A Billionaire for Breakfast (6 page)

“Or maybe he just feels safe here.”

She slipped her clothes back on while
he watched her with those glistening eyes.

“Baby, you are a dish!”

“Ha! You sound like Bogie in a Warner
Brothers’ mystery.”

“You watch those flicks? I didn’t
think anybody under fifty did, except me.”

“I love them.” She wrapped her lean
arms about his neck, tussled the black hair. “Are you real, Angel? Or did I
make you up?”

“I’m real enough. See what you’re
doing to me?”

She didn’t have to look. She could
feel him growing hard against her.

“Do I have to leave? I wish I could
stay here on that cot with you all night!”

“No, it’s too risky. I don’t want
Mercer knowing about me.”

“Oh, but Angel, I told him about you!
I asked him to find you for me!”

“What did you tell him, exactly?”

“That I’d met a man on the beach
named Angel who rode a black motorcycle and fished around Cayman Brac, and I
wanted to find him again. He told me you weren’t good enough for me, that he had
rich friends with nice sons I could date. What have I done? If I’ve put you in
danger …”

“No, no, don’t worry about it. Anybody
could know me from the bike shop or the fishing docks. If he looked into it
he’d think I was a beach bum, like you said. I better take you back to
Diamond.”

“Is he an investigator, too?”

“Let’s just say he’s an ally. Come
on, before I change my mind and rip your clothes off again!”

“Oh, wait! Angel, I remember someone
mentioning Gayle! It was Jack Leonardi!”

“What did he say about her?”

“He said I was looking for a rich
husband, just like Gayle. He told Patrick that.”

“What’d the old man say?”

“I asked him who she was and he said
no one important.”

Angel’s eyes flared with an anger
that frightened Tess.

“You knew her?”

“Yeah, I loved her … once.”

“You loved her? You’re keeping things
from me. Please tell me all of it.”

“Gayle and I were going to be
married, ten years ago, but she didn’t think I was rich enough. So, she dumped
me and came down here to find somebody with more money. She wound up being
Patrick Mercer’s assistant, and his lover. I followed her here, tried to make
her see how stupid it was to live that kind of life. She wouldn’t listen.”

“And you stayed here anyway, all this
time, to watch over her, because you loved her?”

“Yeah, I’m an idiot, I know. But what
gets me is how I let her die. I couldn’t save her.”

“It was her choice, Angel. She was a
grown woman. No one really hired you to solve her murder case, did they?”

“Yes, they did.”

“Who then?”

“Me.”

Angel rode Tess back to Rebecca’s Cave
on another bike, this one a swift
Kawasaki
Ninja shaded a rich cobalt blue. She clasped her hands tight
about his waist as they flew up the hilly road. Her breasts were mashed against
his firm back; they tingled with desire as she felt him move beneath them. Her
insides were stirring; she was wet from the closeness of his hips. It was
frustrating in a delicious, wicked way.

She was disappointed when they
reached the cave. He motioned for her to get off then drove off without a word
though he did look back with an anguished gaze. It was tearing him apart to
leave her there, but he had a job to finish and he couldn’t let her jeopardize
it.

Diamond was waiting patiently,
blasting out a reggae groove on his CD Player.

“Well, here’s my girl! Did everything
go okay?”

“Sure. Could we go back to the Shell
House now?”

“Yeah, the old man was calling,
sounded pretty angry. But I told him we stayed here because of the storm. That
settled his feathers a bit.”

The boat ride to
Grand Cayman
was rough, the sea still choppy from
brisk winds and threatening clouds. Tess hid below in a small cabin, trying to
avoid nausea. And giving reign to a swell of miserable crying. All the mystery
and intrigue surrounding Angel and her new father was getting to her. But she
had to stay calm. Maybe if she tried she could discover whether Patrick was
guilty or not on her own.

Her phone began to hum, startling
her.

“Hello?”

“So, finally! I was beginning to
worry!”

“Kylie?”

“Yes, darling. You’ve been gone all
day, and I know you can’t have gone rock climbing that long! How’d it go?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean with Diamond! He is a beauty.
So how is he in bed?”

“You’ve got it all wrong, Kylie. We
only stayed here longer because of the storms. Are Patrick and Mom angry with me?”

“No, I calmed them down. Then that
gorgeous lawyer, James Fielding, showed up with the marriage license. They’re
giddy as two little lovebirds now.”

“I can’t imagine my mother being
giddy. I’m glad I’m not there.”

“Aren’t you okay with all this, Tess?”

“Oh, sure, I’m thrilled that they got
back together. But I guess I feel cheated somehow. Mom was always so curt and
unyielding with me. But suddenly she’s all light and airy and sweet as honey
with him.”

“That’s love, darling! Kind of the
way I felt when I met James this morning! Oh my, what a doll! And the
attraction seems mutual.”

“Now, Kylie, remember what you told
me about losing your heart?”

“Yes, but that was when I was after
billionaires.”

“So James isn’t very wealthy?”

“I haven’t a clue, and don’t care
either way. Ha! Can you believe this is Kylie Preston talking?”

“Not really, did somebody switch you
out with a clone?”

Kylie laughed. “Hurry on home,
darling! Toodles!”

The next day passed like a snail on
valium, as the Mercer household prepared itself for a quick but gaudy wedding.
Tess was frantic, trying to help out, but there were too many wrong orders, too
many assignments, too many fussing phone callers demanding service.

“God, I am so tired of this!” she
screamed in her head. “If I don’t find something better to do I’m going to go
nuts!”

Kylie came out of the kitchen,
carrying a mass of bouquets.

“I’ve got to take all this out to the
veranda.”

“I didn’t send an order for them.”

“No, I bought them myself, darling.
The planner called early, said her florist ran out of white roses so I whipped
up a few arrangements and told them I’d help out. It’s a wedding, and you know
how much I love those!”

She nodded, smiling.

“Yes, I do!”

“Poor Tess! I promised you a heart to
heart talk, didn’t I? I’m just sorry things didn’t work out with that hunk. Is
there a chance they still might?”

“I don’t know. You do mean Diamond,
right?”

“Who else? Are you holding out on
me?”

“No, no. But I don’t think Patrick
would approve of me dating his chauffer, anyway.”

“It isn’t the Middle Ages, darling!
If you want to see Diamond, go right ahead! I would if I wasn’t so hung up on
James Fielding!”

She flew through the house like a
flowery wind, left Tess catching the scent of white roses on the air. She
savored it, closed her eyes, imagining that she and Angel were standing under a
rose-bedecked arbor, saying vows while a crowd cheered them on.

The afternoon came and went; Tess
shrugged, everyone else was downstairs at Patrick and Meg’s big engagement
party. She had put in an appearance then took shelter in her room, a gloriously
pink and white boudoir that did not appeal to her at all. She was thinking
about getting a place of her own, maybe some cute little condo in
George Town
like some she’d seen on
House
Hunters International
. Patrick had given her a generous bank account but
she hadn’t used it yet. It was going to take awhile to get comfortable with the
idea that she could go anywhere and do anything she wanted.

Still, she was determined to help
Angel dig out the truth. Once Patrick and her mom were off on their honeymoon
she’d have plenty of time to search his den where he kept his files and laptop.
Not that she knew what she’d be looking for.

“What am I doing?” she asked herself.
“I can’t let her marry him. What if he is a killer?”

Then she started figuring out a new
plan – how to spoil her mother’s wedding – and maybe make Margaret Milan hate
her own daughter forever!

CHAPTER FOUR

“I can’t imagine why you’re doing
this, Tess!” her mother cried. “Patrick has explained everything about Gayle
Stewart. I believe him. Why don’t you?”

“Because it’s all very mysterious,
Mom.”

“No, it isn’t. She probably jumped to
her death on purpose. Patrick didn’t love her. She couldn’t handle it. It’s sad,
but true.”

“Boy, talk about doing a 180! For
years you didn’t trust any man, now the one who made you that way tells you
something and you believe him instantly, without question!”

“And why do you believe whoever told
you these lies, Tess? Who was it?”

“I’m not at liberty to say.”

“You mean you won’t say. All I know
is that for the second time in my life I have a chance at real happiness. I
will not let it pass me by this time!”

With that she marched out of Tess’
bedroom and slammed the door to her own. Tess held off crying, would not allow
herself to weaken. She only had twenty four hours to find out the truth. After
that, her mom would be married to Patrick Mercer. But she was no Miss Marple or
Jessica Fletcher. How was she supposed to figure out who the killer was?

Her mind drifted back to Angel
constantly. He had loved Gayle Stewart. Could the suspicions he had be trusted
when he was so close to the victim? Maybe she wasn’t a victim. Maybe it was as
her mom had said – Gayle threw herself into the empty pool because Patrick
wouldn’t marry her. But why did he marry five times and not be resigned to a
sixth? Tess had seen photos of Gayle on internet news sites. She was sinfully
beautiful, very tall with long chestnut hair and smiling brown eyes and the
fullest lips - the kind of woman no normal man could resist. Why did Patrick
shun her?

Tess was trying to come up with a
plan when it hit her that the perfect time to expose everything would be the
wedding day. All the players would be there; everyone who knew Gayle, even Jack
Leonardi. Tess had made sure he was on the invite list. She’d sent word to
Angel, through Diamond, to come as well. It would be a huge, all-day bash with
the ceremony taking place at sunset. Surely somehow she could find out the
answer there.

By lunchtime most of the guests had
arrived. Tess, looking radiant in a shimmering blue dress, played at being the
perfect hostess, shaking hands until she thought her own would fall off. She
chatted with the ladies, flirted with the men, pretending to be happy and light
on such a festive occasion, when deep inside she was sick with worry and
desperate to see Angel again.

The head butler, Charvet, was
announcing the name of every guest as they entered as if they were in some old
movie about royalty. When he said the name Anthony Garrett, the hairs on the
back of Tess’ neck tingled. She whirled around and saw Angel standing there in
his tux, looking beautifully sexy. All female eyes followed him in the bright
sun of the tropical afternoon – he walked straight to Tess and kissed her full
on the mouth.

When he released her she gasped for
air. “Why did you do that? I thought you were keeping a low profile.”

“I couldn’t help myself. You look
good enough to eat. Take me up to your room.”

“No, I need you to help me. We’ve got
to expose Patrick before the wedding!”

“And how do we do that?”

“I don’t know. You’re the
investigator, think of something.”

“Baby, all I can think of is how to
get that dress off of you.”

She felt goose bumps go up her spine
at his provocative suggestion. There were hours yet. They had time. She nodded,
led him up the back stairs where they wouldn’t be noticed. Oddly, though, as
she glanced back to see if the coast was clear, Diamond was standing in the
kitchen doorway, staring at Patrick Mercer with an unaccustomed vehemence. It
stunned her.