Caught in the Frame (21 page)

After being showered with more cheek kisses than she could count, and having been squeezed practically to death by a bevy of delighted, soft-skinned Spaniards, Chloe began to understand how easily Lila had been drawn into Javier’s close-knit family. They made her feel included, even loved, within minutes of meeting them.

Baylee barely made it down the stone steps toward the milling horde before being surrounded and eventually shuffled out of sight. Tomas was hoping to be cleared to travel the next day, but Chloe was sure Baylee was in good hands until then. Earlier in the day, Antoine had delivered the welcome news that no charges would be filed against Baylee or Javier for breaking into Remy’s room, provided they both testify when his case came to court. In trade, Remy would plead out to a lesser offense on the kidnapping charges. He’d still be spending most of his twilight years in a correctional facility, but it would be a minimum security one versus a federal penitentiary.

And then, Lila dropped a bombshell on Chloe. “You’ll be meeting your new step siblings later on today,” she said, as though this wasn’t entirely new information.

“My new what?” Chloe couldn’t process the words. “You couldn’t have told me before?”

“You didn’t ask,” A trace of rebuke was softened by a smile. “We were busy and things have been frantic. It never came up.”

A dozen thoughts crowded into Chloe’s mind. How many siblings was she about to gain? Would they like her? Being an only child had its privileges, and yet it had also, at times, meant for a lonely childhood. Changing schools, leaving friends behind, and never having anyone else with the same experiences had left more of a hole in Chloe than she realized. It might be late in the game, but sisters and brothers, if they were anything like the rest of the clan she’d met so far, weren’t an entirely horrible prospect. Nerve wracking maybe, but good.

“How many siblings am I about to get? Are they younger or older?” The questions came rapid fire. “Do they know about me, at least?”

Lila held up a hand to stop Chloe talking, “Three. A sister and two brothers. All younger, but not by a lot. They can’t wait to meet you.”

“You still could have told me.”

“Yes, Dear, but it wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun.”

* * *

The sun hung low on the horizon when Javier’s progeny made their arrival. In style—in a helicopter with the Garritek logo emblazoned across the side. The whirlybird touched down just long enough to discharge it’s passengers, then lifted off quickly. As it rose into the sky, Chloe felt like it took her stomach along with it.

Javier rushed ahead to greet them while Lila and Chloe hung back, allowing them a moment. She experienced a moment of envy when Javier greeted his daughter by picking her up and giving her a whirl as though she were eight years old instead of closer to twenty-eight. It was a father/daughter thing, she supposed. Not that she’d had any experience with those. Chestnut curls framed a delicate face and played off the woman’s full, red lips. Javier certainly made attractive children.

All the feelings of not fitting in roared back through Chloe like stampeding stallions when the young people greeted Lila with hugs and familiarity. Inch by inch, her spine stiffened, the old shields built up and up. She felt like a mile of distance separated her from them, and this time, it was worse, because her mother was on the other side of the divide, still talking animatedly with the sloe-eyed beauty.

“Chloe.” Javier’s questioning tone pulled Chloe back to focus. Flanking him, his two sons looked enough alike to be twins—twins who bore a marked resemblance to their father. The same white smiles, smooth olive skin, and warm, generous eyes. Only their hairstyles and clothing choices differed.

Fatherly pride radiated from Javier as he introduced first Cisco, who wore ripped jeans and a band tee—a shock of raven hair angled over his forehead, and then Miguel who favored his father’s relaxed, yet classic style. Chloe wasn’t sure what kind of greeting they expected, so she slapped on a tentative smile and held out her hand.

Before she had time to utter the first word of greeting, Chloe was nearly knocked over by five feet-two inches of dynamite. “I am Bianca. I have wanted so long to have a sister and all I get are these two—” Bianca let go of Chloe and waved a dramatic arm toward her two brothers. “Come, we will go inside, get a nice limoncello and get to know one another.” It wasn’t like she had a choice; Bianca possessed a firm grip and an iron determination. Her smile, though, was warm, and thawed Chloe’s resistance. She let the chattering Bianca lead her away with only a short backward glance, which showed Lila looking slightly misty.

* * *

When Lila had described Javier’s mother, Concetta, as a firecracker, she couldn’t have been more on point. Shorter than Chloe by almost a foot, and nearly as round as she was tall, Concetta possessed a certain
joie de vivre
, even at her advanced age. Cha-cha-cha-ing across the pub stage, singing a spirited karaoke version of an old disco-era tune in beautiful Spanish, she had everyone in the audience on their feet. With a final bow and a conspiratorial wink in Chloe’s direction, she handed off the microphone to Lila once more.

In another life, Chloe’s mother might have had a very successful singing career, and Lila never turned down an opportunity to display her talented pipes. As she took the stage for at least the tenth time that night with naked glee, Chloe knew they had hit the bachelorette party nail on the head.

No inappropriate phallic-shaped ice cubes or embarrassing plastic tiaras for Lila; two-hundred-dollar bottles of Crystal flowed like water into Swarovski flutes alongside caviar-covered toast points and pate de foie gras. Maybe the karaoke wasn’t in keeping with the otherwise five-star accommodations, but the juxtaposition was wholly
Lila.

Over the evening, instead of dwindling, the crowd swelled for a time as more new arrivals stopped in for a bit of the bubbly, and few minutes of hobnobbing with the bride-to-be. She sang a few more songs, and even dragged Chloe and up on stage to harmonize while EV got into a long discussion on the merits of hugelkultur gardening beds with one of Javi’s sisters, also an avid vegetable grower.

Hours later, when the party finally wound down, Lila, EV, Chloe, and Javier’s family settled around a large round table in the quieter section of the room. Talk turned to anecdotes and marriage advice—mostly given by the women in Javier’s family, since Faith was the only married member of the wedding party. Lila listened politely to cautions of how love changes over time with the intention of ignoring every word completely. It had taken her this long to find Javier and whatever the future might bring, one thing was certain, they would handle it together.

“I was afraid my Javi would never find love again,” Concetta’s brown eyes twinkled merrily, if a little tipsily, “you make him happy. My blessing upon you both.”

* * *

Hoping for a good night message from Nate, Chloe pulled her phone out of a purse so dainty, it hardly had room for anything else. The first thing she saw was an email notification from Wesley:

Hey Chlo,

Just following up with that info you wanted. I stumbled onto a site with cached archives of a few gossip rags, and finally found some usable information.

What followed after was an illuminating series of snippets that quickly came together to paint an unflattering picture.

Bingo. Oh, Hannah, you’ve been a naughty girl.

It seemed Ms. Frank had been either hard up for some extra cash, or so intent on building her business that she forgot to protect her clients’ privacy. As an insider, she had access to a plethora of private details surrounding several five-star celebrity weddings, and hadn’t hesitated to sell their secrets—and a few photographs—to any print or online magazine willing to pay big bucks.

Though not technically illegal, the breech in trust prompted a few high-profile clients to spread the word. It looked like an attempt at damage control had pulled the mentions from the sites, but not from the independent archives. Even then, it hadn’t been enough, and Hannah’s business tanked. Lila was right; this was her last chance at salvaging her career, and Chloe guessed she would stop at nothing to get back into Tinseltown’s good graces.

“I think it’s time we headed off to bed. Good thing we’ve got a day between now and the wedding, because I doubt any of us are going to be at our best in the morning.” EV squinted at her watch. It was past 2:00 am and she’d gone beyond her typical number of alcohol servings. She wasn’t drunk, but she wasn’t sober, either. The pub was nearly empty since the Rosales clan had succumbed to too many glasses of champagne and trickled off to bed. Only the bride, Chloe, Faith, and Baylee remained. A chorus of agreement resounded.

Lila stifled a yawn and surveyed the room, her eyes narrowing as something—or someone—caught her attention. “In a minute; there’s something we’ve got to take care of.”

* * *

“Not so fast, Hannah Banana. Hand it over.” Chloe breathed down Hannah’s neck, as Lila, EV, Faith and Baylee surrounded the woman, who searched for an escape, but to no avail. “We saw you snapping photos with your little camera phone; and I’ve been monitoring your Twitter and Facebook feeds. We know you’ve been stalking us, pretending to be Lila’s right hand; and we know you’ve contacted
The Tattler
offering pics of my mother’s wedding in exchange for cash. I’ve got my connections, same as you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was just grabbing a quick drink, and now I think I’ll head up to my room.” EV, Faith, and Baylee linked arms, positioning themselves between Lila and Chloe, and forcing Hannah to remain seated.

“How dare you try and capitalize on my wedding!” Lila nearly shrieked. Chloe almost felt sorry for Hannah, considering the verbal assault she was about to endure—almost, but not quite. “I told you no when you called me a month ago; told you I was perfectly capable of planning my own wedding. You must realize I have friends and acquaintances all over the globe, so I know you know that I’m well aware you pulled a few shenanigans. Using low-quality products and charging premium prices! That’s just sad!”

This was a new one for Chloe, but it didn’t come as much of a shock, given Hannah’s other indiscretions. “You’re lucky you got off on a technicality,” Chloe interjected, “and weren’t sent to jail for breech of privacy when you started selling photos to the gossip rags. But your little game is up; get a life, and get a real job!”

Lila snatched the phone away from Hannah and began to scroll through the photo gallery. Disgust etched further into her face with each swipe, until finally she plunked the device into Hannah’s own half-empty drink. “Try getting anything useful off that, now!” She spat. “And if I ever—I repeat, ever—see an unauthorized photograph of me, my family, or my wedding that even so much as carries your sickly-sweet scent, I’ll bankrupt you in legal fees so fast your little bobble-head will spin. Do I make myself clear?”

Hannah’s shoulders shook with silent sobs, left her phone and drink at the bar and scuttled out of the room without another word. The second she disappeared around the corner, grins spread across the five women’s faces as they gazed at each other in turn.

A low whistle escaped EV’s lips. “Remind me never to get on either of your bad sides!”

“I’ll drink to that!” Faith ordered a round of fruity pink shots before dragging them all onto the dance floor for one last song, late hour be damned.

Chapter 20

Now that the moment of truth was upon her, EV wouldn’t let a little thing like a mild hangover and a black eye stop her from seeing Dalton. Dealing with Remy’s arrest had taken up half the night after they’d gotten a confession out of him. The next morning, he’d been incredibly patient when wedding duties kept her from finding a quiet moment to spend with him. The best she’d been able to do was exchange a shrug and a smile each time she’d caught sight of him. He’d checked on her throughout the day, and each glimpse of him watching over her sent her heart racing, pooled heat in her belly. With the bachelorette party behind them, and the wedding tomorrow, Lila had scheduled today as time to spend with Javier’s family, leaving EV completely free.

When they came together this time, no ghosts would stand between them.

Chloe’s note on the bedside table read:

Faith fell asleep in my bed, so Nate and I are taking hers, which leaves Dalton all alone. Don’t tell Mother where I am until at least noon, and don’t be an idiot. Go to him.

Impertinent brat.

Yet, the wisdom was undeniable, and EV meant to do just that. She brushed the morning-after fuzziness from her teeth, downed a glass of water, and let the hot spray from the shower beat away the last of the cobwebs. A headline on one of those women-shouldn’t-take-crap-from-anyone-but-they-should-still-look-good magazines in the gift shop insisted that Fifty is the New Thirty. A frank assessment of her body in the mirror told her she still looked good, but maybe not thirty-good. So what if her butt was moving south for the winter, and her breasts rode a little closer to her waist. She wasn’t too old for a new love, right? If there was anything in her life to regret, it was having spent way too much time hoarding her secret pain like a broody hen.

Having her loss dragged kicking and screaming out into the light had tamed it from a hideous monster to a healing wound she could carry without bending under the weight. Telling someone—being vulnerable enough to share the burden—takes strength, but not as much as it does to carry alone. Ridiculous to be learning something so basic, so seemingly simple a lesson at her age.