by Gina LaManna
“I really love you, Dane.”
My mind worked faster than my words, and I was already reconsidering his offer of marriage. After a broken childhood home, a part of me longed for the stability of a family. Of a husband who not only could, but who wanted to provide for me, who supported my dreams, who treated me like I walked on clouds no matter how much I’d eaten for breakfast.
Dotty Pink had provided me with all the love in the world I’d needed, but it didn’t mean I hadn’t wondered about the alternative. About what a home with two happy parents might look like, a home with a house and a yard and a dog, or maybe a few siblings.
The idea took me by surprise. I’d never much considered marriage or kids—I’d been too busy stumbling about my twenties and adjusting to the working world, paying my bills, and navigating the ugly waters of dating in the twenty-first century. All of those worries would cease to exist with one single word.
“Dane,” I hesitated, the moment of certainty gone with the first break in silence. “Do you remember earlier this morning when we were talking about the possibility of us...being together?”
He gave a single nod.
“And I said there were other things to figure out?” I waited for a second nod. When it came, I took a shuddering breath and continued. “What do you say we figure out a few of those things?”
“Are you saying—”
“Do you want kids?” I blurted. “What about my job working for you? What about Dotty’s place—er, my place? What about my friends? Your parents? Where would we live?”
“Shall I answer your questions in the order they were asked, or in reverse order, or shortest answer to longest, or—”
“Dane, I’m panicking. Help me out a little. Just answer any damn thing.”
He looked a little surprised, but before he spoke, he studied my face for a long moment, as if he were tucking away the expression on my face and cataloguing it for later. So that he’d know the next time I looked like this—my eyes probably wild and my voice a little scratchy—it was panic he was facing.
“I’ve never thought about kids much until you asked. As you wish.”
“As I wish?” I pushed myself up in bed. “What does that mean? I’m not having kids with a guy who doesn’t care one way or another. I’m not doing that, Dane. My mom decided about five years too late that she didn’t want a kid, and I’m not doing that to my own children. I refuse.”
He held up a hand, and when I calmed, he rested it on my thigh. His eyes flicked up to mine. “I’d love to have children, and I’d never dream of abandoning them. But you are my first priority, Lola. If you want children, then we’ll have them. If you don’t, we won’t. I’ll love you either way, and if we decide to have them—I’ll love them fiercely.”
I didn’t doubt a word he said, and my hand came to rest on his in a quiet apology. “You mean that?”
“Of course. I probably wouldn’t make for much of a father.” He winced. “But then again, I’m sure you already know that. Not that it would stop me from trying, from loving them.”
“Oh, Dane.” My hand came to rest on his cheek. “You’re rarely wrong, but you are so horribly wrong about that.”
“As for the rest of your questions—I assumed we’d live here, but I suppose if you like your grandmother’s place we could try staying there...” He looked completely unsure and wildly out of his element. “We would need to get you a car, however, because I’ll not have you going back and forth on that bicycle of yours.”
I threw my head back and laughed. “We could live here—it only makes sense. But what about Dotty’s place? The shop? My dreams?”
“Getting married shouldn’t be the end of your dreams, Lola. It should be the start.” Dane tugged my hand, pulling me down to lie next to him again. “If you want to keep it and run your business, I’ll help you any way I can. If you decide you don’t want to, or you want to hire it out, we’ll do that too. It’s up to you, and you don’t have to decide now.”
I played out that scenario in my mind. Marrying Dane, moving in to the castle, no longer working as his personal assistant but as a team player in the business while running Shades of Pink as my own project. The picture was a pleasant one, and I told him so.
Dane smiled at the image and clasped my hand tighter. “As to the question about your friends—I don’t understand it. What about them?”
“Can they come visit?”
Dane blinked. “This isn’t a prison sentence.”
I gave a weak smile. “Okay, that was more of a panic question. Plus, if Annalise and Semi stay together, I might see even more of her around here.”
“I’m not sure how much more of them I can see,” Dane said with a twinge of discomfort. “They’re not subtle with their affection.”
“I think I’m just surprised by all this,” I said, settling deeper into the soft embrace of the bed. “You’re always so calculated and sure—and logical. A marriage proposal feels out of left field. Your parents certainly won’t approve.”
“My parents will like you when—if—they give you a chance. And if they don’t, it’s their loss. I won’t let them ruin my happiness. As for the proposal, it doesn’t feel fast to me. In an odd way, it seems right.”
“I understand,” I murmured. “Or rather, I don’t understand how it does, but I know what you mean. I feel it too.”
“Being hauled to the police station and accused of murder is one way to open a person’s eyes,” Dane said lightly, though there was a darker edge to his words. “No matter how much of my life I try to manage, there will always be elements out of my control. I had to learn that the hard way—I probably still haven’t learned.”
“You threw out today’s schedule real fast.”
He kissed my neck in a spot that made me giggle. “I had a very good reason,” he said in a low, husky voice. “And I’m trying to learn how to follow my...would you call it, intuition?”
“You could call it that.”
“I don’t know if I believe in soulmates, Lola. I can say I certainly didn’t believe in them a year ago. Today...” He trailed off, his mind spinning as he twirled a piece of my hair lazily between his fingers. “I’m not so sure. And now that I have you in my arms, I’m realizing that I don’t want to let you go—ever. It’s as sure to me as anything else that I know.”
“Let’s do it. Let’s get married.”
He blinked, as if the weight of my words hadn’t sunk in yet.
“Er—if you still want to,” I said, retracing my steps. “I mean, it will take a little while to get everything ready, and if you decide you want to back out—”
“I won’t. I won’t ever back away from you. When I decide I want something, Lola, I go after it as if the world is ending.” His lips pressed gently against my forehead. “And I want you more than anything in the world.”
My sigh contained everything left in me. My last bits of logic, my last bits of self-control, the last bits of doubt about this being too fast, too illogical, too wild. As I exhaled, I let it all go. And when I sucked in my next breath, it was full of confidence. “I love you, Dane Clark. I want—”
A knock interrupted my proclamation. Dane’s eyebrows inched up, and he looked positively livid. If his eyes could shoot knives, the door would’ve been impaled with one glance.
“I’m sorry, truly sorry,” Mrs. Dulcet called through the door in a sweet, uncertain voice. “I know you said even urgent matters can wait, Dane, but this one is out of my control.”
Dane sat up in bed, and I followed suit, dragging the sheet up and around me. His arm snaked over my shoulders and pulled me to his chest, even as his eyes flashed back to business mode and his voice lost all traces of softness. “What is it?”
“The police are here,” she said. “They need to speak to you. I don’t think they’ll leave without talking to you. I’m sorry.”
After a long pause, Dane gave the slightest shake of his head. “Fine. I’ll be right with them.” As Mrs. Dulcet’
s footsteps retreated down the hallway, Dane turned to me. “You can stay here, Lola. I’ll be as quick as I can and return to you.”
Despite his confidence, his face had gone as pale as the sheets, and his lips were pressed into a tight line. He moved to stand, but I gripped his hand tight and held on.
“No,” I said firmly. “If it’s alright with you, I’d like to come with you.”
“Why?”
“I want to be there next to you,” I said calmly. “If you’d like that. Otherwise...”
Dane’s smile was forced, and it didn’t meet his eyes, but his voice dripped with gratefulness. “I’d like that.”
Chapter 24
WE DRESSED QUICKLY, silently, as my mind flicked through variations on the scene. Most of the possibilities weren’t good ones: either the police had uncovered more information that painted Dane in a bad light, or they needed to follow up on earlier questions. Unless it was something we hadn’t yet predicted.
“I didn’t do it,” Dane said, adjusting his tie in the mirror as his eyes met mine in the reflection. “You look concerned.”
“I know you didn’t do it,” I said, approaching him and taking the tie from his trembling hands as I straightened it. “I love you. I’m just wondering why they’re here.”
“I suppose we’ll find out.” Dane took a deep breath, settled the unease, and with a calm, cool expression pasted over his displeasure at the interruption, he reached for my hand.
I managed a nod as I gripped his hand tightly and followed him through the hallways. Mrs. Dulcet had shown two cops into a formal sitting room near the dining area, and Dane proceeded into it without introduction. We settled next to each other on a loveseat across from the two detectives—each one taking an armchair across from us.
Both detectives eyed me with a hint of surprise and a bit of wariness. They looked stiff and out of place in this room, and I wondered if Dane and Mrs. Dulcet hadn’t planned things that way to keep them out of their element.
Between the four of us sat a tray of exquisite cheese and crackers, fruits and nuts, dainty pastries and tender slices of meat. A small silver coffee pot sat next to the platter along with cups thin enough to crack if held wrong.
“Gentlemen,” Dane said, shaking each of their hands with a firm, hard shake. “Help yourselves to a bite to eat while I have my butler call my lawyers.”
One of the men—the larger of the two—eyed the plate with distinct want. But the other, taller and with a lean runner’s build, gave a slight shake of his head. “We’re okay, thank you. I’m Detective Plane, and this is Detective Ross. I don’t think it’ll be necessary to call your lawyers, Mr. Clark. We just have a few follow up questions for you. We’ll be brief and straightforward.”
Dane considered this for a long moment. Finally, he gave a succinct nod.
Detective Ross, the hungry-looking cop, forced his eyes from the platter of food in grudging agreement. “Who are you?”
I’d been reaching for the coffee when he asked. Glancing up in surprise, I looked to Dane for assistance.
“This is my girlfriend, Lola Pink.” He said this with practiced ease, as if we’d been a true couple for years instead of hours.
“You didn’t mention a girlfriend when we questioned you before,” Detective Plane, the athletic looking detective, said. “I believe we asked specifically.”
“I didn’t mention one because I didn’t have one.” Dane gave a polite smile. “In fact, we just became ‘official’ as one might call it right before you arrived.”
Detective Ross’s face colored at the implication. “How did the two of you meet?”
“I believe I mentioned I had a personal assistant,” Dane said. “You’ll recognize her as my former assistant. She no longer works for me.”
The two detectives exchanged an interested glance. “Curious time for you to be soliciting your female employees,” Detective Plane said. “You’re aware that you’re still the prime suspect in a murder investigation?”
“Okay, hold on a second.” I held up a finger. “He’s not soliciting anything from me, and he never has. For your information, our first kiss was months ago. We’ve been kissing on and off ever since—so it’s not quite as new as you might think.” My face colored at the exposition of our personal business, but if it’d help clear Dane’s name, or at least remove unwarranted suspicion, I’d happily embarrass myself. “Andrea’s death is really sad, and we want to find out who killed her as much as anyone. But my relationship with Dane is a completely separate matter. He’s innocent—he’d never harm a soul.”
“And you can say that because of your long relationship?” Detective Plane said sarcastically. “Years of experience, hmm?”
“I know you’re mocking me,” I said, trying not to let the coffee cup rattle in my hands as I took a sip. “But it’s the truth.”
Detective Ross turned the gleam in his eyes from the platter of food onto me. “What about you, Miss Pink? Interesting timing on your part. The woman last associated with Mr. Clark—romantically—is now dead.”
“I’ve explained to you there was nothing romantic between Miss Ricker and myself,” Dane said, danger lacing his words. “We had a business relationship and numerous witnesses and contracts to back up my statement. Surely you’ve looked into that by now if you’re even semi-interested in being thorough.”
Dane’s chastisement went far enough to put a sheepish look on Detective Ross’s face, though it didn’t change Detective Plane’s in the slightest. If anything, Plane looked egged on by Dane’s obvious frustrations.
“Fine,” Plane said, sparing me a glance before looking to Dane. “Have you and Miss Pink talked marriage despite your short...shall we say, engagement?”
Dane sat up straight, a visceral reaction that was a dead giveaway. “How is that any of your business?”
“Whether your relationship with Andrea was business-only or not,” Detective Plane leaned on the not part of the sentence, showing his clear skepticism, “to others, it looked entirely real.”
“Sure. To anyone who reads a magazine and believes the words printed on its page, then fine.” Dane spoke flatly, as if these people were uninteresting to him. “It’s for those exact people that my PR team insists I keep up a certain image.”
“Let’s say, for instance, a woman had her sights set on you, but she thought you might otherwise be taken,” Detective Plane suggested. “Maybe she suspected things were getting serious, seeing as you’ve appeared with Andrea at several events over the past few months and have been photographed widely with her on your arm.”
“What of it?” Dane’s voice was terse. “I’ve explained why that is already. Numerous times. Perhaps you should consider taking notes when I speak.”
Undeterred, Detective Plane continued. “Let’s say this woman—hypothetically—got the idea in her head that the two of you might be together someday. Romantically. Wouldn’t you think she’d want your current squeeze out of the way?”
“Andrea was not anything to me aside from a contract,” Dane said. “I don’t know how—”
“They think I did it.” The words came softly from my lips, but sure. “They’re talking about me, Dane. They think I murdered Andrea in cold blood so that I could be with you.”
Detective Plane widened his hands, his eyes focused on Dane instead of me. “I’m just throwing out scenarios. Your sudden relationship seems odd to me. Did you even know Miss Pink when you started seeing Andrea?”
“Get out of my house.” Dane stood. “This is over. You came here to talk to me, and now you’re accusing Lola? No. We’re done.”
“Just a moment, Mr. Clark. We got an anonymous tip earlier today from someone claiming to place you at the scene of the crime,” Plane said. “Hence our return visit.”
“Right,” Dane said, exasperated. “And it didn’t cross your minds that this might be the same person who stole my paperweight and is trying to frame me for murder?”
“We can do this here,
or you can come with us to the station again,” the detective said, foregoing all niceties. “I’m sure that would reflect wonderfully on your company.”
“I didn’t—” Dane fumed, but I interrupted.
He didn’t hear me the first few times I said his name, but when I rested my hand on his wrist and repeated his name for a third time, he registered the sound. “Sit down,” I said gently, guiding him back to his chair. “I can handle this. Don’t make a fuss over me.”
“They cannot come into my home and accuse my fiancée—” Dane began.
The word sent me for a start, and I wasn’t the only one who noticed.
“Now you’re engaged?” Detective Plane said, glancing at my bare finger with amusement. “Interesting choice of a ring for someone with your level of wealth.”
“Listen.” I could sense Dane’s frustration and the ensuing confusion. He wasn’t used to being off balance, wasn’t used to speaking and not being heard. I was plenty used to being confused, so I handled the moment with ease. “Dane and I are innocent. We’ll cooperate, but you need to give us a minute—it’s a lot to handle at once.”
Detective Plane finally looked at me with a semblance of understanding. His gaze flicked between us as if things suddenly made sense.
“I started working for Dane Clark a few months ago,” I said. “We—or at least I—developed feelings for him quite quickly. Based on our mutual relationship, I’d say he felt the same.”
A quick nod came from Dane, and I squeezed his hand in approval. His face remained stony.
“We kissed not long after we met. Shortly after that...well, I’m sure you know about the incident with Luke Daniels, my former contractor who’s now in prison.”
The detectives nodded. The Sunshine Shore was a small town, and word traveled quickly.
“After that mess was cleaned up, I continued working for Dane both because I liked him as a person and because I enjoyed my job.” I took a deep breath, forcing my voice to remain even.
“When did you become aware of Andrea?” Detective Plane asked. “Did you know Dane was working with her?”