by Nancy Warren
“Like I’m an old-fashioned guy.”
She pouted but he took no notice so she soon abandoned the effort. “Well, if you won’t stay at my house, we should at least try and be seen together a few places. I bought tickets to a charity ball for tomorrow night. I wasn’t planning to go, I only buy the tickets to support a good cause, but I wonder if we should?”
“Good thing I remembered to pack my black tie.”
She was very impressed with his foresight. “You did?”
He chuckled. “I’ve known you a long time, Gabby. You’re always dragging me to black tie affairs.”
“I can’t help it. I get invited to things. And it’s good for my business to be seen out and about doing glamorous things.”
“Everything you do is glamorous, simply because you do it.” It was a lovely compliment, and he said the words in a matter-of-fact way as though he weren’t trying to flatter. Merely stating truth.
Still, she was pleased. “Thank you.”
“Will you need me between now and tomorrow night?”
“I hope I’ll see you before then. After all, we just got engaged!” She didn’t know quite what she’d imagined when he’d agreed to her plan and promised to fly out and spend some time courting the media with her, but she’d had vague ideas of all the fun they used to have together. She’d imaged intimate dinners and dancing, maybe a few weekends away. He’d always been exciting and romantic. She’d pictured, as though there were a movie screen in her head, a romantic montage of running barefoot on the beach, sharing an ice cream, holding hands as they strolled into the best restaurants.
She’d imagined all the fun of the engagement without the actual business of getting married.
And he was booking her into his electronic calendar. “What time tomorrow night?”
“Wade . . .” She hadn’t had a lover in months and Wade was here, as gorgeous as ever, and he’d just put a very expensive diamond on her finger. She put her hand on his knee and gave him a look that suggested she was open to enjoying every minute of their engagement.
He read her mind as efficiently as ever. “What about Sandra?”
“Who is Sandra?”
“The woman I’m seeing in New York.”
She shook her head. “You’re not seeing anyone.”
His eyes darkened to flint. “And what makes you assume that?”
“I don’t assume. I know. I rang Taylor if you must know and he told me you and Sandra broke up a month ago. He said you’re not seeing anyone.” One of the advantages of having known Wade so long was that she also knew some of his closest friends. Taylor was a darling. Funny, charming, and as incapable of commitment as he was of keeping his mouth shut.
He let out a sigh. “I should have put a gag order on that guy.”
“Wouldn’t have helped. It’s his weakness; he always spills the beans. One of the reasons I love him.”
“Can I ask a blunt question?”
It wasn’t like they had anything else to do. Traffic was crawling. “Of course. We’ve always been honest with each other.”
“Too much so I sometimes think. Here’s my question. How is a bogus engagement going to solve your business problems? If we don’t get married, you’ll be one more woman who didn’t wear that dress.”
“I know. I have a two-pronged strategy. First, we haven’t set a wedding date. If anyone asks, we’re getting married next year. Then, next year we postpone for some reason. Hopefully by then my business will be back to booming and everyone will have forgotten all about this ridiculous curse.”
“And prong number two?”
She felt her composure slip a little. “I have to get this damn curse lifted.”
She felt his concern as he stared at her. “And how do you plan to do that?”
Her fingers formed a fist around her brand-new engagement ring and she consciously smoothed them out. She wasn’t going to chip her fresh manicure because of some dreadful Gypsy woman. She said, “We hired a detective to track down the woman who put a curse on me and the dress.”
“And when you find her? How will you persuade her to remove the curse?”
She shrugged the shoulders that had carried millions of dollars worth of couture over the years. “Money, of course.”
A slight frown pulled his brows together. “Money won’t buy everybody.”
“Well, in my experience, it will convince them of a lot of things.”
“What if you can’t find this woman?”
“I don’t know. How does one lift a curse?”
She didn’t mean it is a serious question but Wade seemed to treat it as such. He pondered for a moment. “I suppose you could try a witch. Or do they only put on curses like the three witches in Macbeth? Seems kind of un-witchlike behavior to remove curses. Unless it was a good witch.”
“How should I know? I’ve never been cursed before.”
“What about an exorcist?”
“I’m not demonically possessed,” she argued.
His lips quirked. “Anyone who’s witnessed one of your tantrums might disagree.”
She refused to rise to his bait. He’d witnessed a few of her famous meltdowns. Caused a few, in fact. But, unlike weaker sorts, he usually yelled right back at her.
He wrapped his fingers around her hand, which was still on his knee. “I’m sure if there are people who place curses there must be other people you can hire to remove them.”
When he said that it sounded so reasonable. “You really believe in the dark arts?”
“No. I don’t. But, your question suggested that the dark arts were a given. I was merely being polite.”
“I never believed in curses either, but I’m beginning to.” She brooded for a moment, watching the unmoving traffic. “I know what I’ll do, I’ll get together everyone who was in that room and we’ll try and remember exactly word for word what that woman said. Then there must be someone I can hire who can reverse it. And who speaks Gypsy.”
He nodded looking very serious. “Excellent plan.”
“There’s no need to be sarcastic,” she said with dignity.
He laughed. “Cheer up. If the absolute worst comes to worst you can always go back to modeling. You’re still beautiful enough.”
“There was a time when you wanted to marry me.”
“There was. Seems like a long time ago now, doesn’t it?”
“We were so young.”
“We were engaged, that one summer.”
“I remember it well. You’re the closest I ever came to getting married.” Maybe that’s why his name had leapt to her lips when she’d declared she was getting married.
When they dropped Wade off at the hotel where she assumed his meeting was, he said, “I’ll see you tomorrow evening then. Shall I pick you up?”
She said, “You’re really not staying at my place?”
“No. I told you. I’m staying in a hotel.”
“But, you’re single. And I want you to stay with me.” She was a newly fake-engaged woman. She felt she had rights that were being trampled.
Then, to her shock, instead of answering her properly, he leaned forward and kissed her swiftly on the lips before getting out of the car. Her driver unloaded his luggage and the bellhop whisked it away.
Wade followed the uniformed young man into the swanky hotel. He didn’t look back.
She couldn’t believe it. She’d actually offered to let him into her bed and he’d refused!
Chapter 6
Gabby dressed with more than her usual care for the charity ball. She knew she would be under scrutiny, but she was also honest enough to admit to herself that she was dressing for Wade. He had annoyed her. Oh yes, he’d been kind enough to fly out here to help her out of this jam, but she’d always believed he cared for her deeply.
However, he was treating her now was as though she were nothing but an old friend who needed a favor. Like an irritating cousin one could never quite prevent oneself from pulling out of scrapes. Well, sc
rew that. Wade must see her as a desirable woman who was forever out of his reach.
So, she wore a gown she’d bought from a Paris designer. It was a deep, blue silk that skimmed her body in all the right places. The designer had chosen the fabric because it exactly matched the color of her eyes. This was not a dress for fading into the corner. This was a gown that demanded attention. A bit like Gabby herself, if she was honest.
After years in the beauty business, she could do her own makeup as well or better than most of the professionals, but she did make an appointment with her hairstylist. It was a place where you had to book months in advance to get a spot but, naturally, they squeezed her in.
Wade had hired his own car and driver and, while she thought it was ridiculous when she employed her own, again she felt that shiver of approval. He was his own man and he liked control as much as she did.
When she walked into the ball, on Wade’s arm, she felt the flicker of interest. Almost immediately they were approached by a fresh-faced young woman with long, straight blonde hair. She wore a chic black dress that Gabby suspected was on loan from the designer. The girl had that slick, polished look of a fashion journalist. She said, in a very posh British accent, “I’m Phoebe Baker. And you’re the divine Evangeline! I’m so pleased to meet you. I’m the US editor for Cheerio! Magazine.”
Cheerio! was a British magazine that followed the antics of the royal family and had branched out to other monarchies and, finally, to celebrities. Mostly British ones. Evangeline had of course been featured in Cheerio! more than once, but not since Phoebe Baker had become the editor. “How nice to meet you.”
“I won’t waste your time. I’d love to do a photo shoot with you and your fiancé. If we could do something with you in the next couple of days we could put it first on our online edition and then it would hit the print edition next week. How does that sound?”
It sounded fantastic. Exactly the kind of decent exposure in a well-regarded publication that would put Mr. Dixon and his slime rag to shame. But, of course, she’d been a media celebrity for too long to sound eager. She said, “That’s a lovely idea. Wade and I would be delighted to appear in Cheerio! Call my office. My assistant will set something up.”
“Of course. I look forward to it.”
They circulated for a while and she quite liked the congratulations she received and the oohs and aahs over her engagement ring. Wade was the perfect date. He made sure she had a drink in her hand, he didn’t cling to her side but was always ready to rescue her if she got trapped by someone boring, and he was charming to everyone. Still, deep down, she was piqued. Apart from a slightly patronizing ‘you look lovely tonight,’ he hadn’t looked at her with hungry eyes the way he always used to.
When she’d turned instinctively to Wade, she had assumed he’d always be there for her. Oh, he was willing to help her, but his eyes didn’t glow the same way when he looked at her. And he’d turned down her very clear invitation to share her bed. She wasn’t sure she liked his new attitude.
After dinner and some well-meaning speeches the dancing began. Wade guided her out onto the floor and she remembered how very well they fit. Her body remembered so well the feel of being wrapped in his arms. Even his smell was familiar and very dear. After one dance he took her hand, almost abruptly, and led her back off the floor. She was positive he had felt the memory of their bodies together too and didn’t like it.
As they wandered back to their table, chatting here and there and stopping to receive more congratulations, she saw a man she recognized but couldn’t quite place. Then, in a flash of recognition, she realized it was Edward Carnarvon, the man who was supposed to marry Kate Winton-Jones. She excused herself and walked over to where Edward stood. Beside him was a stunning redhead wearing a dress that was just a shade too tight and makeup that was just a shade too heavily applied.
This was the woman dull Edward had chosen over the classically elegant Kate Winton-Jones? That wedding gown really was cursed! Of course none of her thoughts showed on her face as she said, “Excuse me, you’re Edward Carnarvon?”
He turned to her. She saw him run through the same mental Rolodex that she had with him and then he said, “Evangeline.”
She gave a tinkle of silvery laughter. “Very good. We’ve never actually met, but I designed a dress for your former fiancée.”
He nodded. Then he put his arm around the redhead. “I don’t believe you’ve met Marlene?”
They exchanged a few pleasantries. Her plan to get everyone who had been in the room when the dress was cursed back together depended on her getting hold of Kate, but the phone number she had was no longer working. She imagined Edward must have a way to get hold of his former fiancée, but she realized she could not risk discussing the cursed dress in a crowded ballroom so she said, “There’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”
He seemed surprised and glanced over at the redhead. It was Marlene who said, “Why don’t you come by the house tomorrow?”
Come by the house? The woman made it sound like she’d be dropping by for a neighborhood potluck. But, she realized, complete privacy was all she required. If that meant ‘dropping by the house,’ she supposed she’d drop. She put on a gracious smile. “That would be lovely.”
“I’ll give you the address. Come for coffee. Anytime after ten.” She winked and rubbed her lush body against Edward’s. “We’ll probably sleep in.”
Chapter 7
Normally, Gabby liked driving. She loved getting behind the wheel of a fast convertible. She kept her car and driver for practical reasons. She didn’t waste time parking or inching along in moving traffic when she could be in the back on her cell phone, her laptop or even playing with design ideas, which she always did with paper and pencil. When he wasn’t driving her, Carlos also ran errands and made deliveries.
Still, when she had the chance, it was fun to get behind the wheel. Never one to follow the instructions of a GPS, she didn’t even mind it when she got lost. It was an adventure discovering new streets and neighborhoods.
Edward Carnarvon’s house was not what she would have expected of one of California’s wealthiest bachelors from a distinguished family. At first she thought she was lost when she entered the quiet, suburban street of modest ranch houses. She vaguely recalled that his family had not approved of the new woman in his life. Perhaps that’s why he was currently living in modest circumstances. Well, it wasn’t any of her business.
She pulled up in front of the small rancher, walked up the neatly kept path and knocked on the door. The statuesque redhead opened the door. Marlene, that was her name. Even though it was Saturday morning, Marlene, like Gabby, was fully made up for the day. “Come on in. I’ve got the coffee on.”
“Wonderful.”
The house might be modest on the outside but inside someone had dropped a fair bit of money. The floors were Brazilian Cherry and the kitchen would have looked right at home in a New York penthouse. Edward was loading the dishwasher with the look of a man playing house. She said, “Good morning, Edward.”
“Morning. And it’s Ted.”
“Thank you for seeing me today.” She had rehearsed and thought about what she was going to say but there was no easy way to talk about this. She offered a few compliments on the house and Marlene told her a little bit about the area, none of which she listened to. She accepted a cup of coffee and refused the plate of cookies Marlene offered her.
When the three of them were seated in a comfortable den off the kitchen, she asked, “May we talk in complete confidence?”
Edward Carnarvon she wasn’t worried about. But Red here looked like she might be the type to run to the paparazzi with tidbits of news and juicy gossip. But, as she made eye contact with Marlene, the woman’s eyes began to dance with amusement. And understanding. She had a moment where she felt that she knew this woman. Had Gabby Brock not been scouted by a top modeling agency, she could imagine that she might have turned out something like this. And, she had to
say, Marlene had done pretty well for herself. Ted might not be the most exciting man on the block, but he was quite a catch. Marlene said, “We’ll keep our mouths shut.”
It wasn’t a signed nondisclosure statement but her gut said she could trust Marlene and Ted and when she listened to her gut she rarely went wrong. She nodded briskly. “I’m here because of this curse that is ruining my business. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you the story behind it.”
Ted drummed his blunt fingertips on his lap. A heavy gold signet ring glowed. “You don’t seriously believe you’ve been cursed, do you?”
How to answer this? “I did not believe it when it first happened. But, in the last few months, since that crazy woman first cursed me and that dress, nothing’s gone right. Not one single bride has worn that dress and it keeps getting handed on. Somebody’s leaking damaging rumors to the press. All I know is my business really is suffering. If that’s not a curse, then what is?”
She kept to herself the fact that the one man in all the world she had always believed would love her forever seemed to have changed his mind.
Ted said, “All of those things could simply be coincidence.”
He was obviously a man who dealt with the facts and figures of the business world. He was clearly not a person of imagination. The only interesting thing he’d ever done was to take up with Marlene. Marlene, however, appeared both sympathetic and concerned. She said, “What can we do to help?”
Gabby so rarely got offered help that she was momentarily taken aback. No one in her experience helped people without expecting something in return. Then she noticed the golf-ball sized chunk of diamond on the woman’s engagement finger and realized that, in fact, she did want something. Of course, this woman was getting married and she wanted Evangeline to design her a gown.
Normally, Gabby would take one look at Marlene and turn her down as a client. It wasn’t that she wasn’t attractive, because she was, and the statuesque body would be fun to design for. But, Evangeline dresses were part fantasy. She liked young, fresh-faced brides who were dewy with possibilities and starry-eyed with hope. Marlene had been around the block a few times and her eyes seemed less starry-eyed than cynically amused by the world.
