Gunning for the Groom

by Debra Webb

  She slid a glance at her undercover groom as they neared her mother’s home, wondering what kind of reception to expect. Would it be stilted and weird or warm and happy? Her last conversation with her mom, in the cemetery at her father’s grave, had been tense and ugly. Grief-stricken, she’d tossed out accusations and hammered Sophia with questions she wouldn’t answer. Frankie prepared for an awkward encounter, though Sophia would surely pour on the charm with Aidan around.

  Sunlight caught on the engagement ring. The fragrant scent of lilies filled the car. Frankie was showing up at her mother’s house with a fiancé and a bouquet of flowers. Her emotions swung from one extreme to the other with every heartbeat as Aidan pulled to a stop in front of the house. The struggle had her waffling between the idea that going to Victoria had been smart, and the possibility that it had been foolish. Frankie needed investigative support to get justice and clear her father’s name. No, she needed only one honest answer. It reminded her of being caught in an undertow. She could see the sunlight, knew where she needed to go, while an unseen force dragged her out to sea.

  She looked up at the tidy Craftsman house with trimmed hedges lining the walkway and steps up to the porch, which was framed with flower boxes on the railing. The ironwork table and chairs had decorated patios or porches in various homes where they’d lived around the world for as long as Frankie could remember. How many quiet moments had her parents shared at that table over the years? What did it mean that her mother still had those pieces?

  “This makes no sense.”

  “Which part?” Aidan studied her closely. “Your mom hasn’t seen the ring or me. There’s still time for the original game plan.”

  “The engagement is the only piece of this puzzle I trust to work as expected.” Frankie stared at the table and chairs.

  “Is that an attempt to scare me off?”

  “No.” Her heavy sigh rippled across the tissue covering the flowers. She pushed the bouquet into his hands. “We’re on, my darling fiancé. Let’s make it count.”

  They climbed out of the car and Aidan locked the doors with the key fob. “Play nice,” he murmured, brushing a kiss to her cheek as they walked up to the porch. “I’ve got your back.”

  She wanted to roll her eyes. He had no idea what he was walking into, though she was ridiculously grateful he was with her.

  Her mother must’ve been watching from a window. The front door flew open the moment they topped the stairs. Sophia hovered in the doorway, her hands clutched over her heart.

  “Frankie,” she breathed. “Oh, thank heaven. You’re home.” She drew her into a crushing hug.

  Frankie patted her mother’s shoulders, biting back the snide observation that a house she’d never seen couldn’t be home. There would be time for barbs like that later. Indulging her petty streak now would undermine the ultimate goal: to get the truth out of Sophia.

  “Mom,” Frankie said, escaping the embrace. “This is Aidan Abbot.”

  Aidan extended the vase of flowers. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Leone.”

  Sophia’s eyes, shining with unshed tears, darted from Frankie to Aidan and back again. “Come in, come in. Any friend of Frankie’s—”

  “Fiancé,” Frankie clarified. “We started as friends, though.” She imagined whoever she married—if she married—would have to be a friend first. She held up her hand to show off the ring and sell the lie. Sophia’s eyes widened and her lips parted, but she couldn’t seem to speak. When they got back to the hotel, Frankie would admit to Aidan that he had been right about the ring making all the difference.

  “Oh, come in! Come in here and tell me everything.” Sophia gripped Frankie’s hand for a closer inspection. Looking to Aidan, she said, “You have excellent taste.”

  “I thought it suited her.” A smug grin crossed his face as they followed Sophia inside. “Frankie wouldn’t have taken my proposal seriously without it.”

  Sophia beamed at her. “That’s my girl,” she said with pride.

  Clearly Aidan planned to gloat over this when they were alone. At least Frankie could revel in being right about her mother’s mushy romantic side. Thoughts of who’d trumped whom faded as her eyes landed on the family portrait hanging in a place of honor over the sideboard in the dining room. She stopped short, staring.

  Sophia paused, as well. “You seem surprised,” she said after a moment.

  “Look at you.” Aidan gave her hand a squeeze as he admired the portrait. “You’re so happy.”

  Frankie would argue as soon as she got over the shock. Had Sophia put this here when she’d moved in, or had she dug it out of storage just for the visit today?

  “That was painted when we were in Germany,” Sophia explained to Aidan. “Frankie was seven. The local artist worked from a snapshot...”

  Frankie stopped listening. Her mind had traveled back to those idyllic days when everything in her world had made sense. Her father had been a respected leader, her mother outgoing and friendly and involved with the community. Frankie had had a normal life and her body had cooperated every day. She hadn’t known what real deception was, had no concept of scandal. Granted, she’d been seven and generally oblivious of anything beyond school and her young friends.

  “You and Dad went to Austria for your anniversary that year,” she said wistfully.

  “That’s right.” Sophia cleared her throat. “How do you remember that?”

  “I got to have a sleepover with Elise Stafford while you were gone.”

  “You two were always getting into trouble.”

  “That sounds like a story I need to hear,” Aidan said, raising Frankie’s hand to his lips and kissing her knuckles. “Who’s going to tell me?”

  Frankie let her mother do the honors. She was too busy analyzing why the pieces and collections they’d gathered to maintain that sense of home were displayed here.

  She’d expected a woman capable of throwing her husband to the wolves would have purged all the reminders or shipped them to her daughter. It wasn’t as if Frankie had given her time to prepare for the visit, either. Hardly twenty-four hours had passed since she reached out from Victoria Colby’s office.

  Sophia, relaxed and in her element as hostess, offered them water or lemonade and shared a few of Frankie’s childhood highlights with Aidan as if there’d never been any strife between them. Frankie wanted to snap and claw; she wanted to demand the truth. The words nearly tumbled free—to hell with patience, charades, proper channels and procedures. She had only one question: Hey, Mom, why’d you set up Dad?

  Except it would backfire. Her mother’s stoic mask would slam into place and they’d be no closer to the source of information Frankie was sure they’d find somewhere inside Leo Solutions. Better to follow her mother’s example, appearing to be one thing while carrying on as something else entirely in the shadows.

  “Frankie?” Aidan bumped her knee with his.

  “Pardon?” She forced her lips into a smile.

  “Your mom asked about your back,” he said, giving her hand another squeeze.

  “Oh. It’s fine.” She hurried to elaborate when Sophia’s face fell. “I’m running again.”

  “Oh, Frankie, that’s wonderful. I know that was an important goal.”

  Her mother knew damn good and well the most important goal had been resuming active duty with the navy. Frankie smiled through the stinging bitterness of failure. “It feels good,” she said, playing nice. “I’ll be able to dance at my wedding, too.” Though her father wouldn’t be there to walk her down the aisle, she added silently.

  “I can’t wait!” Sophia leaned forward. “Tell me how you met.”

  Here came another undertow. Frankie gripped Aidan’s hand in both of hers, hoping he’d get the hint and dive in. They’d come up with a loose cover story, but she couldn’t seem to get
it started.

  “We met on a case she was working for the Savannah PD,” he began. The way he told the story, she could see it in her mind. He made it sound as though he found her interesting and likable. Quite a feat, since she’d forced him into this engagement ruse. The man was excellent undercover and she owed him big for this. By the time he finished, she almost believed how much they loved each other, right down to an all-too-real startling rush of affection for him that soothed her nerves.

  “Your daughter amazes me at every turn,” Aidan said, raising their joined hands to his lips once more. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that she agreed to marry me.”

  “This is wonderful,” Sophia gushed, right on cue. “What do you have in mind so far?”

  “In mind?” Frankie jerked her gaze from Aidan to her mother.

  “For the wedding.” Sophia laced her fingers together, bouncing a little in her seat. “We need to start planning.”

  A bear trap locked around her ankle would be more comfortable. “I, um...” Frankie cleared the tight ball of dread out of her throat. Her mother was supposed to be enchanted by the romance, distracted by a future son-in-law. She was supposed to respect Frankie’s space, not swoop in with talk of wedding plans. “I’m still adjusting to being engaged. The rest can wait.”

  For the right guy and preferably for a time when she wasn’t consumed with clearing her father’s name.

  “We wanted to tell you first,” Aidan added smoothly.

  Sophia’s delighted smile only grew brighter with every word Aidan uttered. “How did your parents react?”

  “Well, they’re in Ireland,” Aidan explained. “They sounded happy enough when I called.”

  Sophia’s smile retreated as concern filled her eyes. “You haven’t met them?”

  “Not yet,” Frankie said, improvising. She hadn’t considered this wrinkle. “I look forward to it.” She glanced at Aidan, deciding his family must be wonderful based on him: smart and confident and wrapped in that sexy chiseled exterior.

  Chiseled? Good grief, the game she’d started was fooling her. She tugged her hand free of his and pushed herself to her feet. Pretending to be relaxed and in love was making her jittery.

  “Are you okay? Can I get you something?”

  “I’m fine, Mom,” she said too quickly. “It was just a long flight.” Play nice. Stay calm. She walked toward the kitchen island and refilled her glass from the water pitcher Sophia had set out. “I tried to nap, but the hotel mattress was lumpy.”

  “The girl could star in a modern Princess and the Pea,” Sophia told Aidan.

  “I’ve noticed she likes things a certain way.” His eyes gleamed with amusement. “And I like making her happy.”

  “We doted on her,” Sophia admitted. “Siblings might have helped, but it never worked out.”

  “What?” This was the first Frankie had ever heard about siblings. “You tried to have more kids?”

  “There’s no need to be offended now,” her mother said with a sad smile. “Your father and I wanted a big family and we had high hopes, considering how quickly I got pregnant with you. But I never carried another baby past twelve weeks.”

  How could the woman blurt out a personal confession in front of a stranger and yet not be honest with her own daughter about her husband’s trial and suicide? Frankie shot Aidan a helpless glance. “I never knew.”

  “It doesn’t matter to me.” His kind smile loosened the knot twisting in her gut. Whoever he eventually married would be a lucky woman, on the receiving end of that kind of attention. “Our future is sure to have plenty of ups and downs.”

  Truer words, she thought, her head still spinning with Sophia’s latest revelation. Maybe she suspected Frankie’s motives for showing up now, and this was her own form of diversion.

  “By the time you were old enough to understand, we’d stopped trying.” Sophia was everything calm and open. “It was something I meant to discuss with you woman to woman, but we never found the time.”

  “I get it.” Frankie gulped her water. “Aidan’s right.” She couldn’t meet his gaze. “I’m sure we’ll have plenty of issues to work through along our way.”

  “You’re ahead of the game knowing that’s part of married life,” Sophia agreed. “The doctors never suggested it was hereditary.”

  First wedding talk and now kids? Frankie wanted the world to slow down so she could step off for a few minutes. It was too domestic and too strange, considering their last conversation and the resulting estrangement. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, Mom.” She would not discuss reproduction in front of Aidan.

  “Of course.” Sophia came to the counter and refilled her water glass, as well. “Why don’t you two check out of the hotel and move in here?”

  Frankie choked, coughed. “No. No, thanks.” She couldn’t play the adoring fiancée role 24/7. “Mom, really, we’re fine at the hotel.”

  “I understand.” Sophia made an examination of the ice in her glass. “How long will you be in town?”

  Crap, Frankie was blowing the happy-daughter-here-for-a-fresh-start routine.

  “That depends.” Aidan stepped up, his warm smile the epitome of devoted groom as he smoothed over her gaffe. “Since I met your daughter, it’s been clear how important family is to her. One reason we haven’t given the wedding much thought is that she wants to share that process with you.”

  “Is that true?”

  Frankie could only nod at the impending train wreck.

  “I’m not one to waste time,” Aidan continued. “I lit a fire of sorts under my future bride. I sent résumés to several companies, including Leo Solutions, in hopes of landing a job right away.”

  When he wrapped his arm around Frankie’s shoulders, it felt so...normal.

  “Frankie took leave from the Savannah PD,” he went on, “so we could spend some time out here and see how it goes.”

  “Then you must stay here,” Sophia insisted. “There’s plenty of room. I’ll find places for you both within the company. Think of it as a test drive. No obligation.” She hesitated, hope shining in her eyes. “Or if you find the work suits you, we can make it permanent. It’s what your father and I wanted all along.”

  “Mom.” Just the mention of her father set her teeth on edge. “Your home—”

  “Will always have room for you.”

  “Thank you, Sophia.” Aidan stepped into the breach once more. “That’s generous and we appreciate it, of course.”

  Frankie rubbed the scar her mother knew about on her hip, the one still shedding bits of dirt from that wretched road. “I keep weird hours with the physical therapy and early-morning workouts. Besides, we’re used to being alone.”

  Sophia’s cheeks turned pink. “I do understand. Why don’t we get you set up in a corporate apartment? At least until you decide if you’re staying.”

  Frankie was about to turn that down, too, when she heard Aidan accepting it with enthusiasm. “A corporate apartment? That’s not an imposition?”

  “Not at all. I’m happy to do it. They’re fully furnished, have a scheduled housekeeping service and provide great access to markets and entertainment downtown. The interns love the location.”

  “Great. Thanks.” Frankie almost meant it.

  Sophia glanced at her watch. “I’m supposed to check in at the office to review a client proposal before dinner. Why don’t we all head over? You can meet my business partner, Paul Sterling, and we can discuss possible posts for each of you.”

  Frankie couldn’t get out of the house fast enough. She didn’t try to convince herself it was all about the case and getting a look inside Leo Solutions. If her mother had been so determined to eliminate her dad, why did she keep so many reminders of the life they’d shared? The contradiction seemed like an unsolvable puzzle.

/>   Or it would have if she’d been here alone. Few things seemed impossible as she walked hand in hand with the man pretending to be in love with her. The realization didn’t make her particularly happy, but that analysis would have to wait for another day.

  * * *

  “YOUR MOM SEEMS genuinely happy to see you again,” Aidan said, sliding into the driver’s seat. He knew the opposite was true for Frankie and he wanted to give her space to vent whatever she was feeling, before round two.

  Her lips thinned. “It would be nice if I could take anything she says at face value.”

  Aidan appreciated her quiet insistence that they follow her mother to the Leo Solutions headquarters rather than riding with her. Frankie had held up like a champ, sticking with the safe topics, but she clearly needed a breather. “How are you doing?” He ignored the way her hands fisted in her lap.

  “I’m fine. Thanks to your quick thinking. You’re amazing at the undercover routine.”

  The unexpected compliment sounded sincere. “Thanks. It got a little dicey here and there.”

  “Did the wedding talk upset you?”

  Yes. “Not too bad.” Talk of kids had been worse. He concentrated on relaxing his grip on the steering wheel. A year ago fatherhood had been one of those murky, inevitable points in his future. Now he’d written it off as something he wasn’t qualified to think about. “You made it sound as though she’d ask for DNA and blood samples.”

  “She might yet,” Frankie replied, her gaze firmly on Sophia’s car ahead of them. “It’s probably part of the new-hire process.”

  “Well, I think we’re doing great.”

  “You can’t be sure,” she countered.

  “I am sure. You were right about the engagement tactic.” Her ego needed a boost and her mind needed the distraction. “She’s in love with the idea of you being in love.” He waited, surprised when Frankie didn’t give him an I-told-you-so. “I saw the way you sized up her place. Planning to break in?”