***
Madeleine tapped the driver on the shoulder. “I’d like you to pick up the pace. I’m meeting a very important investor and I do not wish to be late.”
The driver glanced in his rear-view mirror. “Ma’am, I am doing the speed limit as per my contract. I can’t risk getting a ticket. Don’t worry, though. I’ll have you both at the party just in time.”
Madeleine huffed and slid to the back of the car she’d rented to transport her and Mr. Fiorello to the auction. She must keep up appearances after all, but if that twit in the driver’s seat didn’t hurry it up, she and Mr. Fiorello wouldn’t arrive before the Board members. She wanted to be on hand to welcome them personally.
The driver glanced back again, his green eyes twinkling behind his spectacles, a black beret pulled low. He shifted on the phone books he’d piled to make himself taller. There hadn’t been enough time to arrange for a different, “special” car, so he’d had to make do.
Improvisation was his best trait, anyway. And once he’d gotten wind of what Luke and Staci were up to, he’d scrapped part of his old plan and was hastily trying to put together a new one. Keeping Bella’s stepmother from arriving too early was part of it.
It was all Jonathan Griff could do not to laugh aloud at what the rest of the evening held for Madeleine.
Including the flat tire that happened just as planned.
“A flat tire?” Madeleine shrieked at him when he lowered the partition separating the driver’s quarters from the rest of the limousine to give her the bad news. “What kind of incompetent fool are you? Do you understand how important it is that I’m not late? I told you I must be on time.”
Such an unbecoming and unnecessary reaction, but then, Jonathan had expected no less from the woman. Giovanni Fiorello really had his hands full with this one.
Madeleine threw her head against the headrest and exhaled. Loudly. “It’s as if the gods are against me.”
“Oh, no, ma’am. He wouldn’t do something like this.” No, only desperate Guardians in training would. His poor Boss, though; always getting blamed for things He hadn’t done.
“Did you say something?” Madeleine arched her eyebrow and glared at him out the corner of her eye, an effective move if executed properly.
Madeleine had perfected it.
“I said I’ll change the tire as fast as I can, ma’am.” Jonathan slid from his stack of phonebooks and walked around to the trunk. A raised lid, a few thumps and bumps, a clang or two, and Jonathan walked over to the tire in question. He took a quick survey of the street before bending down to examine the “flat.” He wiggled his finger and the back end of the car hovered a good six inches off the ground. The shriek from inside assured him the lift had been noticed.
Jonathan sat on the curb, whistling. Every so often he’d twiddle his fingers and the sound of a lug wrench hitting the pavement would emanate from beneath the car. There were perks to this Guardian business. Faking a flat tire and its tiresome fix were one of them.
“Can you hurry it up?” Madeleine raged through the lowered window. Heaven forbid she actually deigned to look out at him—but that served his purpose well. He didn’t need her to see what he was—or, rather, wasn’t—doing. “What’s taking so long? Don’t you have a cell phone? Why don’t you call your company and have them get another car here? I don’t have all night for this nonsense.”
Jonathan lowered the car a little more forcefully than necessary. Praise be, it shut the woman up.
Thank God—and Jonathan did, often-—that Madeleine wasn’t his Charge. Poor Giovanni deserved some divine sympathy.
“It’s about time,” the woman snarled when he opened the driver’s door after “depositing” his supposed tools back in the trunk. “You better hurry. We’ve already lost too much time as it is.”
A thank you went a long way with people, but Madeleine, apparently, had never learned that lesson.
Jonathan tipped his hat to the woman, feeling sorrier for Giovanni by the minute. The woman needed a good lesson in manners. “We’ll be off now, ma’am. No time flat, just like I said. No pun intended, though.”
Madeleine didn’t even crack a smile. She huffed and threw herself back into her seat, her arms crossing into a pretzel across her chest. “Just get going. I have half a mind to call another driver.”
Jonathan bit back the comment about half her mind. It wouldn’t be very angelic of him.
“You’re certainly welcome to, ma’am, but with this big shindig at the hospital, I’m pretty sure all the car agencies and taxicab companies have their hands full. I doubt you’ll be able to find another car at this late hour.” He really had to struggle to keep his grin from slipping out.
Madeleine sucked her cheeks in so hard they almost popped out the other side. She looked at the ceiling. “Can anything else possibly go wrong?”
If she only knew.
Chapter Thirty-Five
“Staci. You’re here.” Bella heard the disbelief in her voice but couldn’t help it. She truly hadn’t expected to see Staci at all during set-up.
“Of course I am. I told you I would be.”
Staci looked indignant. Not that Bella could blame her. Her stepsister had been rather amazing recently—as compared to her earlier lazy, selfish, gluttonous, blob-like self.
“Your outfit is very nice.”
“You like it?” Staci smoothed the coral skirt over her hips. The cream blouse was demure enough to be respectable, but sassy enough to be fashionable. “Luke said it was the perfect choice for tonight.”
“Luke?” Bella stopped construction on the cheese tower to really look at Staci. “I thought it was over between the two of you.”
“Just like you weren’t going to work this event.”
Bella acknowledged that direct hit.
“Besides, I really do like him. We have a lot in common.”
No, Bella wasn’t going to mention Luke’s bank account balance. It seemed as if Staci really had changed more than her appearance.
“I wish you the best of luck.”
“Thanks.” Staci held up a tray. “So, should the antipasto go on the bar or the food station?”
“Leave it by the cheese. It’ll be too big for the bar.”
“Okay.” Staci did a little hop-skip back to their food cart and grabbed another cheese tray. “I’ve got this covered, Bella, if you want to see how Giac and Gus are doing on the boat.” Staci dismissed her with a flutter of acrylic fingernails.
“Staci, what’s going on?”
“I don’t know what you mean.” Staci’s look of wide-eyed innocence was as fake as her fingernails.
“Come on. Even for you, this overacting is a bit much. You’re up to something, I can tell. And I want to know what it is. I’ve got too much invested in this evening for you to ruin it.”
“Bella, really. I’m just trying to help out. I have no ulterior motives. I promise.”
Then why did her hand slip behind her back? Were her fingers crossed?
Bella tugged Staci’s hand out. No crossed fingers. But that didn’t mean they hadn’t been.
“Seriously, Bella, I wish you’d trust me on this. I have your best interests at heart.” Staci smiled and set the cheese down. “Now, go. You know Bruno’s in there with Gus so there’s sure to be some disagreement going on. I’ll be fine.”
Torn between a possible future disaster and the imminent one between Gus and Bruno, Bella headed aboard The Midnight Maiden. “Call me if you need any help.”
“I’ll be fine.” Staci picked up a few pieces of cheese and balanced them on the top of the pyramid Bella had made, pretending to be busy until Bella disappeared inside the ship. Then she tossed the cheese back onto the tray and whistled.
Luke ran from the car with something cradled in a football hold against his chest.
“This is a lot heavier than a pigskin,” he huffed, pulling it from beneath a towel. “Where do you want it?”
Staci motioned to a table d
raped in layers of pastel chiffon. “Under here. We don’t want Bella to see it and start asking questions.”
“Right.” Luke put it down and stood, brushing his hands. He smiled at Staci and caressed her arms. “Have I ever told you how cute you are when you’re planning a coup?”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Bella stood on the deck of The Midnight Maiden, awestruck. The drayage company Reese had hired had really outdone itself. Twinkling lights outlined the bow, vined along the mast lines, and wended through the topiaries the florist had supplied, turning the deck of The Midnight Maiden into a fairy land. Silver candelabra and utensils gleamed in the reflected light, and glass dishes rimmed in silver prismed rainbows of color onto the shimmering silver satin tablecloths while soft waves lapped against the dock, the motion setting the candle flames dancing in their protective glass surrounds.
“Beautiful,” she whispered, trailing her fingertips over the back of the fabric-draped chair.
“Yes.” The word was soft and deep from behind her.
Bella spun around.
Reese. Looking breathtakingly handsome in a coal black tuxedo and crisp white shirt, the lights flickering along the strong line of his jaw and the sensuous curve of his lips.
She really didn’t need to be thinking about his lips right now. Not when it was all she could do to keep from replaying the feel of them on hers.
“Hi.” She fiddled with a strand of hair that had fallen from the knot at her neck and tucked it behind her ear as she looked around. “They really did a great job. This is gorgeous. Everyone’s going to be so impressed.”
Reese didn’t say anything.
“Is something wrong?” She swished the gown, imagining all sorts of awful things that could go wrong tonight. She’d thought about warning him about Madeleine, but was counting on her stepmother’s social aspirations as a deterrent to bad behavior.
Later on tonight when they got home, however… She’d deal with that when the time came. She was not going to let her personal business interfere with Reese’s professional one.
“Wrong?” Reese coughed. “No. Nothing. You look stunning, Bella. That dress…” He cleared his throat again. “Whoever made that thing is a genius.”
“It was Gus.”
“Then his talents are wasted in the kitchen, but I’ll gladly avail myself of them tonight.”
“I’ll be sure to tell him. He and Bruno are getting the food set up in the galley. They wouldn’t let me in there until everything was settled. Said they didn’t want me to get anything on the dress.”
“Good idea.”
Oh she had plenty of good ideas and one in particular was all about getting the out of the dress.
Okay, so maybe that wasn’t such a good idea.
“Reese, listen, about tonight. About the reason I quit on you last week.”
“It’s not important. You’re here now and tonight will be perfect.”
“But—”
“Reese, I’ve got to talk to you.” Luke ran up the stairs. “Hey, Bella. Staci said everything’s ready for you in the galley.”
“Oh. Okay.” She took one last look at Reese. “I guess we’ll talk later.”
“Sounds good.”
***
“A migraine? You’re kidding, right? My mother’s never had a migraine in her life.” Reese swiped a hand over his face.
With their reestablished friendship, Luke didn’t relish lying, or the bleak look on Reese’s face, but it was in the guy’s best interests. He just hoped Reese would see it that way when it all played out.
Luke shrugged. “That’s what she said. Your father helped her back to their car and she asked me to tell you. She seemed pretty worried about you.” That, at least, wasn’t a lie. But Carolyn had seen the bigger plan and was in full agreement.
“Great. Now what do I do? I’ve got an open slot on the auction block.”
“Well...” And here was where it all began. “Actually, that’s not true.” Reese looked over at him and Luke had to work hard to keep the look of innocence he’d struggled to put on his face. “It says on my bidding list ‘A Charmant Evening.’ Your mom’s not the only Charmant in your family people would want to spend an evening with, you know.”
Reese groaned. “This is what I get for letting Kelly design the program layout. She thought it’d be cute to play off the charming angle of my name. Now it’s coming back to bite me and I don’t have a choice, do I?”
“I could always volunteer.”
Reese gave that a half-second’s consideration. “No, my name is on the event and the program. I’ll do it.”
Luke tried not to crow. Phase Two complete.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
The staff knew the minute Madeleine came aboard. The air shifted and grew tense, as if Nature was warning them.
Bella ducked into the galley and sent Jolie out to “just happen” to pass Madeleine in the dining room and allay any suspicions the woman might have. Now if she could just keep up the pretense for the next four hours, she’d be okay.
The cocktail hour passed without incident, though it’d been a bit tricky to keep Uncle Vinny from spilling the beans. He’d heard why Bella was hanging out in the galley and wanted to speak with Madeleine. Only Bella’s insistence that she had it all under control kept him from outing her. But he hadn’t liked it.
Luckily, the Board members had reserved seating at the bow of the boat so they were all in one place. A draw too good to resist for Madeleine, who’d been circling their perimeter like a shark the entire time, her laugh just a little too loud, her actions a little too desperate. But Bella had been thankful for them because it’d allowed her to come and go as she’d had to to keep the event running smoothly, though Jolie was a great help in that area. Gus was working his magic in the galley, and Bruno had managed to not drop anything noisy.
But then Reese walked into the galley and Bella almost did the dropping.
“There’s a change to the program,” he announced, not looking happy about it.
“Oh?”
“Yes, so I’m going to be busy during the auction. I’d like you to make sure the staff keeps clearing while the auction is going on.”
“Me?” Madeleine wouldn’t be able to miss her.
“Kelly’s going to be busy with the auction, so yes, you’ll need to do it.”
“All right. I’ll manage.” Somehow. But she owed him after all. And surely Madeleine wouldn’t make a scene. After all, the Board members were here and she was still toadying up to them. She must not know they’d met with Reese’s mom.
And Heaven forefend if she did find out before the night was through. Then they’d all need some fairy godmothers because all hell would break loose.
***
Smatterings of applause found their way down to the belly of the boat, telling Bella the auction was going well. Reese must be so pleased. The event was a success. Even Madeleine had removed the pinched look from her face and replaced it with something considerably close to a smile, so things must be looking up with her Board member networking.
Bella refused to think it had anything to do with the negotiations with Mr. Fiorello.
Staci popped her head into the galley. “Gus, they’re ready for you next.”
Gus mopped his brow. “Yes. I come.” He stumbled against the counter, catching a spatula before it could hit the floor. Bella and Giac held their breath.
At last, Gus held the soufflé in his hands and beamed. Giac gave him a victory sigh. “Go get ‘em, Gus.”
Gus bowed slightly. “The winner will be amazed by my creation.” He waddled up the stairs.
Staci winked at Giac.
“What was that for?” Bella asked.
“What was what for?” Giac was suddenly very busy cleaning an already spotless countertop.
“That wink.” Bella grabbed the rag from Giac’s hand. “Why did Staci wink at you?”
Giac shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe she likes soufflés?” He re
sumed his cleaning.
Bella chewed the inside of her cheek. Something was odd. Since when did Staci and Giac get along, let alone wink at each other?
“Come on, Bella.” Giac tucked his rag into his apron. Let’s go watch the rest of the auction.”
***
“Thank you, Belinda for your generous donation of nine holes with our winner. And thank you, Mayor, for your generous donation to the hospital fund. I hope you enjoy your time on the links.” The auctioneer shuffled a stack of papers. “Next up is Mr. Gus Sorcio, tonight’s chef, who has agreed to donate his time and expertise to cater our winner’s party. And he’s brought with him this evening one of his original recipes, a pumpkin soufflé.”
Polite applause greeted a grinning Gus as he stood beside the podium, his soufflé held high. Bella glanced at Giac and saw tears drizzling down his cheeks. She patted his arm and he closed his hand over hers.
The auctioneer began the bidding. A woman in front signaled. Then another. A hand went up in the back. Bella looked around, pleased for Gus that there was a lot of interest.
Then the bidding slowed and Gus’s face fell. The gavel fell once. Twice. Then a bidding card was raised and Gus heaved a sigh of relief. Bella turned to see who had salvaged her friend’s ego and, across the room, met Reese’s smile.
Warmth spread through her and she couldn’t help returning it. He nodded slightly and Bella felt her cheeks warm.
Suddenly, a shrill voice cut into Bella’s reverie. Madeleine. It figured.
“I’ll bid two thousand dollars,” Madeleine said. “There’s not a better chef in this town and I would be remiss to let his services go for so little.” The crowd was silent as the gavel fell for the third time. Gus was uncertain as he stole a look at Bella.
Bella waved him on. Madeleine had won the soufflé fair and square. But what on earth was she up to?
If The Shoe Fits Page 23
