by Julie Kenner
They’d started with salads and small talk. With the soup, Emily and Gramps had started reminiscing about the old days, laughing about various antics on the set. By the time dessert was served, the two grandparents wouldn’t have even noticed if Kyle and Mel had spontaneously combusted right there at the table.
Mel caught Kyle’s eye, then glanced meaningfully across the table toward Emily and Gramps. He nodded, his own smile amused.
They’d originally planned to meet at a restaurant for lunch, but Emily had hired a new cook and wanted the woman to get her feet wet. As it turned out, the decision was a good one. From the looks of it, Gramps and Emily weren’t going to be moving from the table anytime soon.
Melissa dipped her fork into the chocolate cake, then brought it to her lips. “This is fabulous,” she said.
“Thank you,” Miss Emily said. “I’ll pass your compliment along to the kitchen.”
Mel smiled, then took Kyle’s hand. The idea was for them to try to look like a happily dating couple, all the better to get their grandparents in the spirit of the thing. In truth, she wasn’t sure either Gramps or Emily needed the encouragement, but since she was more than happy to hold Kyle’s hand, she wasn’t about to split hairs.
“Can I try a bite?” he asked.
She lifted an eyebrow. “You said you were passing on dessert.”
“I changed my mind.”
“Oh, sure,” she said. “Make me give up some of my chocolate.”
“The sacrifices you make once you enter the dating jungle.”
She rolled her eyes, then chanced a glance toward Emily and Gramps. Both looked delighted—in each other and in the banter between Mel and Kyle.
“Hey, come on,” Kyle said. “I think I deserve at least a taste.”
She fought a smile as she caught another morsel on the end of her fork and fed it to him. His lips closed over the tines, and she fought a little shudder, her mind conjuring images of those lips closing over her breasts and teasing her nipples.
Oh, Lord, what was with her? When she was with Kyle, even the most mundane actions seemed to raise thoughts of sex.
He licked his lips, and she fought another warm, gooey moment. “It’s good.”
She could only shake her head and laugh.
After a few more minutes she pushed back from the table and excused herself, giving Kyle a soft kick under the table. A message. Time for them to give the grandparents a little room.
She headed back to the small study near the front of the house to wait for Kyle. They’d already decided that they would disappear together for fifteen or twenty minutes. To give the grandparents a bit of alone time.
The room was lined with glass-fronted cabinets, each lit from within. They were filled with trophies and awards, and Mel eased forward, hoping to catch sight of an Oscar. Instead she found a collection of honors in Kyle’s name.
Fascinated, she drew closer, like a moth to the flame. Here was Kyle’s past, his triumphs and dreams, and she wanted to suck in the knowledge and hold it close inside her.
She stared into the first case, then realized she was hugging herself. God help her, she wanted to know everything. Wanted to know what made that man tick.
Wanted to know if his father had taken time away from playing the diplomat to toss Kyle a football. Wanted to know if his mother had cried when he’d become a cop, afraid her baby would give his life for someone else’s.
She wanted to know all those things, but, damn it, she didn’t want to want it.
She drew closer, drawn by the call of the gleaming trophies. They were all from college, which made sense, she supposed, since he’d traveled so much when he was younger. Debate Team, Most Valuable Member. She smiled. That one wasn’t surprising; Kyle could argue with the best of them. State Chess Championship. Varsity Football. Track and Field.
The next case contained service plaques, also from high school. Habitat for Humanity. Caritas. RIF volunteer.
The room painted a picture of an extraordinary man.
And right now—at this time and in this moment—that extraordinary man was hers. For once she really had gotten the prize…and she hadn’t had to steal it.
For a long moment she stared at the trophy case, then realized she was shaking her head. She’d always been such a practical, pragmatic person. And yet here she was, lost in a life she was making up as she went along.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was living in a dream, and that wasn’t a good place for a girl who’d been raised squarely in the harsh light of reality.
She wasn’t Cinderella.
Kyle wasn’t a prince.
And they weren’t going to ride away into the moonlight. No matter how much she might wish they would.
“Quite the tribute, huh?” Kyle’s voice behind her.
She turned and frowned, not sure what he meant.
He gestured toward the cases. “Most people keep that stuff packed up in the attic.” He shrugged. “Emily likes memories. Mine and hers.”
“I like your memories, too.”
“Yeah?” He moved up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist as she leaned against him, a solid male wall that wouldn’t let her fall. Unreasonably, her eyes brimmed with tears, and she blinked them back.
“Yeah,” she said. She snuggled closer, wrapping her arms around his. “How’s it going out there?”
His mouth brushed her hair as he chuckled. “I think we’ve got ourselves a winner.”
“Honestly?”
“Honestly, I think they’re in love. Whether they’ll admit it or not is anybody’s guess.”
Kind of like me. The thought came unbidden into Mel’s head, and she clenched her teeth together, terrified she would say it aloud. She’d been avoiding thinking thoughts of love, of futures, of a life she couldn’t have.
But she did love him, and she only hoped that she could walk away without tearing herself to shreds.
CHAPTER 10
EMILY GESTURED to the waiter to clear their breakfast plates. Across the table, Gregory sipped a mimosa. They’d met here, at the little café overlooking the Pacific, to celebrate their victory in matchmaking. Of course, Gregory had ordered champagne—tempered with orange juice simply in deference to the early-morning hour.
She hadn’t argued. She’d wanted to share this moment with him, even though she knew that their victory wasn’t yet complete.
She took another sip of her own mimosa and sighed.
Gregory reached across the small table to brush his fingers over hers. “Emily? What’s wrong?”
She forced a smile. “Not a thing, Gregory, darling. I’m simply watching the ocean and thinking about the passage of time.”
That, in part, was true. So much time. She’d loved her husband, Clark, of course, just as Gregory had loved Martha. But they’d both been gone for years, and she and Gregory had wasted so much time.
She didn’t want to waste any more.
“We were right, you know,” Gregory said, still focusing on the children. “Mel’s quite taken with Kyle.” He rubbed his mustache. “As fast as they started dating, it should be no time before they’re engaged.”
Emily took a sip of her mimosa, stalling for time as she tried to decide how to answer. Their plan had definitely been a success so far, but she had to wonder if the victory was entirely legitimate. She’d tried to call Frances yesterday, but her sister had avoided her calls. That had been the usual state of affairs years ago, but lately they’d been getting along so much better.
Frances’s hesitation had gotten Emily thinking, and she’d come to only one conclusion—Frances had slipped up. The woman had never been as good an actress as Emily. If Kyle had even an inkling of the strings the three of them had been pulling, he would have hounded Frances until she told him everything.
Which would explain why the children were suddenly so cozy. Their sneaky little grandchildren were trying to turn the tables on them!
In truth, though, Emily didn�
�t mind. The only question was whether to tell Gregory. About that, though, she decided to keep her own counsel. Even more, she decided to do everything she could to move both schemes along.
“Emily?” he repeated, a hint of concern in his voice. “You do think it will work out, don’t you?”
She studied him, thinking less about their own scheme and more about the grandchildren’s. Finally she nodded. “Yes, darling,” she said. “I think everything will work out perfectly.”
* * *
MEL WAS CURLED UP on her sofa in ratty old sweat-pants, a Robert Ludlum novel resting on the cushion beside her and To Catch a Thief playing in the background on the television. Gramps was in the armchair, his eyes glued to the screen despite having seen the movie at least a hundred times.
She’d been bummed when Kyle had told her he had to meet with clients that night, but now she was enjoying herself. She hadn’t had the chance to spend much time alone with Gramps in the past few days, and she was looking forward to gracefully interrogating him about Emily.
“You and Kyle seem to have hit it off,” Gramps said, keeping his eyes on the screen. Mel fought a smile, realizing that he’d jumped on the interrogation bandwagon.
“So have you and Emily.”
His whole body seemed to come alive. He sat up straighter, his eyes lit up and he seemed to lose ten years. She wondered if she looked that alive when she thought about Kyle, and promptly pushed the idea away. This was about Gramps. She already knew how her story with Kyle was going to end.
“Emily’s a lovely woman,” Gramps said.
She licked her lips, not sure how much to reveal, then decided she had nothing to lose. “I want the scoop. How come there wasn’t anything between you two before now?”
He didn’t answer at first, and she started to wonder if she’d crossed the line. Then he said, “Emily was already a huge star when I knew her, and I was playing bit parts. A character actor with a questionable reputation. That didn’t stop us, though, and we went out a few times. I wanted more. I think she did, too, though she never specifically said so.”
“What did she say?”
“She said no.” He smoothed his thinning gray hair. “But the studio made her say that. Her persona was simply worth too much.”
“What about later? Grandma passed away five years ago.”
Gramps merely shrugged. “Where once we were young and foolish, now we’re old and stupid.”
She laughed and shook her head. “Foolish and stupid. Okay. Got it. But are you still stupid? Or are you going to do something about it now?”
“Yes.” He nodded, his face serious. “Yes, I am. Are you?”
She couldn’t meet his eyes. “I know what you and Emily are doing, Gramps. And I appreciate it. I really do. But Kyle isn’t the man for me.”
“You don’t need a clean slate, Melissa Jane. Not if the man truly loves you.”
His words seemed to settle around her, but she pushed them away, not willing to hear them, certain that she was right. She kept her voice gentle yet firm. “I know what I’m doing, Gramps. Don’t worry about me.”
“I do worry about you. You’re all I have.”
She lifted a brow. “You have Emily.”
His eyes lit up as he nodded. “Yes, I suppose I do.” His mustache twitched as he smiled. “Apparently I’ll be seeing her on a lot of double dates.”
At that, Mel couldn’t help but laugh.
The lines on Gramps’s forehead crinkled. “What?”
She shook her head, still giggling. “Nothing. I just have that song going through my head now. ‘It takes two, baby….”’
His mustache twitched. “Sorry. I don’t do songs. Only movies. What about Between One and Two?”
“A silent movie? Nah. Maybe Champagne for Two.”
Gramps shook his head, clearly getting into the game. “Two for the Road.”
“Although, I guess really it should be four since we’re two sets of two. So maybe—” She closed her mouth, her eyes wide as she realized that she knew. She knew how to answer the Driskell riddle.
Now she just had to prove she was right.
“I need a favor, Gramps,” she said. “If you have any plans for tonight, I really need you to break them.”
* * *
“YOU WANT TO TELL ME AGAIN what we’re doing?” Gramps asked, stifling a yawn. “Considering you told me you were giving up this life, I know we can’t be casing this house.”
“That’s exactly what we’re doing,” she said. “Of course, this time it’s completely aboveboard.”
Her grandfather’s brows lifted.
“Trust me.”
They were in her car, parked just outside of the Bryant house. If she was right, she knew how the Driskell robbery went down. She got a little thrill from having solved the mystery, but the excitement was tempered by the knowledge that, if she was right, the job she’d agreed to do for Kyle would be over. Time to move on. Time to walk away.
Tears threatened, but never appeared. She knew she was doing the right thing, no matter how hard it might be. No tears. She just had to buckle up and get past this.
It was a little past three in the morning, and the street lay silent. A fine mist of dew had settled over the car, and Mel hugged herself, pulling her hooded sweatshirt more tightly around her.
Gramps looked at her over his glasses, but didn’t say anything.
She couldn’t meet his eyes, so she concentrated on rummaging through her fanny pack, checking her supplies. The solution was so simple she couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen it before. After Gramps’s casual words had planted the seed, she’d pulled out her copies of the schematics. Yup. Just as she’d thought. She now knew exactly, without a doubt, how the thief had gotten in.
“Okay,” she said. “This is what we’re doing.”
After she walked him through the plan, he took off his glasses and peered at her. “And you think that will get us through the system?”
She nodded. “I’m sure of it.”
“If you’re right, you know what that means?”
She drew in a breath and nodded again. “I know.” If she was right, she was going to be delivering some seriously bad news to Kyle.
She opened the door to the van. “Let’s go.”
* * *
FOR THE THIRD TIME in the last three minutes, Kyle stopped pacing his office and glanced at his wristwatch. Ten-fifteen in the morning. And no sign of Mel.
He ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated. They’d spent the evening apart because he’d had dinner with clients, but the time away from her only accentuated how much he wanted to be with her.
He wanted her. Permanently. Forever. And as soon as they figured out this Driskell problem, Kyle intended to let Mel know in no uncertain terms that the time for playing games was over. She might not want a relationship, but he intended to fight her on that. He’d win, too.
His first priority, though, was Ethan Driskell and the damn insurance company. His gaze darted to the calendar. Time was almost up; the lawyers would serve him with a lawsuit the next day. He needed Mel in his life, yes, but he also needed her help.
So where the hell was she?
He was dialing her cell phone number for the third time when the chime sounded. He stepped into the reception area, expecting to see her. Instead, he saw Brent.
“Where the hell have you been?”
“Sorry,” Brent said. “I had things to do.”
“Things to do?” Kyle repeated. “I’ve been working my ass off.”
“You said you were going to hire an office assistant.”
“I ended up hiring a consultant instead.”
“A consultant?” Brent asked. “What the hell for?”
“To do your job. Figure out how the breach occurred.”
“Who’d you hire?”
“You met her. Melissa Tanner.”
At that, Brent actually laughed. “Give me a break.”
“She knows what she’s
doing. She used to be a thief.”
“Really?” Brent frowned. “Well, I guess I wrote her off too quickly. More than just eye candy. The woman definitely has a more interesting side.”
“You’re on thin ice, buddy. Especially since she’s the one who’s been helping out while my partner—the man who actually owns an interest in this company—skipped out to Vegas.”
Brent scowled. “I didn’t leave town. I told you I wouldn’t, and I stayed.”
“I tried to reach you,” Kyle said.
“I’ve been having a rough time of it, okay? I just needed—”
Kyle never found out what he needed because right then, the door opened and Mel walked in. Brent took the opportunity to step back into his office, and she watched him go, her face hard.
“Mel? Where have you been?”
She pulled her gaze away from Brent’s office door to look at him, her mouth drawn into a tight line.
“What’s happened?” Fear rose in his chest. “Are Emily and Gregory okay?”
“They’re fine,” Mel rushed to say. She drew a breath. “But you need to see this. Now.” She passed him a file folder, her face completely unreadable.
Something in his gut twisted and he knew this was it. She was going to leave him. He wanted to call her on it, to beg her to stay, but the folder burned in his hand. He drew a breath and opened it, knowing it wasn’t going to be good.
He skimmed the pages once, then read them in detail two more times. He knew in his gut that her report had to be right, but he didn’t want to believe it. Finally he closed the folder and looked at her.
“I’m so sorry,” she said.
“Brent and Driskell were working together?”
“An insurance scam,” Melissa said. “I finally realized there had to be two people involved, and Gramps and I checked it out last night.” She licked her lips, her eyes darting to Brent’s office door. “It was an inside job. I finally realized it had to be. There was no way to get through the system. Not unless there were two people who were intimately familiar with the setup.” She drew a breath. “I think you need to call the police in on this one.”
“Shit.” He ran his fingers through his hair. Her report would save him from the insurance sharks, yes, but it didn’t save him from the knife of betrayal that Brent had wielded so skillfully.