French Kissing

by Nancy Warren

  “I’m so sorry, baby.”

  Evelyn Renton had never been the most touchy-feely mom, but she knew her daughter and she had to know this wasn’t easy.

  “I’ve got to talk to Brewster. If he puts this stuff in his column—God, what if my father thinks I planted it deliberately.”

  “First of all, no one who is acquainted with you for five minutes would believe you capable of that kind of behavior and second, unless he’s changed a great deal, Giovanni’s an intelligent man. Honey, do you want a piece of advice?”

  “Yes.”

  “Talk to your father. He’s got clout, connections and a team of lawyers. If anyone can stop this nasty man’s troublemaking, it’s him.”

  “That’s good advice. Thanks, Mom.”

  “I’ll see you soon.”

  Kimi ended the call and immediately booted up her computer and logged on to the online version of Brewster’s column, “My Secret Closet.”

  NoIndent" style="margin-left:5%;">Brewster Peacock brings you a delicious combination of top fashion and dirty laundry. Two fashions that never go out of style and always mix and match.

  Then, under the dateline:

  NoIndent" style="margin-left:5%;">Pardon my French, but you would not believe the merde at this couture week in Paris. One hardly knows whether to laugh, gasp or faint at the sheer lack of imagination displayed at this year’s couture week, with the exception of the ever-talented Daniel LeSerge who brought a bevy of caged beauties down the runway—and I mean tweeties, not models. Yes, each millinery concoction contained a single bird. One was miffed there was no peacock, but perhaps none of the model’s heads were big enough.

  ">However, two darling birds that did catch Brewster’s eye were Kimberley Renton and Claudia Ferrarro.

  “Oh, no,” Kimi whispered.

  There was a loud banging at her door, but she ignored it. The banging started up again. She stomped to the door. “I thought you had a meeting?” she said as she opened the door. Holden was standing there looking grim and unshaven. His eyes were heavy from lack of sleep and stormy with anger.

  “Have you seen it?” he demanded.

  “Peacock? I’m reading it now.”

  He folded her into his arms. There was nothing sexual in the gesture, it was pure comfort. She sank into his embrace.

  Then she pulled away. “It’s not so bad for me, but poor Claudia.” She gasped. “And Giovanni’s wife.” She started back toward her computer. “Order some coffee, will you? I need to finish reading this.”

  She heard him on the phone as she returned to reading the piece. She scrolled down and there was a photo of her and Claudia. They were in the foreground, chatting pleasantly. The photo had been snapped last night. Vladimir was beside Claudia but he’d turned away so his face wasn’t visible. Behind them was her father. She hadn’t known he was there, but his face registered something close to horror as he saw his daughters chatting to each other. If a picture could tell a thousand words, this one told a million.

  The photo gave her pause, and she turned to look at Holden.

  “How did you find out about this? I don’t think you got home from our adventure and decided to check out Brewster’s column out of the blue.”

  “He called me,” Holden said shortly.

  “Who?”

  “Brewster Peacock. The little bastard called me on my cell—and I would love to know how he got the number—to tell me I’d find his column interesting this morning.”

  “But why would he—”

  Holden looked at her steadily.

  And then she nodded, getting it. “He knew you’d tell me. Much more diabolical than telling me himself, of course.”

  She gripped the sides of the fancy desk where her computer perched. “And he’s going to make damn sure Claudia and Giovanni find out.”

  “So, what do we do now?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Do we go to them or do we wait for them to come to us?” He was in full man-of-action mode. There was a situation and he wanted to fix it.

  “Let me finish this and get ready. I can’t think right now.”

  The article continued:

  ">Two birds of a feather is exactly what I thought when I saw the oh so lovely Claudia Ferrarro arrive in the City of Lights with her father. Rumor has it that the young lady is a bride-to-be, and where better to buy one’s finery than in Paris where ApplePie have spent many a happy hour preparing for their upcoming nuptials.

  ">When your humble scribe saw the fair Claudia standing in conversation with fellow fashion pen-meister Kimberley Renton, he had the strangest feeling that he was seeing double. Claudia’s papa, the eminent Giovanni Ferrarro, seemed very anxious to part the two new friends. I smelled a mystery.

  ">While none of the principals in this little family drama are talking, I offer you the following morsels to enjoy with your morning coffee.

  ">The globe-trotting young Giovanni spent four of his carefree bachelor years in the late 1970s at Yale. A young coed named Evelyn Renton was often seen in his company, say my sources.

  ">The lovely Evelyn gave birth to baby Kimberley on February 23, 1979. Meanwhile, Giovanni returned home to Italy where he soon married his sweet Italian bride and produced three angelic girls. It must be lovely for him to catch up with the daughter of his chère amie Evelyn, and to be able to introduce his daughter to her. But wait, when I look at the picture, methinks I don’t see paternal delight. What a mystery!

  ">And speaking of mysteries, what could ubermo-del Natasha Hennington have been thinking? Word has it the former waif has been on a carbohydrate bender from here to the North Sea….

  The coffee arrived and after downing a piping-hot cup and a croissant, she showered and got ready for the day. Holden remained, saying he had a few calls to make. She bet he did. His low-key cover, as her photographer while investigating a couture theft ring was now about as low-key as ApplePie’s upcoming nuptials.

  She came out feeling marginally calmer. The simple rituals of grooming and dressing always helped. Perhaps her life was going down in flames, but damn it, she’d look good on the way down.

  She came out of the bathroom dressed for the day, and stalled. Holden was sitting on the couch looking as stern as she’d ever seen him. Across from him sat Claudia, her eyes red from weeping. Giovanni rose to his feet as she entered the room as though even in the direst crisis his manners would never desert him.

  “Oh, goody,” she said. “A family reunion.”

  14

  “DID YOU KNOW?” Claudia asked in a choking voice, her eyes beseeching Kimi’s.

  Kimi’s heart went out to her.

  “Yes. I’ve always known.”

  “But I—” She sniffled and took out a tissue. “I don’t understand. How could you speak to me and act as though you didn’t know—”

  “Holden, would you call down for more coffee?”

  He gazed at her blankly and only then did she realize they’d been speaking Italian. She walked to the phone and ordered coffee. Then she sat down.

  “Let’s speak English, so Holden can understand.”

  “I am very sorry,” her father said. He looked as though he’d aged ten years in a day. “I never thought I would cause so many people pain.”

  “Have you spoken to your wife?”

  He closed his eyes briefly and nodded. “She requests that we return immediately, but I will not act like a coward. No. We must find a way to cope with this with what dignity we can muster.”

  “I’m all for dignity. What do you suggest?”

  Silence.

  “Are you planning to acknowledge Kimberley?” Holden asked, speaking for the first time.

  “Yes.”

  “Good.”

  She felt a wave of relief sweep over her. At least the lying would be over. “We could have a press conference,” she said slowly. “Take the wind out of Brewster’s sails.”

  Her father looked disdainful.

  “I know it’s ve
ry American and probably vulgar, but we’re going to have to deal with the press eventually. You’re an important man—an important family. Silence only gives Brewster more leeway to make fools of us all.”

  Holden rose. “No. I’ve been thinking about this and as an outsider, I’ve got a more objective view.” He took a step toward Kimi and put an arm around her shoulder. He couldn’t have telegraphed more clearly that he was on her side in whatever was going down.

  “Here’s the way I see it. Officially there is no mystery and no scandal. Both families have always known about each other—” He glanced at Giovanni, and Kimi had a feeling he wanted to say a thing or two but was controlling himself with an effort. “You’ve just never made a public big deal about it.

  “Kimi and her mom have their lives in New York and you and your family have your lives in Italy. But, with Claudia getting married, you all decided to meet here so the women could spend more time together.”

  “You mean, we already know each other? Kimi and me?”

  “Yep. You’ve known each other all your lives. End of mystery. End of Brewster Peacock’s scandal.”

  “But Mama—”

  “I will look after Mama,” Giovanni said. “You are right. Of course. I shall go home and explain everything. I will bring her back to Paris.”

  “But what if she won’t forgive you, Papa?”

  He smiled sadly. “She would still come for you.”

  “But Maria has a broken leg.”

  “Maria will be fine. Right now your mother is needed here.”

  “Won’t she be angry that you’re leaving me here alone?”

  “You’re not alone. You have your fiancé.” He glanced at Kimi. “And your sister.”

  She nodded. “All right.” Then Claudia turned to Holden. “Tell me what I can do to help.”

  “Stop crying and fix your makeup.”

  To everyone’s surprise, she laughed. “It seems you are as bossy as my father. Very well. I will dry my eyes.”

  She glanced up at Kimi a little shyly. “And then I will get to know my big sister.”

  Kimi felt something inside her shift. “I never had a sister.”

  “When are you going to fetch your wife?” Holden asked.

  Her father looked rather amused. “When would you suggest?”

  “No sooner than tomorrow morning. Today, the sisters should be seen together, and you should all be together tonight at Versailles.”

  She knew it was a struggle for Giovanni not to rush off immediately to his wife. She couldn’t imagine how big a shock this would be to his wife and other daughters after all this time. But, after a moment’s reflection, he agreed with Holden.

  “Very well. Claudia, I believe you were planning to do some shopping.”

  “Yes, lingerie.”

  “Can you make time to go along with her?” he asked Kimi.

  She nodded.

  “Let me know when you’re ready to leave,” said Holden.

  “You’re coming lingerie shopping?”

  He grinned, a sudden, lethal weapon that made her knees weak when he turned it on her. “I’m crazy about lingerie. Besides, I’m your official photographer. I’ll make sure the photos of all of you as a happy family go out on the wire.”

  “The wire?” Claudia asked.

  “That means it can be picked up by any media outlet who subscribes to the service.” She rose on her tiptoes and kissed Holden lightly. “I owe you.”

  “Let me see you in some of that lingerie and we’re even.”

  THE AFTERNOON WENT better than she expected. Their father insisted on taking all of them to lunch and she chose a restaurant frequented by fashion people. Brewster would find out about the cozy family meal before they’d placed their orders.

  After lunch, which included quite a few table visits during which Kimi calmly introduced her father and half sister as though she did it all the time, they left. Her father parted from them to return to his suite where he was going to phone his wife yet again.

  The women went shopping, with Holden in tow. It was surprisingly fun. As she’d sensed the first time she saw her, Claudia had excellent taste.

  It was difficult to remain formal and shy when you were trying on bras and panties and discussing the merits of various nightgowns for the wedding night. Before long the two were having fun together.

  Holden followed them and took plenty of photos. However, he was often banished by Claudia’s modesty or his own boredom, and then he took his camera and wandered the area until the women were ready to move on.

  They left one of Kimi’s favorite shops with a bulging bag for Claudia and a slightly smaller but still well-stocked bag for Kimi. She’d intended to restock her lingerie supply in Paris; she simply hadn’t, in her wildest dreams, envisioned doing so in the company of her sister.

  As they exited, Holden was putting away his camera.

  He looked at Claudia with an odd expression on his face and said, “Is Vladimir meeting you here?”

  “No. He had a meeting with some business associates. He said it would take all day.”

  “What kind of work does he do?”

  “He works for an international shipping company. They have offices in Moscow, London, Paris, Tokyo and New York.”

  “Cool.”

  Once they’d dropped Claudia back at her hotel and arranged to meet up that evening, Holden took Kimi back to her hotel.

  “You’re quiet. Are you okay?”

  “I saw Vladimir when we were buying lingerie. He wasn’t in any business meeting.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He was with another woman.”

  “Could she have been a business associate?”

  He shrugged. “Something was off about how they met. They were secretive and he looked nervous. I snapped a few shots but I’m not sure if I got anything before he dragged her off down a side street.”

  “You think he saw you?”

  “Hard to tell. I think he was scared of his own shadow, but maybe he saw me and panicked.

  “I don’t want to jump to conclusions. Probably there’s a perfectly simple explanation.”

  “Yeah.” But her heart remained heavy. She didn’t want to begin her official first day as a sister by having doubts about her sister’s choice of husband.

  It hadn’t occurred to her that having more people in her family was going to mean having more people to worry about.

  “I wish I wasn’t so tired. I could think more clearly if I wasn’t so tired.”

  He kissed her lightly. “Go have a nap. I’m going to take a look at these photos. Find some good ones to put on the wire.”

  “I was planning to invite you up for a private lingerie fashion show.”

  He kissed her again, a little deeper this time. “I’ll take a rain check on that fashion show. But I’m going to want to see it, all of it, real soon.”

  And he was gone.

  Back in her room she flopped into the bed and dropped into a deep sleep. Two hours later she woke feeling more human. Oddly, the person she was thinking about was Claudia. If Vladimir had a girlfriend here in Paris, what was a good big sister supposed to do?

  Holden had three siblings, she remembered as she rolled lazily out of bed. She’d ask him for the correct protocol. It seemed she had some how-to-be-a-good-sister lessons to learn in a hurry.

  She took her time getting ready, choosing a pale-lemon bra-and-panties set from today’s shopping spree that made her look closer to naked than actually being naked. She pictured herself standing before Holden in nothing else and was very sure he’d approve.

  He arrived fifteen minutes ahead of his scheduled time. He was dressed in the formal suit she’d told him to wear, but she could tell he hadn’t put much effort into the details. She’d guess he’d shoved his clothes on while simultaneously running out the door.

  “You are hopeless,” she said with affection, reaching up to give him a kiss.

  He returned it, but with none of h
is usual enthusiasm. In fact, she’d have to say his mind was miles away. Very flattering when she’d spent so much time while dressing picturing him undressing her.

  “Check this out,” he said, taking out some photos.

  “Oh, these are nice,” she said, lifting the first one, which showed her and Claudia laughing over an exquisite peignoir set. She glanced up at him. “Do you really think we look alike?”

  “Like sisters. I noticed it right away. It’s the eyes, mostly. And the hair. I saw that man-tart checking you both out too. I should have guessed he was out to make trouble.”

  She sighed. “Brewster’s always out to make trouble. But this time,” she said, flipping to the next photo, “he’s inadvertently done some good.”

  “Keep going to the rest of the proofs.”

  She did. The photos were of Claudia and Kimi bonding over silks and satins. She could see how their body language became more relaxed as the day progressed. Amazing what a photograph could reveal.

  The last three pictures weren’t of her and Claudia. She recognized Vladimir immediately, and Holden was right. She could almost feel the Russian’s discomfort. He was talking intently to a woman who was out of focus. They stood close to a doorway and she had the odd notion that he was ready to drag the woman into it should anyone go by. If Holden hadn’t had a great eye and a telephoto lens, Vladimir would never have been spotted.

  The woman’s features were more in focus in the second photo; in the third, both Vladimir and the woman could be seen clearly.

  “Do you know her?”

  She shook her head slowly. “No. I don’t know her.” She put all three pictures on the table and moved a lamp so she had extra brightness. “But there’s something familiar about her.”

  “Could she be in the fashion world?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “The clothes aren’t much. These are cheap mass-market jeans and a windbreaker you could get at Wal-Mart. If she’s in fashion, she’s not very high on the totem pole. I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere though.” She flipped through the photos again. “If Vladimir is attracted to Claudia, how could he risk his future for this woman? She’s completely different from Claudia. She’s not very attractive, certainly not as well groomed and she’s older. The only thing she and Vladimir have in common is that they both look Eastern European.”