London Falling (35 page)

Aimee was here. In the police station.

Not even twenty-four hours had passed, and Aimee had already gotten arrested for trying to ride the Tube without paying. Twenty-four hours of the worst hell Simon had ever been through. He’d barely slept a wink, he hadn’t focused on work, and he hadn’t thought about anything except Aimee. And trying to find a way to win the princes’ business. He’d been so angry with his father for putting such a stipulation on his inheritance. All because Aimee had no money.

And now she was stuck here. For jumping a turn style, no less. It didn’t sound like something Aimee would do, but maybe she was getting desperate.

Of course, she hadn’t called him, and she would never ask for help. Her independence was one of the things he loved the most about her, but it also infuriated him the most. Thank God the detective had seen Simon’s name on her theft file and called him.

At least now he had another chance to convince her that they could make things work. Although he still didn’t have a solution to his father’s edict, at least Aimee couldn’t leave while she was being held by the police. He’d try to convince her one more time, and then bail her out, because he couldn’t bear the thought of her spending a night in jail.

“Good afternoon,” a dark-haired bloke in a suit said from the doorway.

Not the same guy from before. “You must be Ruleford?”

Simon nodded. “Where is she?”

“They’re in back.”

Simon froze. “They?”

The detective looked down at a sheet of paper. “Aimee Kennedy and Rodney Stone. You do know them, right?”

Aimee was here with Rodney. Rodney! After all this time, she’d finally found him. That was probably why she jumped the turn style: to chase him down. Well, there was no way was he bailing out that tosser. “I know Aimee.”

The bloke motioned for Simon to follow. Their footsteps echoed in the cold marble hall. Simon followed him into a room, where a black-haired man and a blond woman sat at a cheap conference table.

Simon froze. That wasn’t Aimee. Unless did she have a wig on? He circled the table to look at their faces. Where was the cute pixie face with wide eyes and chocolate sprinkled freckles? The woman glared at him. It wasn’t Aimee.

“Is this some kind of joke?” Simon asked.

The detective stepped forward. “What do you mean?”

“This isn’t Aimee Kennedy.”

The woman gave him a nasty glare. “I’m Aimee Kennedy,” she said with an American accent.

Was Simon wrong? Had he been doubly played? Was this the real Aimee Kennedy and the one who was in his house just pretending? No. He’d seen her passport. And RPS had checked her out. Clearly, they would know.

Wouldn’t they?

“No. I know Aimee. And you aren’t her.”

“I’m Aimee.”

The other bloke lost all his bravado and sank back in the chair. “Give it up Audrey. He knows.”

Simon turned his attention to the bloke. He was good-looking, in a movie-star way, which made Simon hate him all the more. “Rodney, I presume?”

He nodded.

“Sorry about this.” The detective cleared his throat. “I have a call placed into the American Consulate, but they haven’t faxed over their photos, yet. I guess I should have waited until I had confirmation that she was who she said she was.”

Simon glared at him, and the detective visibly reddened. What was the problem with Scotland Yard these days? First, they couldn’t find Rodney if he’d been staked out in front of the station. And now, they were arresting the wrong people? Hell, Simon had sold fairy cakes illegally for a week and no one had even blinked an eye. He turned his attention to the two people sitting at the table.

“Have you seen Aimee recently?” he asked.

Rodney shrugged. “I haven’t seen her since before Christmas. I assume she’s home by now.”

Simon clenched his fists. This bloke should have been hung from his fingernails. “How could she be home, if you took all of her money and her plane ticket home?”

“What are you talking about?” Rodney looked confused.

“What did you think? That Aimee wouldn’t file a police report?” Simon asked.

“Dude, I seriously don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Dude, I suppose you think that you’re here so the police can give you a medal for citizenship?” Simon asked, mocking him. How could Aimee have trusted such a bastard? Simon pictured Aimee throwing Rodney against the wall when he wouldn’t take no for an answer. He had a sudden urge to smile.

“Dude,” Rodney said, drawing it out until it sounded almost like an epithet, “I’m here because we jumped a turn style on the Tube.” He looked at Audrey, who stared down at the desk. He switched his attention to the detective. “Tell this loser why we’re here.”

“You were brought in because you jumped a turn style,” the detective said.

Rodney crossed his arms and shined a knowing grin in Simon’s direction The detective continued. “You’re going to be charged because you stole the belongings of Aimee Kennedy.”

Realization dawned on Rodney’s face. “Jesus Christ! I didn’t take anything from her. Aimee’s lying. I would never do that. Aud-tell them I wouldn’t do that. You were there. Tell them.” He looked at Audrey who looked at the table where her finger circled a tiny knick in the formica top.

His mouth dropped open. “Jesus, Aud. You took her stuff`?”

The look of horror on Rodney’s face was enough to make Simon take a step back. Rodney was telling the truth.

“When? Why?” Rodney asked Audrey.

Audrey turned to face him, a look of complete scorn on her face.

“Because she’s a total bitch! It was Aimee this and Aimee that. When you were packing up your stuff, I took it down to Haven’s car. I wanted to get back at her for stealing you away from me.”

“It wasn’t like that,” Rodney said. “I told you we’re just friends.”

“Ri-ight.” Audrey crossed her arms and turned away from him.

“You two already knew each other?” the detective asked.

Simon almost rolled his eyes. His powers of deduction were amazing.

Rodney nodded. “We dated in High School. But Audrey moved here with her family and we had to break up.”

“Did Aimee know you were planning on getting together with your ex-girlfriend?” Simon asked.

“Current girlfriend,” Audrey corrected.

Rodney didn’t say anything. He just glared at Simon. Simon would have bet a million pounds that Aimee didn’t know anything about it, but Rodney was trying to keep Audrey happy, which meant pretending that he and Aimee hadn’t had anything together.

“Is Ms. Kennedy on her way to the station?” the detective asked. “We need her to press charges.”

“I don’t see how that’s possible, considering I thought that Aimee was already at the station until five minutes ago. I failed to notify her.”

“Well, she has got to come in to file charges. When she does, she can also claim her belongings,” the detective said.

After all the cupcakes and all the drama, Aimee was finally going to have her things back. And a way to get home. He was happy for Aimee, but now he wouldn’t have her near him. He had to take one more chance to convince her that he could get around his father’s edict.

“I can take her things,” Simon said.

“Sorry. We can only return recovered items to the owner. You understand, I’m sure.”

Now the bloke was following policy? “Fine. I’ll let her know her things are here.” He turned to Rodney. “You owe Aimee an apology. Make sure she gets one,” he said. He wanted to slam his fist into the bloke’s face, but considering their locale, it didn’t seem like a great idea. Besides, he was almost starting to feel sorry for the bloke. He had to deal with Audrey.

“I’ll be back shortly with Aimee,” Simon told the detective.

“Can’t you simply ring her?” the detective asked, looking at his watch.

Simon shook his head. He needed to see Aimee to convince her they still had a chance.

Simon headed out to his car, and he was a bundle of nerves by the time he reached Lucy’s flat. Twice he had to stop himself from tapping his fingers on his thighs in anticipation while he waited for someone to come to the door. What if she wasn’t here? What if she was out selling fairy cakes already?

Lucy finally came to the door. Her hair was done up, but she had on a dressing gown and bare feet. “What are you doing here?” she asked, opening the door to let him in.

“Can’t a brother come round to see his favorite sister?” He stepped inside. No sign of Aimee. She wasn’t in the front entry or the front room.

Lucy twisted her mouth into a disbelieving expression.

“Fine. I came to see Aimee.” He clasped his hands together. “They found her things.”

“They did?” Lucy’s voice went up about five octaves. “That’s fantastic!

Oh, Aimee will be so pleased.”

“I know. So, uh, where is she?”

Lucy looked confused. “Isn’t she at your place?”

No. No, no, and no. She had to be here. Because if she wasn’t here ?

“Please tell me that Aimee stayed with you last night.”

Lucy shook her head. “I haven’t seen Aimee since we had lunch on Tuesday. Why would you think she’s here?”

He needed to sit down. He collapsed onto the bench by Lucy’s front door and put his face in his hands.

“Simon?” Lucy asked. “What’s wrong?”

He shook his head and spoke through his hands. “She’s really not here?”

“No.” Lucy sat down on the bench next to him. “Simon, you have to tell me what’s wrong.”

“Aimee left.”

“What did you do to her?” Lucy asked, shifting away from him.

Simon looked up. “What do you mean, what did I do to her? I didn’t do anything.”

She stood up. “You had to do something. That woman worshipped the ground you walked on. All through lunch on Tuesday all she could talk about was you.”

“I hate to burst your bubble, but Aimee broke up with me after Father threatened to disinherit me if I didn’t get rid of her. And I can’t figure out a way to convince her to come back.” Now she was probably sleeping on the street somewhere. How in the hell was he going to find her? His heart paused between beats. The fairy cakes. She’d be somewhere selling the things.

“You don’t think she broke up with you because of the money?”

“No.” He shook his head. “She’s got too much integrity for that.” At least he hoped she did. He supposed a small part of him was still worried about it, even though he couldn’t believe that of her. “I can only guess that she didn’t want to cause me to lose my inheritance. But if I win the business, she won’t.”

Lucy’s mouth opened slightly. “You really care for her don’t you?”

Simon leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. Lucy remained silent. Strangely silent. He lifted his head to look at her, and she was biting her lip like she’d done something wrong.

“Lucy? What did you do?”

Lucy stared at the ground. “I may have told her about Nealy. And well, I might have um told her that you would never get serious about her.

Since she doesn’t have any money. And because of what happened with Nealy.”

Simon felt his jaw go slack. “When did this conversation take place?”

“The night of the benefit.”

Simon held back a frustrated laugh. The same night he’d realized he was in love with Aimee, his sister had told her she didn’t have a chance. “Why?”

“I could see she was starting to have feelings for you, and I didn’t want her to get hurt.”

“What did she say?”

“She called Nealy a bitch. And she reassured me that she knew she didn’t have a chance with you.”

That sounded like Aimee. Even if she had cared for him, she’d never reveal it to anyone, especially after being told she didn’t have a chance. She kept her emotions so deeply hidden, as if she feared what people would say if they found out her true feelings. He’d had to tug and push to get her to open up even a tiny bit, but it had been worth it. She wore her shell to keep from getting hurt, and it motivated everything she did-from not accepting charity, to walking out on Cupcake like she didn’t give a fig.

He loved her. And he wanted to be with her. Now he just had to find a way to convince his father that he and Aimee were meant to be together. His father couldn’t keep up this ridiculous threat when he saw how happy Aimee made him. Simon jumped up, adrenaline pumping and plans racing through his head.

Simon headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“To find Aimee.” She’d be in all the same places, selling her fairy cakes.

He left Lucy’s and was in his car before he realized one very important fact that he’d overlooked.

If she were living on the street, she had nowhere to cook. She couldn’t be selling fairy cakes.

Which meant that he really had no idea where to start looking.

Chapter Sixteen

Dottie waved to Lucinda once again. It was the third time in two days that she’d run into her. Of course, it was also the fifth time Dottie had been by William’s flat.

“Back again?” Lucinda said.

“I’m working on a charity lunch,” Dottie said. It was a total lie, but she didn’t want everyone to know she’d been stalking William Elkington.

“We really need to get together for lunch soon,” Lucinda said.

Dottie tried to smile, but her lips wouldn’t cooperate. Lucinda was everything about her old life that drove her absolutely crazy, so Dottie nodded politely, and waved as Lucinda walked down the street. Then she walked up the steps to William’s flat.

But doubt niggled at her thoughts. Was she doing the right thing?

William was part of this world. If she said yes to William, would she be committing herself to charity lunches, and event planning, and business dinners for the rest of her life?

She’d only just started to find herself. Was she going to lose herself in a man once again? She’d loved her husband. And she’d given up her own life to be with him, whether consciously or unconsciously. At one point in time, she’d had dreams of her own. She wanted to travel the world. She wanted to find her own passion and follow it. And now that she finally had the chance, was she going to throw it all away again?

She couldn’t give up this chance to find herself, even though she was infinitely attracted to William.