop being so asinine and give them back.”
“Okay.”
“No, don’t say anything.” She shrugged then smoothed the top and sides, pushing out more air bubbles as she worked. “I don’t need the shoes. I’ve already forgotten them.”
“Sure.”
Laurel picked up a pizza cutter, shook it at Parker. “I know your games, Brown. You’re trying to get me worked up so I’ll call him about it. It won’t work.”
“Okay.” Parker smiled easily while Laurel ran the cutter around the base of the cake to cut away the excess fondant. “He’ll be here in a minute. I’ll come back with strawberries.”
“Different sizes, different shades,” Laurel called out.
“Got it.” She strolled back to the front of the house, pleased to know she’d done just what she’d set out to do. Laurel would work the rest of the day with Del and the shoes on her mind.
She stepped outside, slipped on her sunglasses, and walked down the path just as Del pulled up.
“Right on time,” he said.
“You, too.”
“We’re Browns. We’re obsessed with punctuality.”
“I consider it a virtue, and a skill. Thanks for doing this, Del.”
“Easy enough. I’m going to swing by and meet with a client, then hook up with Jack for lunch. Worked out.”
“Multitasking. The key to all. New shoes?” she asked.
“No.” He glanced over at her as he made the turn out of the drive. “Why?”
“Oh, I heard you recently acquired some fabulous new shoes.”
“Right.” The corner of his mouth twitched in amusement. “They’re not the right size. Plus walking around in heels makes my toes cramp.”
She poked him in the arm with her finger. “Taking Laurel’s shoes. When are you going to stop being twelve?”
“Never.” He laid a hand over his heart as if to swear it. “Is she pissed or amused?”
“Both, and neither. I’d say she’s confused.”
“Then mission accomplished.”
“That’s so typical. Why do you want to confuse her?”
“She started it.”
She tipped down her sunglasses to peer at him over the tops. “I think you just regressed to the age of eight. Started what?”
He shot her another look. “I may be eight, but I know you and your pack. You know what she started, and now you’re trying to wheedle out my side of it.”
“I don’t have to wheedle, and you don’t have to tell me. Sorry,” she added when her phone rang. “Shawna, hi! I just left Laurel in the kitchen where she was finishing your cake. It’s going to be gorgeous. All right. Uh-huh. No, no, don’t worry. I’ll call my travel agent and ... That was resourceful. Do you have his new flight number? Yes.”
As she spoke she took out a pad and pen, and repeated the information as she noted it down. “I’ll check shortly, just to make sure it’s on schedule, and I’ll arrange for a car to pick him up and bring him to rehearsal. No, it won’t be a problem. You just leave it to me, and we’ll see you tonight. Relax, everything’s under control. Go, get your nails done and don’t worry about a thing.Yes, me, too. Bye.
“BM’s flight cancelled. He’s rerouted,” she said as she put the pad away. “He’ll be a little late tonight.”
“I was worried for a minute.”
“Laurel’s right.You are a smart-ass.”
“Is that what she said?”
With a careless shrug, Parker tucked her BlackBerry away.
“Okay, okay, your torture methods are efficient and cruel. She changed the playing field so I’m trying to figure out if I should suit up. I’m not sure it’s a good idea, but ... well, it’s an idea. Comments?”
“I think you’re both going to try to be in charge so you’ll either fight like rabid dogs or fall wildly in love. Possibly both, as you’re each starting out with strong and long-term feelings for and about each other. And those feelings will shift and change if you ... suit up.”
“I’m not looking to fight or fall wildly. I’m just exploring a potential new dynamic. Is it weird for you?”
Interesting, she thought, they’d both asked her the same question. “I don’t know yet. When she gets in touch with you about the shoes, which she will even though she thinks she won’t, don’t gloat.”
“Only on the inside.” He turned into the parking lot of the garage. “She’s going to get in touch?”
“She really likes those shoes. Plus, she’ll decide not getting in touch is letting you win.” She leaned over, kissed his cheek. “Thanks for the lift.”
“I can wait for you. Mal’s around somewhere, so I can hang out with him until you’re set.”
“That’s okay.” If Del talked to Malcolm, then Malcolm would know she was there, and he’d certainly have something to say. She’d prefer to avoid it, and him. “I called ahead so they know I’m coming.”
“Of course you did. Well, tell Mal I’ll see him at poker night.”
“Hmm. Come to dinner next week.” She stepped out of the car. “We’ll do a big family dinner. I’ll check everyone’s schedule and let you know what night’s best if you’re open.”
“I can be open. Hey, Parker. You look pretty.”
She smiled. “Just keep your eyes off my shoes.” She shut the door on his laugh and walked into the office.
The frazzled woman with the orange hair and green-framed cheaters sat behind the counter and gave Parker a little come-ahead as she talked on the phone. A few discreet inquiries had given Parker the info that the woman was Malcolm’s mother.
Not that it mattered, particularly. She just liked to know who she was dealing with.
“That’s right, tomorrow afternoon. After two. Look, buddy, the part just got here, and the boy’s only got two hands.” She rolled sharp green eyes—the same shade as her son’s—at Parker while she chugged from a bottle of Dr Pepper. “Do you want it fast or do you want it right? He told you it’d take a day once the part showed up. I heard him myself. Maybe you oughta buy American. If it’s ready sooner, I’ll call you. Best I can do. Yeah, you have a real good day. Dickhead,” she added when she’d hung up.
“Everybody thinks the world revolves around them,” she said to Parker. “Everybody’s the center of the freaking universe.”
Then she sighed, then she smiled—a singularly sweet smile. “You look real fresh and pretty.”
“Thank you. I’m meeting a client.”
“I got your bill right here. Got it together and printed it out after you called. I’m getting the hang of this damn computer.”
Parker remembered their first meeting and Mrs. Kavanaugh’s frustration. “They do save time once you figure out the program.”
“Well, it’s only taking me half again as long as it would to just write it out rather than three times that like it used to. Here you go.”
“Great.” Parker stepped up to look it over.
“I knew your ma a little.”
“Oh?”
“You got the look of her some, now that I put it together. She was a real lady. The kind that doesn’t have to act snooty to be one.”
“She’d have appreciated that exact description.” Satisfied with the bill, Parker took out her credit card. “I think you know Maureen Grady, too. She’s run the house, and us, as long as I remember.”
“Yeah, I know her some. I guess if you’re
around Greenwich long enough, you know most everybody. My boy plays poker with your brother.”
“He does,” Parker agreed, and signed the credit slip. “In fact, Del dropped me off. He said to tell Malcolm he’d see him on poker night.”There, she thought, duty discharged.
“You can tell him yourself,” she said as Malcolm walked in from the side garage door, wiping his hands on a red bandanna.
“Ma, I need you to ...” He paused, slowly smiled. “Hey. Nice.”
“Ms. Brown here’s just picking up her car.” His mother took the keys, and to Parker’s dismay tossed them to Malcolm, who caught them one-handed. “Walk her on out there.”
“It’s not necessary. I just—”
“Part of the service.” Mal walked to the front door of the office, held it open.
“Thanks, Mrs. Kavanaugh. It was nice to see you again.”
“Come back anytime.”
“Really,” Parker began once they were outside, “I’m in kind of a hurry, so—”
“Got a date?”
“A meeting.”
“Shame to waste that dress on business, but we’ll get you there.”
He smelled of his work, which wasn’t nearly as unpleasant as she’d assumed it would be. His jeans had a hole in the knee and grease stains on the thigh. She wondered if he wore a black T-shirt because it wouldn’t show the stains.
His hair was nearly as dark and left to fall any way it chose around his sharply defined face. He hadn’t shaved, she noted, but the result made him look more dangerous than scruffy.
“You’ve got a nice ride.” He jingled her keys in his hand, his eyes on her face when they reached her car. “And you take care of it. We detailed it on us since it’s your first service, but I couldn’t’ve charged you anyway. You keep your baby clean and polished.”
“Tools work better when they’re taken care of.”
“Words to live by Most people don’t. So, what’s after the meeting?”
“Sorry? Oh ... errands, and work.”
“You ever not have meetings, errands, and work?”
“Rarely.” She knew when a man was hitting on her, but couldn’t remember the last time it had flustered her. “I really need those keys.The car won’t start without them.”
He dropped them into her open palm. “If you hit one of those rare times, give me a call. I’ll take you out in my ride.”
While she tried to think of a response, he jerked a thumb. She followed the direction to a big, burly, gleaming motorcycle.
“I don’t think so. I really don’t think so.”
He only smiled. “If you change your mind, you know how to reach me.” He waited a beat while she got into the car. “It’s the first time I’ve seen you with your hair down. It goes with the dress.”
“Um.” Jesus, Parker, she thought, what has tied your tongue into a knot? “Thanks for the work.”
“Back at you.”
She shut the door, turned the key, and with a genuine sense of relief drove away. The man, she decided, just threw her off balance.
IT WAS SILLY, LAUREL TOLD HERSELF, AND HAD TO BE HANDLED. Ignoring Del and his childish game had seemed like a good idea initially, but the more she chewed on it, the more it seemed ignoring it could be construed as avoidance.That gave him the upper hand, which would never do.
She kept her plan—such as it was—to herself. Since she wasn’t needed at rehearsal, it limited contact with her friends, and the temptation to share. She kept to her kitchen, making the cream filling and buttercream frosting for Saturday afternoon’s Summer Strawberry cake. She checked her board and her timing, and tried not to feel guilty about sneaking out of her own house.
She pulled off her apron, then cursed. She wasn’t going over to Del’s to face this situation all sweaty and mussed. Cleaning up didn’t equal fussing.
She took the back stairs, slipped into her own wing to shower off the day. Putting makeup on wasn’t fussing either. It was just basic grooming. And she liked wearing earrings. She was entitled to wear earrings and a nice top, wasn’t she? It wasn’t a crime to want to look her best, whatever the circumstances.
Refusing to argue with herself any longer, she took the back steps again with the idea of getting out without being seen. She’d be home, she assured herself, before anyone noticed she was gone.
“Where are you off to?”
Busted. “Ah.” She turned to see Mrs. Grady in the kitchen garden. “I just have something to do. A little something to do.”
“Well, I guess you’d better go do it. That’s a new shirt isn’t it?”
“No.Yes. Sort of.” She hated feeling the heat of guilt creeping up the back of her neck. “There’s no point in buying a shirt and not wearing it.”
“None at all,” Mrs. Grady said placidly. “Run along then, and have fun.”
“I’m not going to ... Never mind. I won’t be long.” She circled around the house toward her car. An hour, tops, then she’d—
“Hi. Heading out?”
Oh, for Christ’s sake, it was like having a community of parents. She worked up a smile for Carter. “Yeah. I just have a thing. I’m coming right back.”
“Okay. I’m going to beg a casserole from Mrs. G. We’ll be defrosting later, if you’re interested.”
“Thanks, but I grabbed a salad before. Enjoy.”
“We will.You look nice.”
“So what?” She shook her head. “Sorry, sorry Distracted. Gotta go.” She jumped in the car before she ran into anyone else.
As she sped away, it occurred to her she should’ve gone to Del’s during the day, when he’d be gone. She knew where the spare key was hidden, and had his alarm code. Except he probably changed it regularly, as that was the safe thing to do. Still, she could’ve risked it, and gotten inside, found her shoes. Left him a note, she thought. Now that would’ve been clever.
Too late now But he might not be home, she considered. He had an active social life—friends, clients, dates. Seven thirty on a pretty summer evening? Yes, he probably had a hot date—drinks, dinner, debauchery. She could get in, find the shoes, leave him a funny note.
Dear shoenapper: We escaped and have informed the FBI. A tactical team is on the way. The Pradas.
He’d laugh, she decided. He didn’t like to lose—who did?—but he’d laugh. And that would be the end of that.
As long as she didn’t set off the alarm and end up calling him to be her attorney of record. Think positive, she advised herself and warmed up to the new plan as she drove.
And imagined it falling like a bad soufflé when she spotted his car in the drive.
Oh well, back to Plan A.
He had a great house, one she’d admired since he’d had it built. Probably too big for one man, but she understood the need for space. She knew Jack had designed it with very specific requirements from Del. Not too traditional, but not too modern, lots of light, lots of room. And the sprawl of river stone, the pitch of the triple roofs had a kind of casual elegance that suited the owner.
And she was stalling, she admitted.
She got out of the car, walked straight to the front door, and rang the bell.
She shifted from one foot to the other, tapped her hand on her knee. Nerves, she realized. For God’s sake she was nervous about seeing a man she’d known her entire life. One she’d fought with and played with. They’d even been married a couple of times—when Parker had nagged, bribed, or blackmailed him into playing Groom in their Wedding Day games as kids. Now she had the jitters.
That made her a wuss, she decided. She hated being a wuss.
She punched the bell again, harder.
“Sorry, you were so quick, and I was just ...” Del, shirt open over a chest where a few drops of water glimmered, hair dark with damp, stopped, cocked his head. “And you’re not the delivery guy from the China Palace.”
“No, and I came for ...You can’t get delivery out here from the China Palace.”
“You can if you defended
the owners’ son on possession and got him into a program instead of a cell.” He smiled, hooked a thumb in the pocket of the jeans he’d zipped but had yet to button. “Hi, Laurel. Come on in.”
“I’m not here to visit. I’m here for my shoes.Just get them, and I’ll be gone before your shrimp fried rice gets here.”
“I went for the sweet-and-sour pork.”
“Good choice. My shoes.”
“Come on in. We’ll discuss terms.”
“Del, this is just absurd.”
“I like some absurd now and again.” To settle the matter, he grabbed her hand, pulled her inside. “So, want a beer? I picked up some Tsingtao for the Chinese.”
“No, I don’t want a Chinese beer. I want my shoes.”
“Sorry, they’re in an undisclosed location until the ransom terms are determined and met. Did you know they let out this thin, high-pitched scream when you twist those skinny heels?” He fisted his hands, twisted to demonstrate. “It’s a little eerie.”
“I know you think you’re being funny, and okay, you’re not entirely wrong. But I’ve put in a really long day. I just want my shoes.”
“You deserve a Tsingtao after a really long day.And look, here’s dinner.Why don’t you go out back on the deck? It’s nice out. Oh, grab a couple of beers out of the fridge on your way Hey, Danny, how’s it going?”
She could argue, Laurel thought. She could even make a scene. But neither would get her the shoes until Del was good and ready Keeping her cool, that was the ticket, she decided and, grinding her teeth only a little, started toward the kitchen. She heard Del and the delivery guy talking baseball as she walked away. Apparently somebody somewhere had pitched a no-hitter the night before.
She turned into his spacious kitchen, washed now in the softening evening light. She knew he used the space for more than beer and take-out Chinese. He had a couple of specialties down cold—fancy little meals designed for seducing women—and had a hand with omelettes for the morning after.
So she’d been told.
She opened the fridge and took out a beer, and since it was there, took out one for herself. Knowing the setup here nearly as well as in her own kitchen, she opened the freezer, got out a couple of chilled pilsners. And noted a handy selection of Mrs G’s casseroles and soups in labeled containers.