Vladimir didn’t know yet that she and Holden had escaped, so he wouldn’t be too panicked. He’d simply think that the dresser had somehow failed. She’d send a note to her father, she decided. But even as she turned away to find someone with paper and pen, in her peripheral vision, she saw Vladimir speaking earnestly to Claudia, who nodded, said something to her father and rose. Vladimir then put his arm around his fiancée and, even while the models were still onstage, they moved toward an exit. Her father appeared annoyed. He clearly thought it showed bad manners to leave before the show was finished. The Russian must have claimed illness or something.
Kimi’s stomach clenched as she saw the pair of them arm in arm, heading not for the main exit where Brewster had been taken, but for a side door.
If he got Claudia out, unchecked…she didn’t let herself finish the sentence, and moved quickly. From backstage she hurried in the direction she’d seen them leave.
She heard them before she saw them. Claudia’s voice said, “Vladimir, you’re going too fast.”
“Need to get some air. Feel like I’m going to puke.”
“The exit’s the other way. Let me get you a medic.”
“No.”
Kimi came around the corner in time to see her father appear. Damn. “What is the problem?”
“Vladimir’s sick. I think he’s disoriented.”
“Maybe if you could bring the car around,” Vladimir said to her father. “I don’t want to go back out there. I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Don’t go anywhere with him. He’s not sick,” Kimi said, rushing over to join the group.
When he saw her, Vladimir didn’t gasp or shout out, but he did pale enough that indeed he looked sick.
“Kimi!” Claudia cried. “Where have you been?”
“It’s a long story, but I was involved in trying to stop the theft of a couture piece.” She looked at her sister and realized how delicate their new relationship was and that what she was about to say might destroy it forever. “I’m so sorry, Claudia. But Vladimir is part of a couture theft ring.”
“What?” The big blue eyes so like her own widened. “Is this some kind of joke?”
“Of course it is,” Vladimir said. “She must be on drugs or something.”
“What proof do you have?” her father snapped.
She walked closer, to where the light was better and revealed her wrists. They were chafed red, and already bruises were beginning to show. “Vladimir and Brewster Peacock kidnapped Holden and me. They left us tied up and tried to steal Nicola Pietra’s wedding gown.” She was still speaking directly to Claudia, who tried to step forward when she saw the state of Kimi’s wrists, but Vladimir held her tight, leaning his head on her shoulder and holding her in place. Claudia might see that as need but Kimi knew he was controlling her.
“Vladimir?”
“She’s crazy. Trying to make trouble.” He groaned loudly. “I feel really bad. Can you get the car? We can sort all this out tomorrow.”
She and Giovanni exchanged a glance. “I’ll get the car,” he said. “Claudia? Why don’t you come with me.”
“No, Papa. I’ll stay here.”
“I’ll return as quickly as I can.”
Once more he looked at Kimi and then he walked swiftly away.
Her eyes closed briefly. This wasn’t the time to think about betrayal. Her father barely knew her; of course the story would sound crazy.
Now she needed to convince Claudia not to go with Vladimir and hope like hell that somebody would come along who could separate the woman from her fiancé. She fingered the whistle around her neck, but Vladimir’s grasp on Claudia made her cautious.
Instead, she tried to reason with her sister. “Please, Claudia. I would never try to hurt you.”
“Nobody believes you,” Vladimir sneered, glaring at her with his cold, cold eyes. “Why don’t you go away.”
“She’s not going anywhere. I don’t understand any of this, but Kimi needs a doctor too.”
“You should step away from him, Claudia. He’s a dangerous man.”
“Come on, you’ve known her for two days. I’m going to be your husband. Who are you going to believe?”
She didn’t move, but she said to Kimi, “Why would he do something like that?”
“For money. I don’t know much about Vladimir’s business, but I don’t think most of it is legal.”
“I don’t have time for this,” the Russian said. “I’m gonna puke. Come on.”
He made a move for the back exit, pulling Claudia with him, but she stepped out from under his arm. “You go. I’ll catch up.”
His face turned ugly. “You’re going to believe some American psycho over me? I’ll leave you if you do.”
Claudia’s eyes filled with tears as she glanced from one to the other. Then she stepped closer to Kimi. “She’s my sister.”
“You’re going to regret that decision.” He reached into his jacket. Kimi hadn’t imagined he could have a weapon on him, how had he got through security? What if she’d put Claudia in danger while trying to protect her?
“No!” she cried, even as the exit door behind them opened and Claudia’s father’s driver entered, followed closely by her father. And Holden.
She realized in that moment that her father’s chauffeur was more than a driver. He came in with weapon drawn, a big man with steady eyes and a steady hand.
But Vladimir was a split second ahead of him. He grabbed Claudia with one hand, attempting to haul her against him while with the other drawing out a gun.
“No!” the sisters cried as one. Kimi held on to Claudia as she attempted to get free of Vladimir. Holden threw himself in front of the women.
The noise of a gun firing in the small space was deafening. For a second, Kimi wasn’t sure who had fired, then she heard a string of Russian curses and, over Holden’s shoulder, saw Vladimir on the ground. Her father grabbed the gun that had fallen to the floor.
“Are you okay?” Holden asked her.
“Yes.”
“Claudia?”
The younger woman was trembling and her voice was barely audible. “Yes. Thank you.”
The gunshot drew a small crowd, mostly security guys and cops. Kimi heard one of them call for paramedics.
Claudia stepped forward. Her hand shook as she yanked off the large diamond on her left hand.
“Vladimir, I am officially ending our engagement.”
He groaned.
She tossed the engagement ring onto his chest where it flashed in garish imitation of the diamonds on Simone’s wedding dress.
Holden and the driver ushered Claudia, Kimi and Giovanni outside.
“My daughter,” Giovanni said, folding Claudia into his arms. Then he turned. “And my other daughter.” He turned to Kimi and embraced her as tenderly.
“I thought you didn’t believe me,” she said against his shoulder, which was broad and fatherly, feeling suddenly misty.
“Of course I did. I was trying to send you a signal that you were to stay with Claudia while I alerted the authorities.”
“Oh.”
“Now, I must take you to a doctor and have you checked out after being so mistreated by those animals.”
Kimi shook her head. “I’m all right, really.”
“Nonsense. I’m your father. You’ll do what I say.”
She bit back a smile. It was kind of nice to be ordered around by a father. Not that she had any intention of following his order.
“I’ll take her, sir,” Holden said.
There was a tiny pause. Her father nodded. “Be sure that you do. I will call on you tomorrow, Kimi, to make certain you are all right.”
“Thank you.”
He kissed her forehead.
“Good night, Kimi,” Claudia said, then gave her a hug.
“I’m sorry about Vladimir.”
She nodded, and hugged tighter. Then they left and Claudia slid into the dark blue sedan whose door was being held ope
n for her by the uniformed driver.
THEY WATCHED the Mercedes drive away, then she turned to Holden and simply walked into his arms. “We did it.”
“Yes, we did.”
She leaned up on her toes and nibbled his lips. “Now what shall we do?”
“Take you straight to a doctor.”
“I don’t need a doctor.”
“I promised your father,” he said.
“But—”
“Don’t argue. If I don’t have you checked out he’ll have me taken out and horsewhipped.”
Her lips curved. In her whole life she’d never had two such bossy men order her around. “You’re not afraid of my father.”
“Truth is, I want somebody to bandage my wrists, and I’ll look like a pansy if I go alone.”
She laughed. “I’m stuck between two strong-minded bullies.”
He kissed her. “Get used to it. I don’t think your father is going anywhere.”
But you are, she thought sadly, as she called for her car.
While they were waiting, there was a small commotion, and then a nearly distraught Nicola Pietra dashed over to them and threw herself into Kimi’s arms. “Grazie,” she cried. “Simone told us all. We almost lost our beautiful dress. You have saved my wedding. Grazie.”
“You’re welcome,” Kimi said. “I wish you every happiness.”
Mark Apple followed more slowly. He shook Holden’s hand solemnly. “Thanks, man.”
21
“THAT WAS a couture week to remember,” Kimi said the following night as she strolled with Holden beside the river, remembering another walk they’d taken by the river only a few days earlier.
“It was a week to remember in every way,” he said, turning her to face him. He kissed her so very sweetly, and she thought how much she wanted to stay exactly like this, in this perfect moment, and not return to her neatly packed cases, and her early ride to the airport.
Holden had compromised on the hospital visit, having the on-site paramedics bandage Kimi’s wrists. Naturally, she’d made them clean and bandage his as well. They both wore long sleeves tonight. She was in a black Armani dress and a string of pearls, so she felt she looked Italian, and demure enough that she had been certain of her father’s approval when he and Claudia had come to bid her goodbye. Claudia was pale and it was obvious she’d been crying, but Kimi thought she saw enough strength and pride in her sister to know she’d be okay. The three had all shed a few tears at parting.
Now they were gone, and her time with Holden was down to hours.
“I wish we had more time,” she said when at last he drew back, and she managed not to cling.
“Yeah. Me too.”
“But,” she said, forcing a smile, “I’ve got stories to file and work piling up in New York.”
He nodded. “And I’ve got a business in Oregon.”
“I know.”
“Come back to my hotel for a bit. I’ve got something for you.”
She should refuse, she knew that. There weren’t many hours left until she had to be on that plane, but she figured she’d have years to sleep and not many hours left with Holden, so it was a no-brainer.
They walked back to his hotel and, once in his room, he handed her a gift-wrapped box. At first she thought it was clothing, but when she held it, the box was too heavy. More like a book.
He seemed a tiny bit nervous as she removed the wrapping. Inside, the box had the name of a photography studio here in Paris. She lifted open the box and saw that it was a photograph album. A beautiful one, in midnight-blue leather with a gold lock and key. On the cover he’d had printed the words One Night in Paris.
Using the tiny gold key, she unlocked the album and opened it.
“Oh, Holden,” she said, feeling a rush of heat wash over her as she saw the first of the pictures he’d taken of her that magical night.
He came and sat beside her. “I wanted you to have something to remember our time together, and one of the most amazing nights I’ve ever spent.”
She turned each page slowly, thinking how much artistry was in each photograph, and how much passion. She could feel the sexuality burning through the pages. Even though she was naked, or near-naked in many of the photos, it wasn’t shame or embarrassment she felt but awe that Holden had seen and recorded her most intimate self. His feelings were expressed as though he’d spoken them aloud. She felt his pleasure in her body, the way he’d touched her with his photographer’s eye told her everything she needed to know.
He loved her.
The last picture was the only one of the two of them in the album, and she thought it would be the one she turned to most in the days and weeks to come, when she thought back on this glorious time. The picture showed them in the Jardin des Tuileries pressed together, so their silhouettes seemed to merge in shadow. His body, strong and muscular, hers soft and supple, the statue looming over them and the darkness of trees around them.
She sat looking at that last photo for a long time. She felt him looking at her while she stared at the two of them in that intimate pose. She wished she had the words to express to him what he’d given her in these pages, but then, she thought he knew. “This is beautiful. The whole week—it’s all been so…”
“I know.” He kissed her and she felt the familiar rush of heat tempered with the sadness of knowing this was their last time together.
There were ways to say I love you that used no words. It was in the way he slid her zipper down slowly, kissing his way down her spine in its wake. It was in the way he eased the dress off her body and, instead of tossing it onto the floor, laid it on the chair because he understood clothes mattered to her.
She was wearing her favorite new bra-and-panties set, gossamer-thin black silk that was so sheer it was more like shadow than fabric.
“I love the way the light hits your breasts just here,” he murmured, brushing the highlighted peaks. “And the shadows here,” he said, kissing the valley between.
Emotion seemed to make her skin more sensitive, her blood pound faster.
She began undressing him, taking her own sweet time with buttons, treating herself to the emerging view of his muscular torso, while his hands touched her through lingerie, teasing them both.
When she got his jeans open she couldn’t resist reaching down and wrapping her hand around his cock, enjoying all that heat and hardness so soon to be inside her.
As though following her lead, Holden slipped a hand into her panties and stroked her clit in rhythmic circles until she was boneless and light-headed. Even as she fell backward onto the bed on a cry of release, she kept her grip tight around him, tugging him with her so he fell on top of her.
He scrambled out of the rest of his clothes and she kicked off her heeled sandals, then he came to her and slipped her panties off. When he came back to her, she felt a lump form in her throat as he held her gaze, his eyes dark and serious while he entered her with quiet ceremony.
As their bodies moved together, as their mouths met, she felt the absolute perfect happiness of this moment tinged with the sadness of knowing it would soon be gone.
When he cried out against her mouth, it sounded like a shout of protest.
AT FOUR she rose. The cab was coming at five, and with this flight she’d be in her office in time to put in most of a day’s work.
When she got out of the shower, Holden passed her a cup of coffee.
“You should have gone back to sleep,” she told him.
“Nah. I like to drag out my goodbyes.”
She put on her stockings. “I wish it didn’t have to be goodbye.”
He shrugged. “It’s not easy to keep up a relationship with so many miles between us, Manhattan.”
“Come to New York,” she said suddenly. “Come and let me show you my favorite restaurants. We can walk in Central Park and do the museums and see theater and ballet and opera.”
He scratched his cheek and the sound of stubble rasping against his fingernails sound
ed ridiculously sexy to her. “Opera, huh?”
“See how the other half lives.”
“Or you could come to Oregon. I can show you sights you’ve never seen in your life. We’ll kayak with sea lions, cook the fish we catch over an open fire, watch the sun rise from the top of a mountain.”
“Mountains, huh?”
He grinned at her, a little crookedly, and put his hands on her shoulders. “Or we kiss goodbye and know that we’ll always remember one of the greatest weeks of our lives.”
22
ONE OF THE GREATEST weeks of their lives, she thought as she fell back into the routine of her job, her apartment, her friends and her usual life. Paris had been the greatest week, not only because she’d met Holden and cracked an international crime ring, but also because she’d found her other family. At last.
She and Claudia e-mailed almost every day and talked on the phone every week or two.
She had a sister.
Today there’d been an e-mail waiting for her when she got to work. Dear Kimi, I am glad that you are no longer jet lagged. I feel as though I have terrible jet lag. Of course, it’s only a broken engagement. I refuse to say heart. I am sure I never really loved that man. I intend to believe that, anyway, until it is true.
She sounded so down that Kimi wished she could do something for her.
Before she’d completed the next thought in her head, she pressed Reply. Dear Claudia, I have a fantastic idea. Come to New York. You’d love it here. I’ve got plenty of room and we could…Her fingers paused above the keyboard. They could what? They were two women from different worlds who barely knew each other. Did she really want her depressed Italian half sister as a houseguest?
Yes, she thought with a flicker of excitement. She did. We could shop, eat wonderful food and ignore all men. Think about it. She glanced at the clock on her computer. I have to go now, I’m having lunch with my mother. You must meet my mother, she’s impossible to describe, but I think you’d like each other.
Normally, Kimi and her mom had dinner together every couple of weeks when they were both in town, it was a chance for two busy career women to catch up. But, after her Paris trip, they’d decided to fit in lunch as soon as they could.
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