“So they whisper behind his back,” Laurant interjected.
Lorna ignored her. “FBI agents don’t make much money, do they?”
“Are you asking me if I can afford the ring?” Nick wondered.
“I wasn’t going to be that forward.”
Nick squeezed Laurant’s hand. “I live a comfortable life. Family trust,” he added.
“Then you’re rich?”
“For heaven’s sake, Lorna. It’s none of your—”
Nick placed his other hand on Laurant’s shoulder and said sweetly, “Now, darling, don’t get all bent out of shape. Lorna’s just curious.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “Curious. Where are you from, Nick? You don’t mind if I call you Nick, do you?”
“No, of course not. I live in Boston. I was raised on Nathan’s Bay.”
“Will you be taking Laurant to Boston after you’re married?”
“No. We’re going to be living here. I’ll be doing a lot of traveling, but I can be based anywhere, and Laurant loves this town. It’s growing on me too.”
“But Laurant won’t have to work after you’re married, will she?”
“I’m not selling the store, Lorna, so give it up,” Laurant snapped.
“You’re holding up progress, Laura.”
“Tough.” It wasn’t a great comeback, but it was the best she could do on the spur of the moment. “And I happen to want to work.”
“Of course you do.” Her tone was condescending.
“If Laurant wants to work, she will,” Nick said. “She’s a modern, independent woman, and I’ll support whatever she does.”
Lorna closed her notebook and stuffed it in her bag. Then she turned her full, patronizing attention on Laurant.
“I want to believe this one’s the real thing, but honestly, I have my doubts. I certainly don’t want to be forced to print yet another retraction. I just hate doing that. People believe that what I print in my column is true, so you can understand my concern.”
Nick draped his arm around Laurant’s shoulders and pulled her into his side.
“You’ve had to print a retraction about Laurant?”
“Twice I’ve had to do it,” Lorna said.
“It’s not important,” Laurant blurted. “We really need to get going. I’ve got a lot to get done this afternoon.”
“I’m sure you’ve noticed what a small town Holy Oaks is,” Lorna began. “But I’m actually quite important here. I’m the society editor at the
Gazette
. People depend on me to keep them abreast of the latest happenings about town. They also expect me to be accurate, but your fiancée has made that task extremely difficult. I’ve gotten to the point where I just hate writing anything about her. I really do.”
“Then don’t,” Laurant suggested.
Turning back to Nick, Lorna continued, “As I was telling you before I was so rudely interrupted, Laura keeps changing her mind. I mentioned in one of my articles that Steve Brenner and Laura were a serious item and that marriage appeared to be on the horizon, but I was forced to print a retraction.”
She paused to smirk at Laurant before continuing. “She made me do it. Can you imagine? My credibility was on the line, but she didn’t care about that. She still insisted I print a retraction.”
“Because it wasn’t true,” Laurant pointed out in exasperation. “I’ve never dated Steve Brenner and you know it, but you didn’t care about being accurate, Lorna. Did you?”
Laurant’s French accent was getting thicker, a dead giveaway that she was upset.
“Must you be insulting? I am accurate. I print what I’m told.”
“If memory serves, you wrote about my wedding plans.”
Laurant was backing her into a corner, and Lorna didn’t like that one bit. “I can’t remember the details now, but I’m sure I must have gotten it straight from the horse’s mouth or I wouldn’t have printed it,” she muttered, her lips puckered with distaste now.
“The horse being Steve Brenner?” Nick asked.
“I’ll admit I might have . . . exaggerated a bit, to make the article newsworthy,” she explained. “But I certainly didn’t make it all up, no matter what Laura’s told you. I have my reputation to protect.”
“What did Steve have to say about the article?”
Lorna shrugged. “He didn’t say anything about it. Have you met him yet?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“You’ll like him,” Lorna predicted. “Everyone likes him, everyone but Laura,” she said, waving her hand at Laurant. “Steve wants to improve the economy here, and he’s done so much to help this town. I know he must have been as embarrassed as I was about the retraction, but he never said a word. He wouldn’t, of course. He’s such a gentleman. I wouldn’t have printed that retraction at all if Lauren hadn’t threatened to go over my head. She can be a very . . . difficult woman.”
“We really need to get going,” Laurant said again. She had had enough of Little Lorna.
Nick didn’t budge. “Just for the record . . . since you want to be accurate and all . . .”
“Yes?” Lorna asked, her pen posed to strike.
“Her name’s Laurant. That’s Laurant, not Laura, not Lauren. We’re in love,” he added. “So you aren’t going to have to worry about printing another retraction. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”
When she didn’t answer right away, he squeezed her shoulders.
“Yes,” she said. “Nick loves me and I love him.”
Lorna had that ugly smirk on her face again. It was apparent she didn’t believe Laurant, and all of a sudden it became imperative to Laurant that the obnoxious woman be convinced.
“It happened just like that,” she said, snapping her fingers in front of Lorna’s nose. “I didn’t believe in love at first sight, but then I met Nick. I thought it was just plain old lust, didn’t I, darling? But then I realized it was real. I’m madly in love with him.”
Lorna’s small eyes were darting back and forth between Nick’s complacent grin and Laurant’s earnest expression.
“I’m going to quote you.” She made it sound like a threat.
“That’ll be just fine,” Nick told her as he turned toward the car with Laurant still tucked against his side.
Fortunately the car wasn’t parked far away. Nick opened the door for Laurant and then went around to the driver’s side and got in. Lorna stood on the sidewalk, watching them with a malevolent glare.
“I get the feeling Little Lorna doesn’t like you much,” Nick said, glancing back at the society editor in the rearview mirror.
“I can see why the FBI wanted you. You’re very observant.”
“My article’s going to be in the Sunday paper,” Lorna shouted. “Please try to stay in love until then.”
Infuriated because the woman wouldn’t believe her, Laurant hit the button to roll the window down and then leaned out. “I’m telling you for the last time, Lorna. This is true love. It’s the lasting kind.”
Lorna stepped off the curb. “Really.”
“Really,” Laurant repeated.
“Have you set a wedding date?”
It was a challenge, and it didn’t go unanswered. “As a matter of fact we have,” she said. “We’re getting married on the second Saturday in October at seven o’clock.”
“Is there a reason the wedding’s so soon?” she asked.
“We don’t want a long engagement. Besides, everything’s planned. Honestly, Lorna, everyone knows about this. You really should keep up, shouldn’t you? I mean, you are the society editor after all.”
Lorna’s response was a loud snort. “Still . . . planning a wedding in so little time. You don’t
have
to get married, do you? Is that the reason for the rush?”
“That’s it,” Laurant snapped as she reached for the door handle.
Nick grabbed her arm and hit the door lock. He was trying not to laugh, but he was dying to ask her what she would do if he let her get out of the car. Was she going to deck Little Lorna?
It suddenly occurred to Laurant that she was acting like a complete lunatic. She slumped down in her seat and rolled the window up.
“Will you please start the car. I want to get out of here.”
Neither one of them said another word until they had driven away from the town square and were heading for the abbey. Then Laurant exploded in a tirade. “Lorna Hamburg is the most opinionated, gossipy, nasty-spirited woman in Holy Oaks. I can’t abide her. She’s mean and cruel, and she loves to stir up trouble. How dare she not believe me,” she cried. “I’ve never, ever lied to her before. Never. But she didn’t believe me, did she? You saw the look on her face. She thought I was lying.”
A minute passed in silence and then Nick glanced at her. “Laurant?”
“What?” she asked, sounding downright surly.
He pointed out the obvious. “You were lying.”
“But she didn’t know that, did she?”
“Apparently she did.”
“Drive, Nick. Just drive.”
He laughed. He simply couldn’t help it.
She ignored him and stared out the window while she struggled to get her temper under control.
“You aren’t being very logical,” he pointed out. “What’s going to happen when this is over and I go back to Boston? Are you going to make Lorna print another retraction, or are you just going to admit that you lied to her?”
“I’m never going to admit I lied. Never. I won’t give that vile woman the satisfaction of knowing she was right. I’ve got a horrible reputation with the men in this town because of her lies.”
She folded her arms and stared down at her lap. She knew she wasn’t being reasonable, but she was too angry with the Gorilla to care.
“Lorna doesn’t have any ethics. None at all. I swear I’ll go to any lengths to avoid admitting I lied. I’d even marry you,” she exaggerated. “And you’re totally unsuitable.”
Nick slowed the car. “What do you mean, I’m unsuitable? What’s the matter with me?”
“You aren’t safe. That’s what’s the matter with you. You wear a gun, for heaven’s sake.”
“I told you before, it goes with the job.”
“Exactly.”
“There aren’t any guarantees in life, and there’s no such thing as completely safe, at least not the way you mean it. Bus drivers can be killed while they’re doing their job.”
“Oh? How many bus drivers do you think get involved in shoot-outs?”
He gritted his teeth. “I don’t know all that many FBI agents who get into shoot-outs, as you so quaintly put it,” he muttered. “You’re being completely illogical. You do know that, don’t you?”
Her spine stiffened. “Maybe I don’t want to be logical. What’s wrong with that?”
“Let me get this straight. Even though you know it’s illogical, you’d still marry me just to spite Lorna?”
Of course she wouldn’t do such a thing. And of course she wasn’t going to admit it to Mr. Always-logical-know-it-all. “What’s your point?” she asked
“Nothing. If you don’t see anything wrong with it, then I don’t either.”
She folded her arms and gave him a belligerent nod. “Good. October fourteenth . . . seven
P.M
. . . . Pencil it in.”
O
ne man’s trash could become another man’s treasure. That was Laurant’s hope, anyway, as she sorted through a dozen mildew-infested boxes of old, moth-eaten linens and broken knickknacks someone had stored in the attic over fifty years ago. By the time she stopped for the day, she was covered in a layer of dust, her white slacks were gray, and she was sneezing every other second from the moldy cardboard. Unfortunately, she didn’t find a priceless van Gogh or Degas painting tucked in with the trash. In fact, she didn’t find anything she didn’t consider old junk, but she refused to lose heart. She’d only just started the job, after all, and there were over sixty boxes still sealed for her to sort through.
Nick helped her haul the trash down four flights of steps on their way to the car.
“Do we have time to stop by the seamstress to pick up my bridesmaid dress?” she asked.
“Sure, if we hurry. We’re supposed to pick up Tommy and Noah in an hour. That’s enough time to shower and change.”
The minute they arrived home, she ran up the stairs, passing Joe on his way down.
“Just made the rounds and everything’s locked up tight,” he assured her.
Nick carefully draped the dress over the dining room table and headed for the kitchen to grab a cool drink.
Laurant rushed to get ready. She wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice and come out of the bathroom wearing an ugly, old, ragged robe, and so she gathered up everything she would need, including her sling-back shoes.
Twenty-five minutes later she decided she was as good as she was going to get. She was pulling out all the stops tonight, and so she wore
the dress.
It was short, it was black, and it had just enough spandex in the material to make it cling in all the right places. The flattering square neckline showed only a hint of cleavage. She’d worn the dress only once since moving to Holy Oaks, and that was when she had taken Michelle and Christopher out to dinner to celebrate their engagement. Michelle had nicknamed the outfit “the killer dress,” said it was indecently decent, and insisted that it was the sexiest thing Laurant owned. Christopher had been emphatic in his agreement.
Laurant stood in front of the mirror primping. She even curled her hair, but because she was so out of practice, she burned her ear in the process. She stared at her reflection and let out a loud groan. Why was she going to so much trouble to look pretty? She wasn’t a teenager in the throes of her first love, but she certainly was acting like one.
My God, was she falling in love with him? The possibility sent chills down her spine. When his job was over, he would leave.
“This is nuts,” she whispered as she slammed the brush down on the counter. She had a stupid crush on her big brother’s friend. That was all there was to it.
Her ego took a real beating when Nick entered the room. He barely noticed her. After giving her one quick once-over—probably making sure her shoes were on the right feet—he told her Pete was on the phone, and when Joe finished talking to him, Pete wanted to speak to her. Nick’s voice sounded strained, and she wondered why he seemed so preoccupied.
He was looking over her head. “Nothing important,” he said. “He just wants to hear how you’re doing.”
Nick got a whiff of her perfume as he passed her on his way to the bathroom. He pretended not to notice, just as he’d pretended not to notice how incredibly sexy she looked in that tight black dress. Until he closed the door. Then he leaned against it, bowed his head, and whispered, “Damn, am I in trouble.”
They were fifteen minutes late picking up Noah and Tommy. Nick drove the car up the back driveway behind the abbey and pulled up to the steps. He and Laurant were getting out when Tommy appeared in the doorway and came running down the steps. Noah was nowhere in sight.
He hugged Laurant. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” she assured him.
“Get back in the car.” He let go of her, opened the door, and tried to shove her inside, his anxiety apparent. “Nick, this is a bad idea.”
“Where’s Noah?” Nick asked. He waited until Tommy had gotten into the backseat, then slid in behind the wheel again.
“He’s coming,” Tommy said. “Why don’t we get carryout and go to Laurant’s house and eat. I don’t like the idea of her being out in public. It’s dangerous.”
She turned in the seat so she could see his face. “Tommy, I can’t stay locked in the house.”
“I don’t see why not.”
“The plan is to be seen, remember?”
“I know what the plan is,” he snapped. “Incite the madman to come after you.”
“He’s going to come after her,” Nick said quietly. “But we’d like it to happen sooner rather than later. We’ll be ready for him.”
“Like I said, this is a bad plan. Things can go wrong—”
Laurant interrupted him. “Did you know there are agents watching us right now?” She didn’t know if that were true or not. She was trying to calm her brother.
“Where are they?” he asked, craning his neck to look out the back window.
“You aren’t supposed to see them,” she said, sounding like an authority.
Tommy seemed to relax a little then. “Yeah, okay. Ah, heck. I forgot my wallet.”
“You’re not supposed to say that until the check comes,” Nick joked.
“I’ll just be a minute.”
Laurant watched her brother run up the steps and go back inside. “He’s more nervous than he was in Kansas City.”
“It’s understandable.”
Tommy came back outside a minute later and took the steps two at a time with his long stride. Noah was hot on his tail. It was then that Nick and Laurant saw what Noah was wearing. Nick started laughing first, but Laurant quickly joined in.
Noah was dressed like a priest in a black suit, black clerical shirt, and a white Roman collar.
“He’s gonna go straight to hell,” Nick said.
She had to look away so she could stop laughing. “Do you think he’s wearing a gun?” she asked.
“He has to carry a gun,” Nick said.
“All the time?”
“All the time,” he answered.
Noah didn’t bother with a greeting. He was determined to make Tommy agree with him on a subject the two of them had obviously been arguing about.
“I’m telling you, it isn’t normal.”
“Maybe not for you,” Tommy answered.
Noah snorted. “Not for any man.”
Nick guessed what they were quarreling about. “Celibacy, right?”
“Yeah,” Noah answered. “A priest never getting to have sex . . . that’s just not right.”
Nick laughed. Tommy shook his head and then tried to change the subject. “Where are we eating?”
Noah wouldn’t let the matter go. He couldn’t seem to get past the celibacy rule. “It’s just not healthy,” he said. “You don’t even notice all those women coming on to you. Do you?”
Tommy’s patience was wearing thin. “Yes, I notice,” he said. “And I ignore them.”
“That’s what I mean. It’s just not—”
Tommy cut him off. “Yeah, I know. It’s just not normal. Now let it go, Noah.”
Noah decided to accommodate him. “Damn, you smell good, Laurant. Or is that you, Nick?” he joked.
Before either one of them could answer, Noah said, “Have you noticed the ungodly number of vans in this town? Hell, they’re everywhere. I figure Wesson’s running the plates. He is, isn’t he?”
The question broke the carefree mood and the conversation became serious.
“I called him earlier to find out if he had any news. I figured he had run the plates on the cars of the workmen on Laurant’s block, but Wesson wouldn’t tell me anything.”
“What did he say?”
“ ‘I’m doing my job.’ That’s a quote.”
Noah sighed. “So, we’re the hired guns, is that it? He’s gonna keep us out in the cold.”
“It looks that way.”
“The hell with that. I’m not going to work blindfolded.”
Tommy began to grill Nick with questions and suggestions, and by the time they parked in the back of the Rosebriar Restaurant, Laurant had lost her appetite.
Noah grabbed Tommy’s arm when he tried to get out of the car. “Listen up, priest. You stay close. You go running off again, and I’ll shoot you myself.”
“Yes, all right. It won’t happen again.”
Noah smiled, his good mood restored. Tommy got out of the car and opened Laurant’s door for her. She swung her legs out and stood, self-consciously tugging on her skirt.
Noah let out a low whistle of appreciation. “You’ve got a beautiful sister, Tom.”
“It’s inappropriate for priests to whistle at pretty women.”
Noah glanced at Nick. “It’s been nonstop criticism since I put on this collar. I’m trying to be patient and helpful, but he’s making it tough.”
Tommy walked ahead with Laurant, his head bent down toward hers as they talked, and Nick fell into step beside Noah.
“Helpful in what way?” he asked.
Noah shrugged. “I offered to hear confession for one of the other priests, but Tom got all bent out of shape and wouldn’t let me.”
Tommy heard the comment and glanced back. “Of course I wouldn’t let you.”
“Your friend takes this priest stuff seriously.”
“All priests are supposed to take their job seriously,” Nick said. “I should have warned Tommy about your warped sense of humor.”
“He’s easy to rattle.”
“That’s because you know what buttons to push.”
“What about Laurant?”
“What about her?”
Noah winked. “Have you been pushing any of her buttons? I noticed the way you’ve been looking at her.”
“She’s off-limits. Wait up, Tommy,” he called out. “Let one of us go inside first.”
“Off-limits for you, or for me?”
“For both of us. She’s not the kind of woman you mess around with unless you’ve made a commitment.”
The cobblestone path curved around the building. Noah strode ahead of Tommy and Laurant while Nick trailed behind. Both agents were busy looking at the terrain.
Terra-cotta pots brimming with red and white geraniums lined the path to the door. The Rosebriar was an old sprawling Victorian-style house that had been converted into a restaurant. The dining room was richly appointed with crystal vases filled with spring flowers on all the white linen tablecloths. The china looked old and expensive.
The room they were shown into was in the back of the house, overlooking a duck pond and the woods. They were led to a round table in front of the window so they could enjoy the view, but Noah nodded toward a corner table and asked to be seated there instead.
The room was quite full. It was noisy with laughter. Quite a few families were dining with their children. As they threaded their way to the corner, heads turned to watch Laurant. Even the children were mesmerized by her. Laurant seemed oblivious to the admiring gazes of every man in the restaurant.
The waiter pulled the table out so that Laurant could sit in the corner. Nick sat beside her. Noah and Tommy faced them, but Noah hated having his back to the room, and so he angled his chair to see the other diners. He started to take his jacket off, realized his gun would show, and pulled it back up over his shoulders.
Tommy couldn’t sit still. Every other second he turned to look around the room. His head snapped up each time he heard a burst of laughter.
“Sit still and try to relax,” Noah ordered. “You’re drawing attention squirming in your chair like that. And quit staring at the other people. Don’t you know most of them?”
Tommy shook his head. “No, I don’t. That’s why I’m watching them.”
“Let us watch them,” Nick suggested. “Now get with the program. Okay?”
“I think you should try to smile, Tommy,” Laurant whispered. “We’re supposed to be celebrating tonight.”
“I’m going to order a bottle of champagne,” Nick said.
“What are we celebrating?” Noah asked.
Laurant held up her hand. “Nick and I are officially engaged.”
Tommy did smile then. “So that’s why you got all decked out tonight.”
“I’m not all decked out.”
“And you’ve got makeup on too, don’t you? You never wear makeup.”
She knew her brother wasn’t deliberately trying to embarrass her, but she still wanted to kick him under the table to get him to stop.
“Your hair’s different too.”
“I curled it. All right? Honestly, it’s no big deal. And by the way, if anyone asks, you’re thrilled that I’m going to marry your best friend.”
“Okay,” he said.
“Actually, I may have to marry your sister after all,” Nick said with a grin.
“How’s that?”
“She ran into a friend—”
“Lorna isn’t my friend.”
Nick nodded. “And Laurant will do anything to keep Lorna from saying I told you so.”
Tommy laughed. “Lorna’s always rubbed Laurant the wrong way. I guess you will have to marry her.”
He leaned back in his chair. His gaze bounced from Laurant to Nick, and then back again, and then he said, “You know that wouldn’t be bad at all. You’re kind of suited for each other.”