Stefanie London – Hard Deal (страница 7)
She headed outside and made sure her steps were slow and easy. Like she had all the time in the world. Balmy air brushed her bare arms and caused the panels of her skirt to flutter around her ankles. The scent of white flowers enveloped her in a heady, intoxicating hug. Every detail of this ball had been meticulously thought through—from the white roses and gardenia trees dotting the courtyard to the tiny white cakes sitting pretty on silver trays. It was impossibly romantic. Like a grown-up version of Alice’s Wonderland.
For a moment Imogen stood there, sucking it all in. If only she was here for fun and frivolity, rather than amateur sleuthing—all because Daniel couldn’t keep it in his pants.
Draining the rest of the champagne, Imogen set the flute down on a table. Liquid courage acquired.
Refocusing, she scanned the courtyard. No gold mask or Impressionist dress. They must have snuck off for some privacy. Imogen followed a path that led deeper into the mansion’s gardens, all the way to the stables at the back of the property.
She toyed with her phone. How on earth was she supposed to get a picture of them without being completely obvious?
Flying by the seat of her pants—or in this case, by the skirt of her sexy lace gown—was so
The stables were set back on the property, away from the main building. But against the brown tones of wood and trees, the mystery woman’s dress was easily visible. From this angle, Imogen couldn’t see Daniel and she
“Shoot,” she muttered. If she walked too much farther along the path she’d come into their view. There was only one option.
Sighing, Imogen hiked up her dress and bundled the length in one hand as she stepped onto the grass.
* * *
“I can’t believe you picked me out right away,” Caleb said.
Karolina made a snorting sound. “You’re wearing literally the most ostentatious mask I’ve ever seen, and I would know that cocky swagger anywhere.”
He chuckled. “Subtly isn’t one of my strong suits, huh?”
Karolina Petrov-Wells was a longtime friend of both his and Jason’s. She had a fun-loving, vibrant and vivacious personality and could make anyone smile. Which was why Caleb had crushed on her hard all through high school. But after sharing an awkward kiss in their university days, it was clear the romantic chemistry wasn’t there. They’d decided to remain friends and Caleb was happy it had turned out that way. She was the sister he’d never had.
“So, are you going to tell me why you dragged me out to the stables so we could ‘talk’? This doesn’t seem like the place where a lot of talking happens.” He waggled his brows in an exaggerated fashion that was about as far from sexy as he could possibly get. “Are you going to seduce me?”
“You wish.” She grinned. “Seriously though, I needed to escape for a minute. I swear, if my mother drags me over to one more ‘suitor’—”
“Suitor?”
“Yeah.” Karolina snorted. “She actually said that. Pretty sure she thinks we’re living in a Jane Austen novel.”
He shook his head. “I don’t see what the big rush is.”
“Well, I’ll be thirty next year, Caleb,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Apparently that means my uterus is about to shrivel up and die. I told her I didn’t need to get married in order to have a baby.”
Caleb stifled a laugh. “How did that go down?”
“Uh, not well.” She bobbed her head. “Not well at all. I don’t suppose you want to marry me?”
He raised a brow and Karolina burst into a laugh a second later. “Can you not even keep a straight face through your phony marriage proposal?”
“Sorry.” She pressed a hand to her stomach and shook her head. “The thought of it... We’d drive each other crazy.”
“We certainly would.” He raked a hand through his hair. “Besides, one sham marriage is enough for my family.”
Karolina made a tutting sound. “Stop that. Your parents are
“Okay, a one-sided marriage.”
“Not even that.” She placed a hand on his arm and squeezed. “Look, I know what they have isn’t perfect. But that doesn’t make it fake. Jase was telling me things have been tense between you and Gerald. You’re projecting. I bet he’s different when it’s the two of them.”
He made a noncommittal noise. “You sound like Jase.”
“That’s because he’s the smart one,” she said with a wink. She was winding him up now, the little minx.
“I’m not going to bite.”
“Damn, you’re getting too good for me.” She grinned. “I used to be able to tug on your strings a lot easier than that.”
“Not anymore, I’m afraid.” He slung an arm around her shoulder. “I’m awake to your tricks.”
“I guess we should go, huh? God, these things are such a drag.” Grinning, she turned her face up to his and planted a kiss on his jaw below his mask. She looked at him as if waiting for something, then she pressed her lips together. “Nope, nothing. Not even a little zing.”
He chuckled and wiped at his face where there was no doubt an imprint of Karolina’s bright pink lipstick. “Some people are meant to be friends, Karo.”
She sighed. “It would be easier if that wasn’t the case. Then we could get married and everyone would leave us alone.”
“No way,” he said. “You deserve the real deal. Hearts and flowers and all that shit.”
“And all that shit, huh?” She rested her head against his shoulder. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I wouldn’t object to having the perfect person land in my lap so I could skip the whole dating thing.”
At that moment there was a loud thud outside the stables followed by a high-pitched squeak. What the hell? Was someone spying on them?
“JUST FREAKING GREAT.” Imogen planted a hand on the ground and tried to stand. She could already tell there’d be a grapefruit-size bruise on her butt.
But bruises were the least of her problems. Her dress was stuck on a bush and her shaking hands couldn’t free it.
Everything had been going along smoothly, too. She’d found a window to peer through that was clear enough for her phone camera to get a decent shot of what was going on inside the stables. It was a trade-off—she couldn’t hear what either person was saying, but she had more places to hide than if she’d approached the entrance.
When Daniel had put his arm around the woman and she’d kissed him, Imogen had taken a perfect shot. But in trying to get the best angle, her sandal had slipped on a loose rock and she’d gone down like a sack of potatoes.
“Graceful as a baby freaking elephant,” she muttered.
All she had to do was get her dress free, then she could slip back into the ball with her phone in hand. Hopefully Daniel and the mystery woman hadn’t heard her. She strained to listen, but the only thing her ears picked up were the distant notes of the string quartet.
She located the offending pieces of shrubbery holding her captive and carefully extracted the lace. There was a hole but it was tiny. The dress was a loaner, and Imogen couldn’t afford to drain her bank account because of a stupid bush. Breathing a sigh of relief, Imogen got to her feet and tried to see where her phone had landed.
“Fudge nuggets,” she muttered, glancing up at the window. Thankfully there wasn’t a face peering down at her, but she
Hoisting her dress up, so it wouldn’t catch on the bush again, she searched the ground. The phone had bounced close to where she landed, so the blasted thing couldn’t have gone too far. Maybe it was on the grass behind her. The second Imogen turned her stomach plummeted.
Daniel stood in front of her, lips pressed into a hard line as he held her phone in one hand. Even though his face was mostly covered, he still managed to effectively radiate a “peeved as hell” vibe.
“I can explain,” she said, her mind kicking into overdrive. Which wasn’t a good thing—she tended to word-vomit when she got nervous.
“Go on,” he said, folding his arms across his chest and keeping her phone out of reach.
Out of the corner of her eye Imogen saw the mystery woman approaching, but Daniel waved her away. Once they were alone, Imogen sucked in a deep breath and pressed her hands to her stomach to quell the butterflies flapping up a storm.
“I don’t know how to say this, but I was following you.” Her mouth was drier than desert dust, but she forged on. “I know it was wrong, but I thought you’d lie if I confronted you. You have to understand, I’m looking out for Penny. I can’t have her marrying someone who’s cheating on her.”
Her words were met with a wall of silence, which only served to irritate her further. She balled her hands into fists as fury filtered through her veins. How could he stand there and not say a freaking thing? He wasn’t even defending himself.
“Seriously, did you think you could cheat and no one would ever find out? She
“Shite?” The amusement in his voice made her see red.
“Yes, shite. And I’m not going to allow it.” She stuck her hand out. “Give me back my phone. Now.”