If The Shoe Fits

by Fennell, Judi

  Her fake smile wasn’t a buffer for the sentiment behind her oh-so-innocuous words. Jonathan had to reach deep within his heart to locate the forgiveness he knew The Boss would want him to find.

  He also had to find some forgiveness for Giovanni for bugging out early. Not everyone liked every Charge, but it was still a Guardian’s duty to work on their behalf.

  “My dear lady, I’ve always found people to be quite generous. Haven’t you? Until someone removes the reason for that trust, that is.” Jonathan sat up straighter. Thank heavens the words he needed were coming to him. Wasn’t it always the way? About the time he didn’t know what to say, he’d think about The Boss and then he’d come up with just the thing. “I gave the folks here my word that I’d do my best by them and they put their faith in me. Now all I have to do is make sure that trust isn’t misplaced.”

  “Well, yes, of course, but I still am surprised that the guild has trusted you with this responsibility when I’ve—I mean, Casteleoni’s has been such a predominant part of this neighborhood for so many years.”

  There was a reason Pride was on that deadly sins list.

  “Perhaps, it’s not the length of one’s service that counts, but the quality of it.”

  Madeleine fell against the back of the booth, her hauteur finally knocked sideways.

  Jonathan resisted the urge to grin. Guardians didn’t gloat. But he was rather pleased that he’d given her something to think about other than her favorite topic—herself. Madeleine always forgot to take into account the other lives she was affecting and it was time she was reminded of them.

  Just then, Bella swung through the saloon doors carrying his soup. Jonathan smiled at Madeleine; nothing killed like kindness. “Would you like to join me, madam?”

  Madeleine scrambled from his booth as he’d known she would. She’d never eat “peasant” food again; she’d worked too hard to settle for that. Which was fine with him—and the very reason he’d offered.

  “Er, thank you, no.” It took her all of two seconds to remember who she was pretending to be. Then one hand slicked back the hair and the other went straight for the pearls. He’d always found the amount of atonement one needed was directly proportional to the fidgeting one did. Madeleine’s fidget was off the charts. “Perhaps another time.”

  Jonathan inclined his head, willing to let her stew on his words. Maybe he’d done some good with them. One never knew.

  But then she blew it when Bella set his soup down.

  “Don’t forget to make that phone call, Lucinda.” Her tone could have frosted his glass of lemonade.

  Bella’s lips clamped shut and if he weren’t mistaken she had to blink back a few tears. “Don’t worry, Madeleine. There’s no way in the world I’ll ever forget it.”

  “See that you don’t.”

  With a last-minute almost-gracious smile tossed his way, Madeleine sashayed out of the restaurant.

  “Don’t let her get to you, Bella.”

  Okay, perhaps that was overstepping his bounds as a neighborhood shopkeeper, but as her Guardian, Jonathan couldn’t stand to see Bella lose that sparkle in her eye.

  “Madeleine wants to sell the restaurant.”

  “No!” The woman couldn’t give up that easily; it wasn’t in her character. At least, not unless someone with a big bank account came along—and Giovanni definitely wasn’t that someone.

  “She’s been threatening to, and now she actually brought someone, a Mr. Fiorello, in to look at the place.”

  “Ah.” Jonathan would love to tell her the truth, but Guardians weren’t permitted to reveal either the Grand Scheme or another Guardian’s identity. Still, he tried to do the best he could within the confines of his position. “I’m sure it’s nothing, Bella. She likes her position as the Widow Casteleoni. She’s not going to sell out.” At least, not to Giovanni. Which was the reason he was pretending to be so interested; if Madeleine thought he was on the hook, she wouldn’t be looking for another buyer. Jonathan just hoped another buyer didn’t come along. That pesky Free Will The Boss was such a big proponent of could screw up many a plan.

  She cleared her throat. “I hope you’re right, Mr. Griff.”

  “I am. You’ll see. Everything will be all right in the end.”

  It was the getting there that was going to be the problem.

  Still, he was glad to see the light return to her eyes.

  The Boss knew, she and Reese were going to need that light because it was always darkest just before the dawn.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Bella’s finger hovered over Reese’s number. She didn’t want to make this call. She ought to stand up to Madeleine. Tell her no.

  If it weren’t for Sophia, she would. She would cut her losses and start over somewhere new, out from under the woman’s tyrannical thumb. But she just couldn’t leave her sister.

  She took a deep breath. This wasn’t going to be as bad as she was imagining. As long as Reese had a caterer, he’d be happy, right? And Jolie had worked for her; it wasn’t as if Bella was leaving him in a lurch.

  But what was she going to tell him? He’d want to know why.

  She couldn’t tell him the truth. That her stepmother wanted to ruin his event so his mother wouldn’t get on the Board and Madeleine could.

  It was all so pathetic. Madeleine was pathetic. But what did that make her for going along with it?

  Desperate.

  Out of options.

  God, Bella hated this feeling. She’d been drowning in it for the past ten years and it wasn’t showing any signs of going away. And, now, by cancelling the job, she was guaranteeing it never would because no one would ever hire Casteleoni’s for an event like this once word got out.

  Which meant she was going to have to put up with Madeleine’s machinations until Sophia came of age.

  Ah, well, she’d been dealing with it for ten years, what was another eight?

  A lifetime, that’s what.

  Hers.

  ***

  Reese was having a devil of a time. The destination management company he’d hired for the conference had sent incompetents. Two of the Meet-and-Greet staff looked like they were just out of high school and the woman running registration had left her alphabetical knowledge at home that morning. Consequently, the conference attendees were five deep in the registration lines and backing up quickly. To top it all off, the civic association’s president, the man who’d hired him, was a huge football fan and kept demanding Reese’s presence at one gathering or another.

  It was an odd time to think of Bella.

  Or maybe not. The hotel conference planner did have the same shade of hair. That the planner was a guy was irrelevant. And he’d swear the maitre d’s name was Isabella. It didn’t matter that the woman was fifty years old, African-American, and shorter than that little old man who’s spilled his money at the park. She made him think of Bella. Everything made him think of Bella.

  And the fact that she’d turned him down.

  He looked around at the chaos he was managing in the “war room” at the hotel, where the members of his temporary staff gathered to get their assignments, check in, drop off supplies, and generally touch base with him and each other. Where everything was coming together without his client being aware of any glitches. At least something in his life was working out.

  “Matt got the VIPs in,” Debra, the tour operator, informed him as she ran into the room.

  Reese checked that item off his list. He’d had his doubts about Matt—especially when he’d seen Jennifer hopping into the limo to “assist” with the pick-up. But a last-minute switch in the reception venue required everyone to pitch in and re-do the set-up in the new location, so he’d had to put that one in the hands of Fate and pray for the best.

  From the little smile on Jennifer’s face, it looked as if it’d worked out… for her.

  He just hoped it did for him because he knew all about on-location romances. They didn’t always work out for the best. />
  Okay, so maybe Bella had been smart to put an end to whatever he’d wanted to start between them before it’d begun. But they were going to talk when this auction was over. He hadn’t gotten to where he’d been in his career by letting other people decide his life for him and even though he was seriously thinking about wanting to share his life with her, he wasn’t going to sit back now. She better have a damn good reason for calling it quits between them.

  His phone rang. “Charmant.”

  “Reese? It’s Bella.”

  Talk about serendipity.

  “Hang on a sec.” He gave Debra a few last minute instructions, then headed out to the hallway to take the call. “Hey, what’s up? Everything on target for next week?”

  “About that.”

  Her tone caused his stomach to bottom out. “What?”

  “There’s been… That is, there’s a problem.”

  His stomach headed to his knees. “What kind of problem?”

  “I… That is, Casteleoni’s… We…”

  “What, Bella? What’s going on? Did the place burn down? Are you injured? What?” He could only imagine what’d put that defeatist tone in her voice, and he had a vivid imagination.

  “We can’t do the event.”

  But he hadn’t imagined that.

  “What do you mean you can’t? We’re a week and a half out. The food’s ordered. Why can’t you?”

  “There’s a conflict.”

  There sure was. “What is it? How can we resolve it?”

  “We can’t. I have to back out of the event. I’m sorry. I know it’s not the best timing, but I’ve got someone else lined up for you. She used to work with me. She’s good. Everything will be fine. I promise.”

  “You also promised to handle the event, so excuse me if I’m not all that excited about your promise.” He bit back a curse. “Does this have anything to do with me kissing you?” He should have stuck to his fucking rule and kept his goddamn paws—and lips—to himself. “Because, seriously, I promise it won’t happen again. You were right; I was wrong. Can’t we just go forward?”

  “Reese, it doesn’t have anything to do with that. It’s just… I just can’t. Like I said, there’s a conflict and this is the best way I know to resolve it.”

  “Tell me what that conflict is. I can help.”

  “I’m sorry. In this, you really can’t.”

  She took a breath and Reese could swear it quivered. If that were the case, what in the hell was so wrong that she couldn’t do the job? That she couldn’t even tell him?

  “I’ll have Jolie get in touch with you soon. She’s really good, Reese. You won’t even know the difference.”

  The hell he wouldn’t.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “I still don’t understand why you’re letting Madeleine get away with this.” Jolie Gardener took the menu cards Bella had set on the bar top and stacked them neatly on the spot she’d just wiped down on her latest clients’ pool bar. “You have to take a stand.”

  Bella slid onto the stool. It’d been less than twelve hours since she’d quit and her stomach was in knots. Quitting went against every professional ethic she had, not to mention every grain of hope in her soul. “Don’t you think I know that? But she’s serious about Sophia this time. I can’t risk it.”

  “That’s why you should. Can’t you see? She does this to you all the time. If there’s something she wants or doesn’t like or needs, she threatens Sophia and you jump. What if, just once, you didn’t?” Jolie stopped wiping the granite and pointed her cloth-covered finger at her. “What if she actually had to go through with it? Do you really think she will? She’ll lose her bargaining chip.”

  “There’s no bargaining going on.”

  “Exactly my point. She’s got you running scared. But now you have something she wants. You have the opportunity to help out a charity, do a good job for an up-and-coming firm in the city, and make a name for yourself. Not to mention his name. Does she really think Reese isn’t going to do whatever it takes to get someone to pull this off? She’s delusional if she thinks he’s going to let it fail just because you back out. He’s got too much to lose, and I don’t mean his mother getting the Board position.” She tucked her cloth into her chef coat and took the crystal glasses out of the box on the bar and began washing them for the afternoon luncheon Mrs. Kellan was hosting. “No, whatever Madeleine’s convoluted rationalization for her idiotic demand, you’re the one in control now.”

  Bella grabbed a dishtowel and started drying. “Don’t you think I’ve run this through my mind a zillion times? It’s all I can think about.” Well, that and Reese. There was something between them and, dammit, she wanted to explore it.

  So did he, but because of Madeleine, they couldn’t. It was so tempting to listen to Jolie and throw Madeleine’s plan back in her face. If it were just the bakery at stake, maybe she would. But they were bargaining with Sophia. She couldn’t take that risk.

  Or maybe she could…

  She set a champagne flute down. “Okay, how about this? What if I tell Madeleine you’re handling it, but I still do it? I’ll take Casteleoni’s name off everything so she won’t know, but behind the scenes, I’ll still be working the event. That way I won’t have to let Reese down and I can buy myself more time.”

  Jolie took the flute and put it in the glass-fronted cabinets on the wall behind her. “I guess, but you have to take credit the night of the event. You want to get your name out, this is the event of the season, and seriously… Does she really think that Reese’s event is going to seal the deal as far as his mother getting that Board position is concerned? I mean, there’s already talk of naming a park after the woman. She is Hollywood royalty after all. Local girl done really really good. The whole world’s in love with Carolyn Charmant. The only place Madeleine is any competition to her is in her own mind.”

  “You know that and I know that, but Madeleine will never admit it. She’ll take it out on Sophia. That’s why I have to be discreet.”

  “She’s not going to do anything to Sophia, Bella. Think about it.” Jolie wagged one of the wine glasses at her. “There’s no way Madeleine’s going to get the Board position. None. No matter what you do. Everyone can see through her and even if Carolyn weren’t in the running, do you really think those people couldn’t find someone else to offer that position to? Madeleine’s deluding herself.”

  “But she’ll blame it on me and Sophia will suffer.”

  “For how long? She said herself that she won’t be able to hold her head up in this town. That she’ll move away. She’s not going to want to drag a stepdaughter along with her. My money’s on you getting custody of Sophia without a battle.”

  “You think so?”

  “Trust me. I’ve been through the court system. With you, Sophia has a family member who loves her, wants her, and with all the jobs you’ll get from the auction, will able to afford her. The courts will never deny you custody.” Jolie scooped up the menu cards and handed them back to Bella. “I can guarantee it.”

  ***

  “What do you mean, you don’t want to see me anymore?” Luke stared at Staci. They’d spent every night since dinner together—though not in the way he’d wanted to. Staci had said they’d had to talk. To get to know each other. It’d shocked the shit out of him that he’d actually enjoyed it. “What’s going on, Stace?”

  Staci’s eyes flickered to a spot somewhere on the wall to his left.

  Luke grabbed her chin and forced her to face him. Oh, no, she did not get to do this. Not when he’d finally found someone who wanted more from him than his celebrity and a roll in the hay. Or, at least, he thought she had. Now, he wasn’t so certain.

  But, dammit! He was a man with more than a little experience with women. He knew when one was interested. She had been—and if the pulse fluttering in her throat was any indication, she still was. Her announcement just didn’t make sense.

  “Tell me what’s going on.”

  She
looked up at him and he groaned. Somewhere along the line in her makeover, she’d gone from hard and tacky to luscious and desirable. And those eyes, swirls of smokey gray/green with gold flecks near the pupils, did him in. “Tell me where I screwed up.”

  “You didn’t do anything, Luke.” She smiled, but there was no happiness in it. “It’s something I have to do. I can’t tell you why, but you need to trust me and let it go. I can’t see you anymore. It’s over.”

  He yanked his hand from her skin and raked it through his hair. “Just like that? You’re willing to walk away from whatever it is that’s kept us from pulling each other’s clothes off and rolling around like a pair of horny teenagers to spend time talking and getting to know each other? Staci, we both know there’s nothing either of us would rather do than get naked together, but we’ve taken our time here. We’ve had hours of conversation and really gotten to know each other. There’s something more than just physical attraction between us. I know it and I know you know it. How can you let it go?”

  To his utter surprise, tears filled her eyes. Why was she crying? She was the one breaking up with him. He would expect tears if he were doing the breaking up. God knows, he was the authority on women’s break-up tears.

  “What is it?” For once in his life he was actually concerned about a woman’s thoughts, her feelings. A totally foreign concept.

  “I have to or someone’s going to get hurt.”

  Ah… That, he was familiar with.

  He slid his hands up her arms. “Staci, I’ll try not to hurt you, I promise. I realize I don’t have the best track record, but I’ll try not to hurt you.”