She quickly chose a Miriam Haskell chain and Trifari flowers from the dozens and dozens of fine vintage costume pieces she’d saved from destruction and restored to their former glory.
Giving them new life by putting them together in her own designs gave her such pleasure. Creating these designs was her private passion, a secret she couldn’t bring herself to share with anyone yet.
She placed two Trifari flowers on the gold Miriam Haskell chain. Moved each piece to a different link, added a burnishing gold watch fob, and changed their positions again and again.
Tonight nothing caught her imagination.
Tonight nothing gave her the usual thrill.
Tonight it all made her think of Connor and Bridget’s mermaid brooch.
Okay, so I’m thoroughly humiliated, but what if Connor is telling the truth?
Given how much she mistrusted all Clayworths and that Connor had just given her another reason to do so, her instincts said he lied.
But what if he isn’t lying?
Hard as she tried, she couldn’t get past the same nagging worries. Why else would he want the mermaid brooch back if not for his aunt? What if Bridget truly regretted her decision because Tony’s feelings were hurt, just as Venus feared?
Maybe they were fighting about it. Maybe Connor could honest to goodness be trying to do something thoughtful for his aunt. After all, his devotion to Bridget and Tony was one of his few redeeming qualities.
Wistful about possibly returning it, Venus slid the brooch off the heavy chain she used when wearing it as a pendant.
She ran her fingertips across the perfect workmanship, the delicacy of the mermaid’s face, the cascade of her aurora borealis hair, the magnificent facets of her rhinestone body.
She knew the trick with rhinestones was in the cutting to make them sparkle and here in the pure light of her studio this one had such brilliance it looked like a…
Shivers of shock ran along her skin.
No, it can’t be. I must be imagining it.
Her fingers trembled, trying to focus her intense light and her most powerful magnifying glass directly on the brooch.
As it had outside the back door of Pandora’s Box on the morning of the robbery, time seemed to stand still while she studied the mermaid.
A diamond. Her body is a diamond.
Disbelief burning her skin, Venus slowly turned the mermaid over. She focused her strongest lens, searching for the tiny unique marking she’d never in a million years thought to look for when she’d first found the brooch in Bridget’s closet.
The mark is here.
She stared down at it for what seemed like hours while shock filled every cell of her body.
Still not believing, wanting to study the brooch from a different angle, she turned the mermaid face up.
She fell back in her chair, nearly hypnotized by the mermaid brought to all her true glory in the pure light of the studio.
This isn’t a copy of the mermaid brooch stolen from Clayworth’s. It is the original Eisenberg brooch, made of precious stones worth a small fortune.
Her heart banged against her ribs and nausea welled up in her throat as Bridget’s words rang over and over in her ears.
“The brooch was a gift from Tony.”
Waves of heat paralyzed Venus in her chair. The light bathing the mermaid blazed too bright, too revealing. The diamond at the heart of the brooch began to shimmer around its edges. Tormented by questions, she couldn’t stop staring down at it, trying to find answers.
I need to tell Bridget the truth.
Venus jumped up, pushing away from the work table so hard the chair banged against the wall of the loft. The sound vibrated along her frayed, tingling nerves.
But what is the truth?
Did Connor know Tony stole the brooch, and did he want it back before Venus discovered the truth? But why would Tony steal? If for the money, why wouldn’t he have sold it years ago? Did Bridget suspect the truth? And was that why she seemed so desperately unhappy? Would Connor turn on Tony, as he had turned on her father when he was accused of wrongdoing?
Afraid her trembling would cause her to drop the brooch, she picked it up with both hands, resting it on her palms.
Its beauty still enchanted her, but now the secrets it might reveal made her sick with raw dread.
A part of her despised what she planned to do. Another part accepted she had no choice.
As hard as she tried to stop shaking, it took her several failed attempts to slide the brooch back onto the chain and attach it around her neck.
The brooch burned against her skin and she placed her hand protectively over the mermaid.
I promise to keep you safe until I learn all your secrets.
Chapter 8
I need to tell Bridget the truth. Now.
Venus repeated it again and again, making herself believe it.
Sick at the thought of what this might reveal about Tony, Venus stared blindly out into the frosty night, hesitating on the front porch.
All at once she felt as if no one was who they appeared to be. Earlier, Connor had totally fooled her. Now Tony might be unmasked as a thief.
Is this how people feel about my dad?
She shook her head, hating the thought.
I’m thinking like a crazy person because I’m terrified to hurt Bridget and Tony. But I need to find out the truth for everyone’s sake.
Turning slowly, she sucked in an icy breath and rang the bell at Bridget and Tony’s Astor Street brownstone.
A moment later Connor flung open the door.
Her heart felt as if it fell to her toes, leaving her empty and cold inside.
“What are you doing here?” she blurted out.
“Eating pizza.” He looked surprised. Then on alert. “What’s wrong?”
She saw Bridget behind him, and beyond, Tony, slowly rising from a table in front of the living-room fireplace.
“What’s wrong is you lettin’ Venus get a chill standin’ on my porch.” Bridget stepped in front of Connor and pulled Venus inside.
“What a nice surprise. We’re sittin’ down to Tony’s famous pizza. It’s chicken breast and mushroom tonight. There’s plenty for you. Won’t you please join us, Venus?”
Gathering her courage, Venus shook her head. “No, thank you. I’d just like to talk to you alone for a few minutes.”
Venus felt Connor’s gaze scalding her face and tried to avoid looking at him. The heat and tension became so intense, so unbearable she held her breath and gave in to turn to him.
“You’ve come about the mermaid brooch, haven’t you, Venus?” he asked softly, as if they were alone.
Now she honest to goodness couldn’t look away from his emerald eyes pleading with her, even when she heard Tony’s deep, ragged sigh.
“Connor Clayworth O’Flynn, I told you not to interfere in this,” Bridget gasped, breaking the spell.
Connor glanced away and at last Venus could draw air into her starving lungs.
“I’m sorry, Aunt Bridget, but it’s obvious the brooch is important to both of you. I asked Venus to sell it back to you.”
Chilled to her soul by what she needed to do, Venus stepped closer to Bridget. “And I said I wanted to talk to you myself. Just the two of us.”
“Whatever you need, Venus.” Bridget clasped her hand and squeezed her fingers. “I’m sorry my nephew failed to honor my wishes.”
Oh, my God, I’m doing the same thing with my dad by not letting go of my feelings for the Clayworths and now I’m more involved than ever.
All at once new fear pounded through her. Again she told herself they all needed to know the truth. Now more than ever.
Believing she had no choice didn’t make Venus feel any less heartsick as she ignored Connor to follow Bridget into a small den and shut the door behind her.
The walnut-paneled room felt warm, cozy.
Then why am I shivering so much my teeth are chattering?
Every tabletop and the
stone fireplace mantel held framed pictures of Bridget and Tony, and more often than not, of the two of them, smiling, with Connor beside them.
Feeling worse by the second, Venus forced herself to look away from the signs of their happiness and give Bridget the news that would change everything for her.
“Venus, it can’t be as bad as all that. Please sit down before you fall. Never seen you so upset. Except about your dad.” Bridget patted her shoulder. “Don’t fret about this mermaid brooch business.”
“We have to fret about it.”
Oh, Bridget, please don’t hate the messenger. Please be able to explain all this away, for your sake.
“Your mermaid brooch isn’t worth the twenty-five hundred dollars I donated to Connor’s Golden Gloves Gym. It’s the original brooch stolen from Clayworth’s and now worth conservatively a quarter of a million dollars,” she blurted out, not knowing how else to do it.
All the color drained from Bridget’s face as she recoiled, backing into a side table. Two picture frames tottered and one fell onto the wood floor with a crash.
They both stared down at the photo of Bridget and Tony smiling through shattered glass.
An instant later the door burst open and Connor rushed in, Tony a few steps behind him.
“Venus, what happened?” Connor’s eyes searched her face.
“Cara, are you all right?” Tony hurried to Bridget to clasp her shoulders with his hands.
The look Bridget gave him froze Venus’s blood. Connor seemed to turn into a statue beside her. He must have also seen the way Bridget recoiled from Tony’s touch. She and Connor both seemed paralyzed by the emotions erupting between Bridget and Tony. Not wanting to watch, but unable to drag their eyes away.
“Cara, for the love of God tell me what’s wrong.” Tony dropped his hands and fell back one step.
“Venus, do you have the mermaid brooch with you?”
Bridget’s voice sounded full of emotion, like a dam ready to burst, and she looked tense, coiled so tight if she broke she’d spin out of control. Hot tears welled up in Venus’s eyes, feeling her pain.
Slowly, Venus pulled the chain out into the open to cradle the mermaid on her palm. “Yes, it’s here,” she whispered through a scalding pool at the back of her throat.
Bridget’s gaze never wavered from Tony’s face. “Is that the brooch you gave me for my twenty-fifth birthday? The one you told me you bought from an antique dealer?”
Tony glanced at the mermaid and quickly back to stare into Bridget’s eyes.
“If it is the brooch you sold Venus from your hope chest, then you know it is, cara.”
“Then Venus says it’s the original brooch that was stolen from Clayworth’s decades ago.”
“That’s not possible!” Connor exploded beside her.
Despite wanting to throw up, Venus turned, determined to see this through with him. “It is true, Connor.”
“When did you make this great discovery, Venus? You’ve had the brooch for nearly a week.”
His heavy edge of sarcasm wasn’t wasted on her. In this instant, with this subject, his lawyer persona and Clayworth confidence didn’t intimidate her. This was too important for all of them for her to stop now.
“I’m an expert on vintage couture jewelry. That is what I assumed I found in Bridget’s closet.” Their eyes locked and the hot ache in her throat spread down into her chest. “Why would I think any different? Especially after Bridget told me Tony gave it to her.”
“Today after our talk I started thinking.” She heard the sarcasm in her voice and took a deep breath to stop it. “Started thinking about the brooch and how maybe Bridget really did want it back. If that was true, I would of course return it.”
Encouraged by Bridget and Tony’s rapt attention and the speculative gleam in Connor’s eyes, she plunged on.
“So I took the brooch off the chain to really look at it for the last time. I was in my design studio at my town house.”
“Sometimes I repair jewelry at home, so I have all the tools. Magnifying glass. Jewelry loupes and special lens. High-powered lights. All the standard equipment needed to distinguish real gemstones from high-quality faux.”
It cut Venus to her core to see the shock and pain intensifying across Bridget’s face as Tony’s stony visage grew even sharper, but she had no choice but to finish what she’d started.
“I’m so sorry. I know this is… this is difficult to believe. At first I couldn’t believe it myself.” She cradled the mermaid in her hand. “This is for real. After the Eisenbergs made the original they signed and dated it in a unique way because they never used real gems, except this one time. Then they destroyed the mold, so there is no way this can be anything but the Eisenberg mermaid brooch they designed for Clayworth’s.”
All the air seemed to have fled the room, leaving a vacuum that felt so crushing she could hardly draw breath.
“Cara, believe me, I did not steal it.” Tony’s words filled the room like an explosion.
“No one believes you did, Uncle Tony.” Connor flicked her a glare as if daring her to disagree.
“You lied to me that night about where you got it, didn’t you? Tell us the truth now, Tony.” Bridget’s quiet voice silenced any attempt Venus might have made to say anything.
“Some man gave it to me. A stranger. On Taylor Street. I swear that is what happened.”
Bridget closed her eyes, and when she opened them, tears hung on her lashes. “From the moment Venus found the brooch I haven’t been able to stop thinkin’ about the night you gave it to me. What we both said. What we both did.” All the emotion Bridget had held back now poured out in her voice and in the tears cascading down her cheeks. “Earlier that night you swearin’ on your mother’s grave you would never go down to Taylor Street to gamble again. And me swearin’ that if you did go, if you didn’t stop gamblin’ we were through. I’d never marry you,” Bridget ended in a deep shuddering sob.
Beside her, Connor moved. From deep inside Venus some primal feminine instinct forced her to reach out to clasp his arm, stopping him from going to his aunt. She knew this moment belonged to Bridget and Tony alone.
“Cara, I admit I lied that night. I did go down to Taylor Street one last time to gamble. I was young. Foolish. Desperate to win enough money for your engagement ring.” Tony stretched out his hands toward Bridget in such a beseeching gesture that Venus’s heart broke for him.
“After I lost, I sat dejected on the curb and a man approached me. He said he’d been watching me and could see that I needed help. He pulled out the velvet box and told me he had won the brooch at a high-stakes poker game from a man who didn’t deserve such beauty. He sensed I would give it the home it deserved. I was afraid you wouldn’t believe me if I told you the truth.”
Bridget’s harsh bark of laughter sent a chill prickling along Venus’s skin.
“You expect me to believe that urban legend about ‘the Saint of Taylor Street’ goin’ around helpin’ strangers in need? He gave you a brooch worth a fortune because you were upset?”
Tony placed his palms over his heart. “I confess to lying to you about gambling that night and about how I received the brooch. Now I swear I am telling the truth.”
All the color drained from Bridget’s face and she swayed. “That whole night is a fabric of lies between the two of us. I’ve always known you went down to Taylor Street only hours after you swore you wouldn’t.”
Tony’s whole body tensed. Venus could see it in his rigid shoulders and clenched fists.
“I was so angry and upset that night I followed you. When I saw you go into the restaurant I knew you were goin’ to that illegal club underneath the parkin’ lot. Then I realized my word meant as little as yours. I loved you too much to leave you, although I’d sworn I would. But somethin’ inside me closed off. I loved you but my trust in you was gone.” Bridget took a long shuddering breath. “After a while I thought I’d buried those feelings. That maybe it didn’t matter, but in
my heart I knew it did. Now there’s even more secrets about that night. How can I believe this feeble story about how you got the stolen brooch when everythin’ else about that night was a lie?” She squeezed her eyes closed, more tears glistening in her startling green eyes.
“Cara, why would I steal the brooch and then leave it languishing in your closet for decades? This whole scenario is madness. I never dreamed the brooch could be the original. How can you not believe me?” Tony pleaded.
“Because you’ve been lying to me for years and I’ve loved you too much to stop it for fear I’d lose you completely.” Bridget’s deep ragged sobs were too much to bear.
Connor tore from Venus’s weak grasp and moved to stand beside his aunt.
“Aunt Bridget, you know Tony’s not a thief. There’s another explanation for all of this. There must be.”
Venus agreed, nodding so hard her neck ached. She wanted to believe Tony the way she wanted everyone to believe in her father’s innocence. Somehow she knew Diana would believe Tony’s story. Deep inside she sensed it was true.
“After all these years, after all our shared memories, how can you think he might be guilty?” Connor asked ever so gently, as if Bridget might shatter like glass if he wasn’t careful.
“Because he’s been sneakin’ off behind my back and goin’ to Taylor Street every week for years and years.”
Tony aged before Venus’s eyes in the slump of his shoulders, his slack-jawed shock and stricken eyes.
“You knew and yet you never said a word?” Tony breathed in a whisper.
“Think about it, Tony,” Bridget sobbed. “Over the years I asked you in a thousand different ways for the truth. I can get others to tell me the truth with a look, but not you. Not the man who professes to love me. Finally I chose to live in denial, like all deluded women do. But now that Venus has unearthed the brooch again and she found out the truth it’s the catalyst I needed to finally end all our lies.”
Deep sobs racking her body, Bridget reached out toward Connor and he gathered her to his side.
“Connor, please don’t say anythin’ more. What I want now is for you to take me back to your place. I need time alone.”
All I Want Is You Page 8
