by AE Jones
Alex turned away and hurried back to her office. Ms. Perfect was definitely not a stranger, and she was none of Alex’s business. She didn’t care who she was. But by the time she reached the office, her fists were clenched. She opened her hands and stared in surprise at the red marks where her nails had dug into her palms.
* * *
Nothing made sense. Alex lay her head down on the desk to escape the blinking computer cursor that taunted her. It had been three days since their interview with Prentice, and they still had very little to go on. The threats they had reviewed had led to dead ends. She hadn’t found any type of pattern with the wedding mishaps. She was going to have to suck it up and talk to Peggy to get more insight or, God forbid, her grandmother. Alex closed her eyes and rubbed the back of her neck to work out the knots.
She massaged an especially large knot and wondered if part of her tension didn’t stem from one Devin Cole. He was exasperating.
When he walked into the office after his liaison in the parking lot with Wonder Woman, he hadn’t mentioned her. Of course he had no idea Alex had been watching them, either. She sighed. The fact that she was attracted to him didn’t excuse her going all stalker. So she held her tongue and her curiosity in check and didn’t ask any questions.
“You taking a nap in here?”
As if on cue, Devin’s voice broke through her thoughts, and she lifted her head. He was standing in the doorway, his face alight with an I’ve-got-a-secret look. He grinned and waited for her to take the bait. Alex wasn’t falling for it.
“May I help you?”
His smile widened. “No, but I think I can help you.”
“Unless you’ve come in here to go through these files, I don’t see how.” She knew she sounded snippy, but she wouldn’t apologize. She was too frustrated.
“What if I told you we have a meeting scheduled with Sydney’s sister?”
She sat up straighter. “How?”
“I have some connections.”
Alex rolled her eyes. “Did Peggy help?”
His cocky grin faded a bit. “Maybe.”
“When can we meet her?”
“Tonight. You’re not afraid of the ocean at night, are you?”
* * *
The boat bumped gently against the dock as Devin jumped out and tied off the lines. Once he was done, he helped her out of the boat. They were in an isolated cove that included a deserted stretch of beach strewn with seaweed-covered boulders. If not for the full moon, the inky darkness would have made it almost impossible to see anything.
Devin still held her hand as they walked further up the beach. They came to a stop and scanned the water. It was a relatively calm night, so after a few moments the gentle lapping of the water lulled her until Devin’s grip tightened.
“What?” she whispered.
“Straight in front of you about thirty feet.”
Alex strained to see something in the waves, and after a few seconds spotted a small, dark head, popping above the surf. Within seconds, several more heads surfaced.
Alex watched in amazement as the first seal dove below the surface, and within seconds, a human head surfaced and swum toward the shore. Shoulders appeared as she walked out of the water, followed by the rest of her—the very naked rest of her.
She glistened in the moonlight as rivulets of water ran down her statuesque body. She was as beautiful as Sydney, but raven-haired instead of blond. Alex couldn’t bring herself to look at Devin while the woman strolled up on the beach and stopped in front of them.
Alex finally glanced at him, surprised to see he showed no emotion. He bowed his head slightly to the woman in front of him. “Elena, thank you for meeting with us.”
Elena nodded regally in return. “I had little choice in the matter.”
Alex’s eyes widened. Devin continued as if her tone didn’t faze him.
“We’re trying to find Sydney. Do you know where she is?”
“I stopped being my sister’s keeper more than a century ago.”
“Any help you could give us would be appreciated,” he pushed.
She stared hard at them both before responding. “I do not understand how assisting land-dwellers can help my people.”
Alex wanted to shake her. “We are trying to accomplish the same thing you are.”
Her face tightened. “And what would that be, exactly?”
“To protect your people from exposure to humans.”
Elena turned to stare out over the ocean before responding. “Sydney should never have ventured away from her own.”
“But she did,” Alex argued, “and if you want to stop reporters from digging for the truth, you need to help us.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Is she safe?”
Elena nodded. “She is unharmed.”
“Do you know why Sydney ran from her wedding? Did someone threaten to expose her?”
“That is not my story to tell.”
Alex continued, refusing to be cowed. “Would she be willing to talk to Bradley? He’s worried. And upset.”
Elena scoffed. “I’m surprised he still cares after she ran from him in such a public manner.”
Alex responded. “He loves her.”
Instead of answering, Elena’s face took on a look of resignation. She turned to the ocean. Alex followed her lead and stared out over the waves while another woman emerged from the surf. When she drew closer, Alex gasped. It was Sydney.
Sydney walked up the beach and stopped next to her sister. Devin broke the silence. “Are you well, Sydney?”
“Yes.” Her haunted gaze turned to Alex. “You’ve seen Bradley. Is he okay?”
“He’s miserable without you. He wants you to come home.”
“You said he still loves me?”
Alex’s mouth dropped open. “You heard me say that all the way out there?” Alex pointed at the water.
Sydney’s eyes brightened. “Yes.”
“He still loves you.”
Elena laughed harshly. “How can he love what he doesn’t understand?”
Sydney scowled at her. “You are the one who doesn’t understand love, sister.”
Before Elena returned the verbal volleyball, Alex interrupted her. “What happened, Sydney? Why did you run?”
Sydney clenched her hands into fists before responding. “It was the crudités.”
“Excuse me?” Alex blurted. She was unhappy with the appetizers? Was she dealing with a bridezilla who also happened to be a seal?
“Before the ceremony, we were served snacks. Something had seafood in it. I just didn’t realize it at the time.”
Alex shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what this has to do with anything.”
Elena huffed, and Sydney shot her sister a dirty look before continuing. “If I eat anything from the sea, it forces my change. I was so nervous before the ceremony, I didn’t notice the warning signs until it was too late.”
“This is why you should never have allowed yourself to be in the public eye,” Elena declared. “You could have exposed us all.”
Sydney shook her head. “I’ve made sure it’s well known that I am ‘allergic’ to seafood. Peggy gave instructions to the caterers about it as well. It was a careless accident.”
Devin spoke up. “We’re beginning to wonder if it was an accident. There has been a pattern of problems at weddings planned by Bennett Bridal.”
Sydney gasped. “Someone purposely gave me seafood to stop my wedding?”
“Possibly,” Alex replied. “If they thought you might get sick, it would definitely ruin your wedding and discredit our business.”
Elena scoffed. “Humans are a duplicitous group.”
Alex glared at her. “Selkies don’t ever have ulterior motives for what they do?”
Elena turned away from them and headed back toward the water, not bothering to reply. “Come, Sydney. It’s time to return home.”
Sydney backed up a step, and Alex
held up her hand to stop her. “Please at least talk to Bradley. He deserves to know you’re okay.”
Sydney nodded as she backed into the water, turned, and dove under the surf.
Lorinda’s Wedding Tip: A wedding can sometimes open up old family wounds. Be prepared to put on your ‘family counselor’ hat.
Chapter 12
He couldn’t tear himself away.
Devin had been standing in the office door staring at Alex for some time now. She’d fallen asleep on the couch. He smiled at the way her mouth puckered while she slept. Maybe he could explore something with Alex, if Julia could get the charges dropped, and if he could stop the gang. A lot of ifs, but he had to remain positive in order to stay on top of everything.
As if aware that someone was watching her, Alex moved slightly and Devin’s smile changed to a frown. She was wearing the same clothes she had on last night. Had she slept here?
“Alex,” Devin whispered so as not to startle her. When she didn’t move, he said her name a little louder.
She scrunched up her nose before opening her eyes and looking around the room. When she focused on him, she smiled before sitting up and stretching. “Good morning.”
Devin walked over to her. “I’m confused. When I let you out in the parking lot last night, I watched you start your car and pull away. When did you come back?”
Alex avoided his gaze. “I wanted an early start.”
“You’re wearing the same clothes you had on last night.”
She let out a huff. “I turned around before I got home.”
“Why?”
“After our midnight rendezvous with the naked sea-goddesses, I knew I wasn’t going to get any sleep.”
Devin wanted to scold her, but laughed instead. “I think that should be my line.”
“Really?”
He shook his head. “No. I went home and slept like a baby.” No sense in mentioning that he did, indeed, dream about a naked woman walking out of the water, but she had brown hair and caramel-colored eyes. “What did you do here all night?”
Alex flipped through some papers on her desk. “I made a list of weddings incidents I believe weren’t accidental.” She held up a sheet of paper. “I found seven so far. We’ll need to question the wedding parties.”
“Is there a way to narrow the list down more before we spend time interviewing? According to Peggy, your grandmother should have insights into all the weddings on your list.”
Alex swallowed and looked away briefly. “Sure. Good idea. I’ll see if she’s free today.”
Devin couldn’t hold back his curiosity any longer. “What’s the deal with you and your grandmother?”
“What do you mean?”
“There seems to be some tension between the two of you. Is it because she asked you to leave the business?”
She stared at him as if deciding how much to say, and then she shrugged. “That was the culmination of years of disappointing my grandmother.”
“Why do you say that?”
“When I was a teenager I told my grandmother I didn’t want to be in the wedding business, even though I’m the only family my grandmother has left.”
Devin watched a myriad of emotions cross Alex’s face. “I’m sure she didn’t take you seriously then, Alex. Teenagers always rebel against what’s expected of them. It comes with the territory.”
“When I graduated from high school, I convinced her to let me work part time while I went to college. I took business classes and hated them. But I wanted to prove to her that I could do a good job.”
“I can’t believe your grandmother would force you to run the business if you didn’t want to.”
She smiled sadly. “I guess you’re right, since she fired me two years ago. Although I believe at the time she called it ‘taking a hiatus from the business.’”
Devin squelched the urge to reach for her, his protective instincts on full alert. “You have to do what’s right for you. Your grandmother will realize that at some point.”
Alex shrugged. “The ironic part is, after two years of psychiatrist-directed self-examination, I realized I do want to help with the business.”
He hesitated and then plowed on. “Your grandmother cares about you, Alex.”
She shook her head. “I know she loves me, but it doesn’t mean she trusts me with her legacy.”
“Why don’t you talk to her instead of assuming the worst?”
* * *
She didn’t want to do it.
Alex ground her teeth. For most of her life she hadn’t thought of herself as a wimp. But for the past two years? She had been allowing her fears to control her. So much so that she’d walked away from everything she wanted without putting up a fight.
It was times like these when she missed her grandfather. Even now she could hear his voice in her head, clear as day: “Suck it up, Al.” Much to the chagrin of her grandmother, who refused to call her anything but Alexandra, Gramps had called her Al, and she had adored him for it.
He had been the calming influence in the family. Whenever Alex had disagreements with her grandmother, she would run to him for support. But he never gave in to her whining. Even when she was little he’d teased her about being just like Lorinda—which, he insisted, was why they always fought.
She paused in front of the closed door to her grandmother’s office and took a deep breath before knocking.
Her grandmother’s gentle voice said, “Come in.”
Alex opened the door and entered an office that hadn’t changed much at all. Like her grandmother, it was the epitome of class. Antique furniture was strategically placed throughout the spacious room, and a seating area invited clients to come in and make themselves comfortable. Her grandmother sat behind her Louis XIV desk.
“Alexandra.”
“Hello, Grandmother.”
Alex hesitated in the doorway. She wasn’t a small child with skinned knees and a crooked ponytail anymore. But while she stood there under her grandmother’s scrutiny, Alex flashed back to those childhood feelings of inadequacy. What was it about this woman that intimidated her so?
“You wanted to discuss some wedding glitches with me?”
Alex barely managed to resist rolling her eyes at the word glitch. Her grandmother was always the queen of understatement. “Yes. We’ve reviewed the weddings that took place during the past year and have come up with a preliminary list of unexplained problems that could potentially have been sabotage. Peggy suggested I discuss them with you.”
Lorinda glanced at the folder Alex had in her hand. “Is that the list, dear?”
Alex handed it to Lorinda before sitting in one of the guest chairs across from her. She watched her grandmother put on her glasses and review the list. After a few minutes, Lorinda set the folder down in front of her and shook her head slightly.
“What’s wrong?” Alex asked.
“If this is all we have as examples of potential sabotage, then I believe Peggy’s claims may be exaggerated.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because every one of these issues can be easily explained.”
“What’s the explanation?”
“Stupidity.”
Surprised at her bluntness, since her grandmother strived to be politically correct at all times, Alex was taken aback. She rattled off the first wedding on the list, since she couldn’t believe the answer was that simple. “What about the staggering bride?”
“The bride was nervous and took two of her mother’s muscle-relaxers on an empty stomach.”
“The groom who was mugged? He had to get married with a broken nose and a black eye.”
“The wedding guests were told he was mugged to save the wedding party from embarrassment. His injuries were inflicted by the bride’s two brothers, who found the groom kissing a stripper at his bachelor party.”
Alex bit her lip. “What about the bee swarm at the Patterson wedding?”
Her grandmother actually rolled her eyes before
she answered. “The bride insisted on an outside wedding, in the fall, with an apple theme. Apple cider, apple cobbler, and so on. Every bee in the state honed in on that wedding.”
Alex didn’t bother arguing further while her grandmother explained away the other four wedding incidents as well. Damn. Was this whole thing really about Sydney and Bradley’s wedding and someone trying to stop it, and nothing else? She didn’t believe it was that simple.
“Peggy and I are reviewing the rest of the weddings. We’ll let you know what we find.”
“And what exactly is Mr. Cole doing with this investigation?”
Alex’s radar went off. She recognized her grandmother’s tone, since she had been the recipient on more than one occasion. “Devin is also working with us. He has experience dealing with marketing, branding, and security.” Alex wasn’t sure why she felt the need to defend him. Hadn’t she been complaining that he wasn’t doing anything? But for some reason, when her grandmother questioned him, Alex’s protective instincts emerged.
Lorinda stared at her in silence, then said, “I do appreciate your willingness to help. But are you sure you can afford being away from work so long?”
Alex clenched her fists. “I want to be here for you.”
“I don’t want you to lose your job over this, Alexandra.”
“I won’t.” Alex flashed back to Nancy’s look of relief when she asked for an extended leave of absence. The travel agency was barely squeaking by now that everyone planned trips on the Internet. If she couldn’t convince her grandmother to let her work for her again, she would be looking for another job soon anyway.
Her grandmother cleared her throat. “Is there anything else you wanted, dear?”
Yes, she wanted to cross the chasm that had grown between the two of them, but she had no idea how. The words choked her. So much for not letting fear control her. She accepted the folder from Lorinda. “I’ll keep looking into the other weddings and come back with any questions.”