by HELEN HARDT
“Got it.” I smiled. Actually smiled like I’d smiled with Matt. “And damn, it feels good.”
24
Matteo
Mid-afternoon the next day found me wandering around town, visiting all the places I’d taken Riley. After a visit to Mrs. Carson’s—where she fed me a Mexican lunch of posole and rice, which tasted like sawdust—I walked by Trudy’s. She was closed, getting ready for the dinner rush, but I waved to her through the window and she motioned for me to come in.
“How’s tricks, Matt?” she asked.
“Okay.”
“You seem blue. That’s not like you.”
“Nah. I’m good.”
“Ha! I’ve known you for too long. What’s going on?”
Telling her I’d fallen for a woman in two days and that she’d left without a trace made me sound ridiculous, so I just said, “You’re imagining things.”
“If you say so. Want some iced tea or something?”
“That’d be great. Thanks.”
She headed to the kitchen and came back with two iced teas and then gestured to a table. “Sit.”
“Something smells great. What’s on for tonight?”
“Coq au vin. I got a shipment of burgundy yesterday, so I’m making good use of it.”
“Awesome. Maybe I’ll come by for dinner.” If I was hungry, that was.
“Great! Bring your lady friend.”
I lifted my eyebrows. “You mean Riley? She’s gone.”
“Oh? I thought she was here for the week.”
“She was. Her plans changed, apparently.”
“So that’s what’s got you down in the dumps.”
I took a long sip of iced tea. “Don’t be silly.”
“I could tell the other night you had it pretty bad.”
“I’d just met her the other night.”
“So? Don’t you believe in love at first sight?”
I scoffed, nearly spitting out tea. “Of course not.”
“I do,” she said. “And trust me. That look on your face the other night? I’ve seen it before.”
“On me?”
“Hell, no, not on you. Matt Rossi the heartbreaker. Usually on women you bring in.”
“And this time?”
“I saw it on you.”
“I’ll say it again, Trudy.” I finished my tea and stood. “You’re imagining things. Thanks for the drink.”
“Anytime. See you tonight for supper?”
“Yeah. Maybe.” I walked to the door and walked back out onto the street.
Love at first sight. What a crock.
I walked past Bess’s antique shop. Hmm. We’d never ventured in there. I’d meant to, but then Riley tripped and dropped her purse.
Her cigarettes. I’d admonished her for smoking.
Strange. I’d been with her nearly nonstop for two days and I’d never seen her light up.
Very strange indeed.
A few doors down stood the flower shop. I’d bought her a pink rose…which she’d subsequently thrown on the ground and trampled. But she apologized, and I forgave her.
At the time, I’d have forgiven her anything.
Could I forgive her for leaving?
A moot question, to be sure. If I never found her, I couldn’t forgive her. So I’d find her first, and then I’d decide whether to forgive her.
I opened the door to the flower shop, ringing the bell attached to the handle.
“Just a minute,” Kari called from the back.
“It’s just me,” I said. “Matt.”
“Oh, hey, Mattie. Be right out. I need to talk to you.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. Give me a minute.”
“Okay.”
What did Kari need to talk to me about? Probably had a job for me. I’d fixed some plumbing for her in the past and made some repairs to her refrigeration unit. Great. I could use the cash.
I perused the flowers she had available today. Front and center was a large vase full of pink roses, just like the one I’d given Riley.
Fuck.
I looked away quickly and checked my watch. A minute passed. Then another. Finally, Kari came bustling out front, rubbing her hands together.
“Thanks for waiting. Did you need anything today, Mattie?”
“No. Just came in to say hi.”
“I’m glad you did. I have something I want to show you.”
“What?”
She walked behind the counter. “Remember when you came in with that woman and I said she looked familiar?”
“Yeah.”
“I figured out why.” She pulled a magazine out from under the counter and set it down. “Take a look.”
My heart raced and I widened my eyes. It was a copy of something called Elle, and on the glossy cover was none other than—
“Riley.”
“Yup. That’s why she looked so familiar to me. She’s a supermodel, Mattie. Riley Wolfe.”
“I’ve never heard of her.”
“Doubtless because you don’t keep up with women’s fashion and makeup. She’s huge. The daughter of a billionaire named Derek Wolfe.”
“Now him I’ve heard of.”
“Yeah. Everyone has. He just died recently. Big murder case in New York.”
I mouth dropped open. “Her dad is dead?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh my God. She must be distraught. No wonder she…”
“She what?”
“She went home. She left early from her vacation. But why would she…?”
“Why would she what?”
Why would she use a fake name? I didn’t ask the question. Kari wouldn’t know the answer anyway, except it was becoming obvious to me. She’d wanted to escape for a short time. Escape the sadness and trauma of losing her father.
And she was famous. She wanted to be incognito. That was why she’d used a fake name, but she’d screwed up and given me her real first name and then covered her tracks by saying it was her middle name, when her fake ID showed her middle initial as L.
Poor Riley. Poor sweet Riley.
Kari picked up the magazine. “She really is gorgeous. Even when you guys came in here and she wasn’t wearing any makeup or anything. She was beautiful.”
“Yeah, she was,” I said, nodding. “I can’t believe this.”
“Neither can I.”
I grabbed the magazine from her. “Do you mind if I keep this?”
“Not at all. I’m done with it. Read it cover to cover.”
“Thanks, Kari.” I grabbed my wallet out of my pocket and took out a ten-dollar bill. “Buy yourself a few roses on me. I owe you.”
“For what?”
“Trust me, I do.” I walked out of the shop, the bell ringing once more.
I owed Kari big time.
Now that I knew who Riley really was, I could find her.
25
Riley
“Riley, darling,” Fredricka whined, “what am I supposed to tell them this time?”
I felt bad putting Fredricka in this position. It was all me, this time. I couldn’t blame it on my father. Not that I ever did before. “Tell them I’m sorry, but I need to stay in New York for now. My father’s memorial service is tomorrow.”
“Couldn’t you have told me this a week ago? Instead of just missing the shoot in Paris?”
Yeah, I could have. I should have.
From now on, I vowed to be different.
“If you didn’t make me so much money,” Fredricka said, “I’d drop you like a hot potato.”
“And I wouldn’t blame you.”
“What?”
“I said, I wouldn’t blame you.”
She laughed. “I just wanted to make sure I heard you correctly. I was expecting one of your ‘any agent in New York would be thrilled to have me’ speeches.”
I sighed. I’d behaved so badly in the past. Sure, my father was to blame for my disappearances. Or was he? I was over eighteen. I could have—should have—
taken control. He’d also instructed me on how to handle Fredricka.
“I’m sorry, Fredricka,” I said. “Things are going to change.”
“Darling, that would be wonderful. But I always love you anyway.”
“You’ve done a lot for me,” I said. “I’ll never forget that.”
“Thank you, darling. I’ll make your excuses to Dominique. I’m sure I can talk them down and get them to reschedule. How much time do you need to mourn your father?”
Mourn my father? Ha! About zero seconds. But I did need to stay in town to help my brothers solve his murder and get us all out from under the detectives’ eyes. “Would a month be too long to ask?”
“I’ll make it happen, darling. Talk to you soon.”
“You’re the best. Thanks, Freddie.”
She laughed off the use of her hated nickname and we ended the call.
She’d been good to me, had gotten me tons of work over the years and a lot of money. I vowed to treat her better and not put her in uncomfortable positions anymore. Time to woman up and be a professional.
Tonight I was meeting my brothers and their significant others for dinner in the private banquet room at the Gabriel LeGrand restaurant to discuss our situation further. The chef had promised a gourmet feast for us. Yeah, the Wolfe name was pretty powerful here in Manhattan.
I laughed out loud.
I doubted anyone had even heard of the Wolfes in Sumter Falls, Montana.
Rock had existed under the radar in a similar Montana town for over a decade.
Being invisible for a few days had been fun. Exhilarating, even. Of course, Matteo Rossi had helped as well. More gorgeous than the handsomest male models and so muscular. Plus, he was a nice guy. A really nice guy. The kind of guy I hadn’t believed actually existed.
Maybe they were all out west.
It didn’t really matter how many nice guys existed, though. I’d found the one I wanted. Too bad we had no future.
I’d just have to deal with that.
Compartmentalize, Riley.
I was good at that. I’d had to be, to exist before the death of my father.
No thinking of Matt right now. Not until my brothers and I had figured out this whole Derek Wolfe mess.
Yup. Compartmentalize.
I took a quick shower and changed into a dinner outfit of black capri pants and a pink silk shirt. Black Louboutins completed the look. I fluffed my hair and decided to let it air dry. What the heck? Just a little lipstick, blush, and mascara, and I was ready to go. My skin was relishing being free of heavy model makeup.
My driver was waiting downstairs to take me to the restaurant.
Yeah, I had a driver. What a privileged world I lived in! A couple days with Matt had made me realize so much. Things I took for granted were such luxuries to most people.
Damn. I was thinking about Matt again. I missed him terribly. And why? I hardly knew him, yet we’d shared something so beautiful. So magnanimous. So precious.
How could I live without him now?
Damn it! Compartmentalize, Riley.
I arrived at the restaurant and thanked my driver. He cocked his head, looking at me oddly.
Had I never thanked him before?
My God, I hadn’t. Things were going to change.
Roy and Charlie were already seated in the banquet room. The others hadn’t arrived yet. I was glad to have the chance to talk to Roy alone. I didn’t know Charlie at all, but if Roy trusted her, I would.
“Hey, Sis,” Roy said.
“Hey.” I glanced to Charlie. “Nice to see you again.”
“You too.” She smiled.
Charlie was quite pretty. Her brown hair and round face were understated, but her eyes were spectacular indeed. A stark light blue-gray that really mesmerized me.
I looked away when I caught myself staring.
“They’re amazing, aren’t they?” Roy said.
“What’s amazing?”
“Her eyes.”
Charlie blushed. “Roy…”
“It’s okay,” I said. “He’s right. I’m sorry for staring.”
“I’ve tried to capture them on canvas,” Roy said. “It’s not possible.”
“Can we talk about something other than my eyes?” Charlie asked. “You’re making me self-conscious. I’m sitting here with the most beautiful supermodel in the world.”
My cheeks warmed. I was used to compliments. I’d gotten them all my life on my beauty. But for some reason, Charlie’s words embarrassed me. As if she were nothing compared to me.
Which wasn’t true. She was lovely. All her average features combined together to make something very striking.
“My sister is beautiful, for sure,” Roy said.
“Of course you think so,” Charlie laughed. “She looks exactly like you.”
This time Roy blushed. The two of them were just so sweet together. It was kind of sickening.
“Do you two want to get a room?” I asked.
“That sounds pretty good to me,” my brother replied.
“For God’s sake, Roy,” Charlie said.
Man, I was really missing Matt.
Compartmentalize.
“Where were you the past several days?” Roy asked me.
Finally, a change of subject, even though it wasn’t one I wanted to talk about. Better than listening to the two of them fawn all over each other, though.
“Nowhere, really.”
“Riley…”
“I ran away. I’m sorry. It… It won’t happen again.”
“Sis, it happens all the time.”
“You don’t understand.”
“I’m sure I don’t. Enlighten me.”
I chewed on my lower lip. “The other times… They weren’t my fault.”
“Oh?”
“Dad… He’d take me…” I gulped, nausea clawing up my throat.
“Roy, please,” Charlie said.
“No, it’s okay.” I swallowed down the acid. “I do owe you an explanation. My life hasn’t been pretty, but that doesn’t excuse me leaving the rest of you in a lurch.”
“Riley,” Roy said, “I’m not accusing you of anything. None of us are. We wish we’d known. We’d have stopped him. Please believe we would have.”
“I’m not sure you could have.”
My quietest brother grew red in the face. “Oh, we would have. Trust me.”
“Rock tried, and look where it got him.”
“He was a kid. This last decade, we were all adults. If we’d known, we’d have stopped him. I swear to you.”
My soft-spoken brother was angry. Rage emanated from his pores. I believed him. They would have rescued me. More likely, they would have tried but failed, making their own lives miserable in the process.
It wasn’t their fault they hadn’t known.
It was mine.
Derek Wolfe had me trained well. He’d stripped me of my sense of self to the point that I did whatever he told me.
That wasn’t my brothers’ fault. Was it even my father’s, once I reached the age of majority?
No.
It was mine.
My own fault. I could have broken away and begun healing long ago, but I hadn’t. Why?
Did I have some sick case of Stockholm syndrome?
I shuddered at the thought.
“I know, Roy,” I replied softly.
Rock, Lacey, and Reid entered the banquet room then, bringing this conversation to a halt, thank God.
Or so I thought.
Rock, never one to mince words—at least as much as I remembered—dived right in.
“You all right, Riley?”
I nodded.
“You sure? People who are all right don’t disappear without a trace.”
“Rock…” Roy began.
“It’s okay,” I said to Roy. “This time was all on me, but the others…”
“That bastard,” Rock said through gritted teeth.
My cheeks burned. All gazes fo
cused on me. All five of them.
“Hey,” Reid said. “We didn’t know.”
“I know that.”
“We would have stopped it. We would have found a way.”
“I already told her that,” Roy said.
“It merits repeating,” Reid said. “He was a motherfucker.”
“You mean daughterfucker.” Then I clamped my hand over my mouth.
How had I said that? How had those horrific words spewed out of my mouth?
“Hey,” Roy said. “Easy.”
“I don’t know why I said that. I mean, it’s true, but…”
“It happens,” Rock said. “Sometimes things are so awful that you can’t help but put them in the crudest terms possible. Trust me. I’ve been there.” He shook his head. “No, I take that back. I never went through anything like you went through, but there are things you don’t know about my life.”
Reid nodded. “Buffington. Yeah, we’ve heard stories.”
“I don’t know what you’ve heard”—Rock took a sip of his water—“but I’d imagine it’s all true.”
I fidgeted with my napkin for a few seconds, and then I met my oldest brother’s gaze. My brother, who’d been sent away because he’d been protecting me. Trying to keep my father from hurting me. Trying to save me from the life I was ultimately condemned to.
His eyes were clear and green. Gorgeous eyes, actually, but filled with not only rage but also sadness and regret.
What had happened to Rock? Because of me?
Lacey touched his arm lightly, as if offering him comfort.
Rock cleared his throat. “We didn’t come here to rehash old news.”
“Maybe not,” Reid said, “but I think we need to. What happened to you and what happened to Riley is important. We can’t forget those things, because those things represent exactly who our father was.”
Roy, who was usually quiet during these family meetings, cleared his throat and regarded me. “You and Rock weren’t Dad’s only victims.”
“I know,” I said. “He was tough on you and Reid too.”
“No, that’s not what I mean.”
This time it was Charlie touching Roy’s arm.
“I have something to tell you,” Roy continued. “Something I learned through my work with Dr. Woolcott.” He cleared his throat again. “And it’s not pretty.”
