To Catch a Groom (11 page)

“The three American
signorine
you detained two days ago have just arrived at the short-term parking area of the airport in a blue Fiat.”

Signore Galli’s brows lifted in surprise. “I thought they were in the custody of the commissioner at Colorno.”

“I’m afraid he was prevailed upon to let them go.”

The other man’s eyes narrowed. “It would not have happened if I had been in charge.”

“I’m sure of that,” Max said in an ironical tone. “Therefore I’m enlisting your help.”

“Whatever I can do.”

“I have reason to believe one of the Americans is attempting to take the original pendant out of the country.”

His eyes screwed up. “You mean it is a different one from the three they were wearing when they arrived?”

“Confidentially, I believe they are acting as messengers for the person who stole the whole Maria-Luigia collection.”

“You mean—” Max could hear the officer’s mind working. “They wore the fake pendants here, then got hold of the real one to wear back?”

“Si.”

“That is very clever.”

“So are you, Signore Galli. You have a nose for your profession.”

The other man’s face warmed with pleasure.

“However I must have proof,” Max added.

“Of course, signore. As soon as they reach the outer doors, my men will pick them up and escort them here. My office across the hall is at your disposal.”

If Signore Galli was acting, he gave a convincing performance of total innocence.

“Grazie. Send the one with the lavender eyes to me first.”

Without wasting another moment, Max entered the empty office. Once he’d closed the door, he pulled out his cell phone and rang Nic.

“Where are they now?” he asked when his cousin acknowledged.

“Lugging their suitcases through the upper level to the doors. I never saw three females so determined.”

The Duchess sisters were headstrong all right. A breed of women all their own. “You’ll be happy to know Galli’s men are ready and waiting.”

“What’s your gut impression of him by now?”

Max pursed his lips. “I could be wrong, but I don’t think he’s involved. There was a kind of earnestness in his desire to help that didn’t seem feigned, but you can never be sure.”

“That is true. I’ll swing the car around in front of the terminal and wait for you.”

“Good. Expect us in about twenty minutes. Ciao.”

While he waited, he lounged against the desk and phoned Luc who was standing by on the
Piccione
.

“How’s the leg?”

“I picked up another prescription of pain killers. The pills should be working any minute now. How are the
belles mesdemoiselles?
”

“According to Nic,
obstinées comme d’habitude.
”

As both men were chuckling, he heard footsteps outside the door. “Sorry to cut this short, but our lovely jailbirds have just flown in.
A tout a l’heure, cousin.
”

“Oui.”

He hung up and waited with growing excitement to see the shocked look on Signorina Greer’s face when she discovered him inside the room. But instead of the door opening, he heard a familiar female voice say, “Knock, knock, Signore Max. Come out, come out, wherever you are.”

He opened it and glimpsed a pair of eyes that glittered like amethysts in the sunlight. But the mocking smile on that luscious mouth of hers was all he needed to see black.

“Sorry to spoil your surprise. I’m afraid the man of mystery revealed his true colors a long time ago.”

“Basta, signorina—”
Signore Galli warned in a forbidding voice. “Enough! You do not know to whom you are speaking.”

The man came to Max’s defense so quickly, he was convinced Fausto Galli was simply a dedicated agent doing his job.

“Of course I do! I may not have been told his real name,
signore,
but I know him very, very well. He is the shark who has been biting at my heels since I made the unfortunate mistake of swimming in these waters.

“He’s the one who took me for a little roll beneath the
waves to soften me up. There’s nothing he enjoys more than playing with his victim for a while first. A little nip here, a little tuck there.”

A surge of adrenaline exploded inside Max’s body. “Touché, Signorina Greer— Acid-tongued and predictable as ever.” He looked at Signore Galli. “Grazie. I’ll handle this from here.”

“Handle what?” she lashed out. “You’ve got us where you want us. No more games. Do your worst so we can go home.”

Pleased to see she’d lost some of her cool, he smiled. “I’m glad you recognize there’s no escape. Signore Galli? If you will please instruct some of your men to accompany the other
signorine
to the front of the terminal with their bags, I’ll escort Signorina Greer myself.”

“Of course.”

Without waiting for a response from her, he picked up her suitcase, then cupped her elbow to guide her down the hall. She shook off his hand as if it had scalded her and walked ahead of him. It gave him the opportunity to watch her long, beautiful bare legs move faster and faster.

Even without a shower or fresh makeup, and still wearing the same pink skirt and top she was dressed in when she dived overboard last evening, she moved with a feminine grace that was stunning to watch.

Her sisters arrived at the Fiat first. While Nic helped them into the back seat, the security men loaded the bags in the trunk. Max opened the front door for his proud Duchesse pigeon as he’d started to think of her, then he went around and got behind the wheel.

The silence was palpable throughout the drive from the terminal to Genoa’s harbor. From time to time he caught Nic’s grin through the rearview mirror.

Just for the fun of it he turned on the radio to a music station that played a lot of songs in Italian and English.
As soon as he heard an old Dean Martin classic, he turned up the volume and sang along.

“When the moon heats your eye like a beg pizza pie, that’s amore. When the moon starts to shine like you’ve had too much wine, you’ll know you’re in love…”

“Oh please—” the woman sitting next to him moaned before bursting into uninhibited laughter.

It was totally unexpected and it enchanted him.

She
enchanted him.

By the time they could see Luc waving to them from the boat, her sisters’ uncontrollable laughter had joined in. But his senses were only attuned to her.

“I would do more tricks for you if it would make you laugh like that again, Greer.”

“A bilingual shark who
seengs
off-key. I underestimated you,
signore.
Better to hear a woman laugh than cry, eh?”

“I would never wish to make you cry.”

“What
do
you wish,
signore?
”

“To help you and your sisters enjoy the rest of your vacation.”

“No. You want us to help
you
enjoy
your
vacation. Admit it!”

He and Nic got out of the car and assisted their guests to that part of the pier where the boat was moored.

“I admit there is nothing we would enjoy more than to spend nine more uninterrupted days and nights in your delightful company. But you’re wrong in assuming that we’re on vacation.”

She stood there with her arms tightly folded at her waist, not willing to step one foot on the
Piccione
. “That’s right. The security guard works hard at spotting rich women for you. You work hard at relieving them of their unnecessary jewels. When you’ve exhausted that avenue, you work hard at seducing them. I forgot.”

“You wound me again,
bellissima.
”

Her head reared back, giving him an even better view of her provocative mouth. “That’s another lie. I don’t see a mark on you.”

“The deepest ones are hidden, but we’re digressing from the point.”

“So there is one?” she derided.

“On the surface, Luc, Nic and I are guilty of everything you’ve said.”

“Tell us something else we don’t already know.”

“Gladly, Greer. We’re working undercover to find the person or persons who stole the Maria-Luigia jewelry collection from the ducal palace in Colorno. It’s one of Italy’s greatest treasures and the object of an intensive search that has involved the CIA, Scotland Yard, Interpol and Italy’s top investigators.

“Perhaps now you can imagine that your arrival in Genoa wearing three identical Duchesse pendants, drew a collective gasp from not only Signore Galli, but the hundreds of other security people who’ve been involved in this case for over a year.

“If the American agents had done their part before you left Kennedy Airport, you would never have been allowed to board your plane. Needless to say, their intervention would have spared you all the unpleasantness you’ve been forced to suffer in the last forty-eight hours.

“From our point of view however, the Americans’ lapse in security did us an inestimable favor. Though you’ve been cleared of any wrongdoing and are free to go—as you found out when you spoke to your attorney from the trattoria—you’ve unwittingly provided us with a valuable piece of information the jewel thief doesn’t know about yet.

“Here is the point you were so charmingly urging me to make, Greer. We would like you to stay in Italy long
enough to help us lay a trap for him, or her, or them. Whoever it is…

“You don’t have to cooperate, of course. It might even be dangerous to do so, though we’ll do everything in our power to protect you.

“If your answer is no, I will drive you to the airport right now and send you back to New York first class on the next plane leaving Genoa.

“If your answer is yes, we will go below for a meal and discuss our strategy in detail.” His gaze took in all three of them. “The decision is yours,
signorine.
”

Greer eyed her sisters, not knowing what to believe. She eventually flicked the first mate another suspicious glance. He stood there with his long powerful legs slightly apart, his hands clasped in front of him.

“If you’re on the level, why didn’t you just say all this at the airport in front of the head of the security?”

“Signore Galli may be one of several security people operating on the wrong side of the law. We’re not certain who we can trust, perhaps not even the commissioner at the jail in Colorno. That is why we pretended to be members of the crew of the
Piccione.
”

“I knew none of you were who you claimed to be,” her voice grated.

“You’re no captain!” Piper blurted.

“Nevertheless I have done a lot of sailing in my life,
señorita.
”

“And you’re no chef!” Olivia accused the man named Luc.

“
Non, mademoiselle.
But I like to cook now and then.”

“If you showed us identification, we’d never know if it was fake,” Greer practically hissed the words. “Are you going to tell us Signore Moretti is your superior?”

The first mate’s eyes had narrowed to slits. “No. A personal friend. He lent us the car.”

“
And
the boat?”

“Yes.”

“Of course he did. Everybody has a friend who owns a catamaran worth close to a million dollars who just lets you take it when you want.”

“You watch too many American movies, Greer.”

“No—that was our mother,” she snapped.

“We’d still like to see your ID,” Piper insisted.

Without hesitation the men pulled out their wallets and passed them around. Greer was still staring the shark down when Olivia handed her the first one.

Nicolas de Pastrana, Marbella, Spain: six-three. Brown hair, brown eyes. Age thirty-four. Gorgeous photo.

The next one came around. Lucien de Falcon, Monacoville, Monaco. Whoa: six-two. Black hair, gray eyes. Age thirty-three. Another gorgeous photo.

Greer’s hand trembled when Olivia handed her the third wallet. Maximilliano di Varona, Colorno, Italy. Maximilliano— Hah! He’s six-three. Black hair, black eyes. Age thirty-four. No photo of him could be as breathtaking as the real thing.

The way European names were put together could be misleading. All of the men had a “de” or a “di” following their first names, which could mean nothing more than the fact that they were the son of so and so. Or it could be a sign they were part of an important family. Take your pick.

No doubt these exceptional male hunks had handpicked their fake names for a reason. One she and her sisters would never know about. She lifted her head and handed him back his wallet.

“I still don’t believe a single word you say.”

He chewed on his lower lip. “Would it help if I told you I’m chief counsel for the House of Parma-Bourbon?”

“You mean
you’re
the one who had a long talk with my father’s attorney? The one who affected our release from the prison?” Greer let out an angry laugh. “And would it help if I told you Piper is really the Duchess of Guasfalla, Olivia is really the Duchess of Piacenza, and I’m really the Duchess of Parma?”

“Come on, Greer,” he said in a thick toned voice. “Let us put the jokes aside.”

“Y
OU
know who I am.”

She blinked her eyes with great exaggeration. “I do?”

“You as much as admitted it in your jail cell.”

“I did?”

“You did,
mademoiselle,
” Luc asserted. “Max told me and Nic all about the Husband Fund, so there’s no use denying it.”

Nic nodded. “The calendars are the proof,
señorita.
To be more specific, the scene in the pastry shop in Parma?”

“You mean where Violetta didn’t give Luigio any of her chocolate biscotti? What does that have to do with anything?”

“They weren’t the only two characters in that picture,” the first mate inserted. “There was a third character recognizable due to the ducal corona emblem.”

“Oh that— He was just the local pompous peacock strutting about town in his fancy duds trying to impress everyone with his family title. You know…the symbolic, typical, flamboyant Italian male, all puffed up with self-importance.

“If you took careful notice, Violetta was only toying with him to make Luigio jealous. She really adores Luigio who suffers from a private tragedy he keeps to himself. She’s determined to find out what it is. Deep inside she really admires his humility. But we’ve gotten off the subject again.”

“That’s another touching story, Greer,” Max said, sounding oddly violent. “I’m surprised you’re not a writer.”

He moved closer to her, invading that circle of space she needed to think clearly. “But you’re right. We’ve strayed from the main line of questioning. Are you going to tell me you didn’t admit to using the Husband Fund to go spouse hunting?”

“I admit it, but I still don’t have a clue who
you
are.”

“You mean you just picked me out of a group of candidates?”

“I might have done if you’d been lined up on the stage at a bachelor auction. For a guy who’s been over the hill for thirteen years, you’re still not half bad.”

His hands were no longer clasped in front of him. They’d formed fists at his side. “Over the hill?”

“Yeah. After twenty-one
all
men go downhill, but as I said, you’re still pretty well preserved even if you have some gray hairs at the temple. However getting back to the point
I
was trying to make before you interrupted me, I thought I saw a shark in the pool of the Splendido.

“No one could have been more surprised when I discovered it had legs and had started walking toward
moi.
If you recall, I waited until I was asked before joining you for a swim.”

His features took on a chiseled cast. “So what you’re saying is, you were so desperate to find a husband, you were willing to go after the first male who approached you, not knowing one thing about him? Not his name? Not his background?”

“Wow!” Her eyebrows lifted. “You sound just like Daddy. I wouldn’t be surprised if you faked your age along with your name on your driver’s license. Are you sure you don’t have a daughter tucked away somewhere? You know—do as I say, not as I do?”

There was an uncomfortable moment of quiet before he said, “Positive.”

Puzzled by his brief, quiet answer she said the next thing
that came into her head. “I knew you were a good swimmer. Does that help”

“That’s important to Greer,” Piper interjected. “That’s how Don got her to go out with him in the first place.”

“Larry had a phobic reaction to water. That’s why he could never get to first base with her,” Olivia explained.

“Guys— Signore Maximilliano doesn’t want to hear about my love life any more than I want to hear about his.”

“Then you admit that a man over the hill can still have one,” he insinuated. It was a borderline sneer.

“Of course. And you’ve already told me about yours. It’s the one thing to come out of your mouth I believe with all my heart.”

His lips suddenly twitched. “When did I tell you about it?”

“You said, and I quote, ‘If there’s one thing I know about women, they don’t feel dressed without their purse.’ You certainly couldn’t have made a statement like that unless you’d had prior knowledge.

“But if we could possibly tear ourselves from the riveting subject of your frantic love life, I’d like to know how you thought up such an amazing name for yourself. Obviously it was coined from the bloody days of the Circus Maximus.

“But it truly is fantastic. I mean, if there is an honest to goodness Maximilliano who’s a duc or something equally pretentious running around Parma, does everyone really have to call him by his whole name?”

To her surprise, all three men exploded with laughter. The full-bodied kind that brought tears to their eyes.

“Very well, Greer,” he said as soon as quiet reigned once more. “It’s clear we’ve reached a stalemate, a term you as an American will recognize from your own courts
of law. In the case of Duchess v Varano, trust is lacking on both sides of the Atlantic.”

“That was brilliant, signore. I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

He gave an almost imperceptible aristocratic bow that to her surprise seemed instinctive. “Knowing and accepting that fact, I’d like to offer a plea bargain.”

“Plea away,
signore.
”

The corner of his compelling male mouth lifted. “We really are trying to catch a jewel thief.”

She squinted up at him. “I can believe that. A collection of jewels falling into your hands might not make you as rich as the Count of Monte Cristo with Nic and Luc here impersonating the Count of Cabalconti and company. But you’d at least have enough to cover taxes on all the money you make under the table so to speak.”

His smile broadened. “Good. We’re making progress.”

“
Are
we. How nice.”

“Come to Monaco with us on the
Piccione
,” he urged, his eyes focused on her mouth. “A handful of people we’ve considered prime suspects will be there for the Grand Prix. With your help we might be able to flush them out.”

“We need your help,” the captain spoke up.

“No way, Jose,” Piper responded. “The next thing we know we’ll end up at the mercy of some potentate from outer Mongolia! Greer’s right. You’d sell us to the highest bidder for profit.”

“Then I have another suggestion,” Luc interjected. His gaze had traveled to Olivia. “Since you are such an excellent driver, you take your sisters to Monaco in the Fiat.

“We’ll sail the
Piccione
to the Port d’Hercules and join you at my apartment. That way you won’t have to fear we’ve pirated you away to some distant shore, never to be
seen or heard of again. I have to admit that would be a great tragedie.”

One look at Olivia’s eyes and Greer could tell her sister was tempted. She’d dreamed of seeing the Grand Prix for years.

“It’s a good plan,
signorine.
” The so-called Max had spoken again. “Give us tonight and tomorrow. Then we’ll put you on the plane home from Nice.”

“What exactly do we have to do?” Greer demanded.

“Just be the people you were when you came to the Riviera. We’ll introduce you as the Duchesses of Kingston. There is no such English title anymore, but most people wouldn’t know that, so don’t change one iota of your story.” His eyes flamed like black fires, reminding her of the first time she’d seen him at the pool. “Wear one of those filmy, floaty concoctions I hung up in your closet.”

Her legs almost buckled from the sensuality in his tone and look. “And the Duchesse pendants of course,” she added.

“Of course.”

“And when we’re not being used for bait, what
other
plans do you have for us?”

His elegant shrug fascinated her. “Whatever your heart desires. A private dinner and dancing on a palace patio dripping with bougainvillea, followed by a swim in a secluded lagoon.”

Goose bumps broke out on Greer’s skin. As for Olivia, her eyes were glowing a hot blue.

“Instead of swimming, I’d rather go on to a club where some of the Formula I drivers are partying and get their autographs.”

“That could be arranged Mademoiselle Olivier.”

“What about you,
señorita?
” Nic asked Piper.

“I’d rather go to bed early, then get up at dawn and
walk around making sketches of everything for a new line of calendars I have in mind.”

“I’ll prepare a picnic for us. While you draw, I’ll feed you.”

“Just no olives, Spanish or otherwise.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “I promise. Only chocolate truffles and pastries. I happen to be a chocoholic myself.”

For once Greer’s sisters wouldn’t look at her.

They were
caving.
But who could blame them? Whoever these men really were, Greer and her sisters had no business being around them.

“Where exactly
is
this supposed apartment of yours, Monsieur Luc?”

He flashed Greer a silvery glance. “I will draw you and your sisters a map.” For a man needing a cane, he got around with amazing speed and returned from the cockpit with paper and pencil in hand.

Greer could just imagine where his diabolical map would lead. Probably straight to the island castle where poor Edmond Dantes had been imprisoned.

“Don’t worry, Greer,” the dark stranger interjected. “You won’t have to drive as far as Marseilles. In any case, the Château D’If is now a museum.”

Flame scorched her cheeks. He was doing it again. Reading her mind.

Luc handed Olivia the paper.

Greer smirked at Max. “X marks the spot.”

His heart-stopping smile was in evidence once more. “You may even find your ultimate treasure there.”

Her eyelids narrowed. “It’s always about the treasure, isn’t it,
signore.
” She wheeled around. “Come on, guys. Let’s go.”

She picked up her suitcase and started walking toward the parking area. By the time she’d reached the car, her
sisters had caught up to her. Olivia opened the trunk and they stashed their bags.

“Are you mad at us?” Piper asked after they’d driven off.

“No.”

“Yes, you are,” Olivia gainsayed her.

“Maybe a little. But after you caught me kissing Maximus the Great in the stateroom, I have no right to point a finger.”

“Even if they are a bunch of liars, we weren’t exactly telling the truth ourselves when we pretended to be real duchesses. It won’t hurt us to try to find Luc’s house and enjoy ourselves a little before we go home.”

“Come on, Olivia,” Greer complained. “Do you honestly think they’re going to let us near an airport before the nine days are over? Because if you do, I have a pendant in my jewelry box worth a million dollars I could sell for double that depending on the right buyer.”

“Greer! What’s happened to you?” Piper cried.

“Not a thing.”

Olivia gave an emphatic nod of her blond head. “Yes, it has. You’re different. You’ve been different since the night you jumped into the Splendido pool with the splendid Maximilliano. Let’s face it. You finally met a man who caused you to lose your inhibitions,” she reasoned.

“Now you’re angry because he’s the one man on earth you don’t know if you can trust. Worse, after we go home, you know no other man is ever going to make you feel the same way again.”

Her sisters stared at her in that pitying way she couldn’t abide.

“I’m not feeling
that
bad!”

“Yes, you are.”

“For someone who gets your directions confused when
you drive, it was very clever of you to notice we were sailing in the wrong direction yesterday.”

“We know how much you’d love to visit Elba and Monte Cristo.”

“Your sacrifice was heroic.”

Greer took a steadying breath. “So was yours. I know how much you were looking forward to telling Fred and Tom you skied on the Italian and Spanish Riviera.”

“So we’ll water ski some more with the guys when we get back home.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah.”

“It’ll be fun.”

“Sure it will. The Hudson Riviera.”

“At least it’s safe.”

“Yeah.”

“The guys never pull any surprises. They just ski.”

“Yup.”

“They don’t try to be something they’re not.”

“Nope.”

“They wouldn’t know how.”

“Nope.”

“They speak one language.”

“Football.”

“Yup.”

“I bet Tom doesn’t know Pope Gregory was Greek.”

“He isn’t Catholic.”

“Nope.”

“Fred hates Italian food. He says olive oil makes him sick.”

“Yup.”

“I bet Don’s never heard of Spanish olive oil.”

“Nope.”

“It’s for sure he doesn’t have a clue Venus rose from the sea. He thinks it’s a planet.”

“Yup.”

“They’re sweet.”

“Yup.”

“They’re boring.”

“Yup.”

“They’re looking for a wife.”

“And the crew of
Piccione
are looking for a one-night stand,” Greer reminded them. “I for one don’t plan to give in when I don’t know one thing about Maximilliano, even if that is his real name, which it probably isn’t.”

“But you know the chemistry’s there,” Olivia stated. “That’s something neither of you can fake.”

“So now I’m supposed to let desire take over?”

“Not completely. Just enough to wangle a marriage proposal out of him. That was the whole purpose of the Husband Fund. If you hang in there, then you won’t have to pay back the $5,000 after we get home.”

“Is that what you’re going to do with Luc?”

“I’m thinking about it. I could always grab his cane and beat him over the head if he tries to force himself on me.”

“They don’t need to force themselves on women,” Piper muttered. “If anything, I would imagine it’s the other way around. We’re probably such an anomaly, it has made them chase after us.

“But I know this momentary thrill they’re feeling won’t last. The second we
let
them catch us long enough to wangle a proposal out of them, they’ll run so fast we won’t have to dump them.”

“Piper has a point,” Olivia said over her shoulder. “Before we left Kingston, you were the one who reminded us we had to try hard to find a husband, Greer.

“To be honest, at this point I’d rather be wined and dined for the next twenty-four hours than have to go home and work my head off for another $5,000 only to have to give it back to Mr. Carlson.”