Chapter 84
“Oh, Michelle,” she murmured. Unable to resist the urge, she reached out to rub the hem of the dress between her thumb and forefinger. “You stupid, stupid girl.”
“What?”
“This must have cost a fortune.”
She shrugged. “It wasn’t that much.”
She said it with such innocence that Candace almost believed her. “You can’t snow me, Michelle. I know it was. Don’t insult my intelligence by pretending I don’t know what a dress like this would cost.”
“I know the designer,” Michelle hedged. “He let me have it at cost.”
“And it still probably cost a lot. Even if I was going to go—which I’m not—I wouldn’t wear this. I have a perfectly acceptable dress.”
Michelle stared at her blankly for a minute before a look of profound distaste settled on her face. “You mean the red one?”
“It’s burgundy, but yes, that’s the one I was planning on wearing. It’s a nice dress.”
“You’ve worn it too many times.”
“No,” Candace protested. “And that wine stain is hardly noticeable.”
“Maybe Michelle is right. You don't want to look like a social worker when you get there.” Andrew cut in. He infused the words social worker with roughly the same inflection he would use to say sewage treatment engineer.
“What's wrong with being a social worker?”
“Nothing. But you don’t want to look like one. Not in a room full of Quinley's wealthiest and most beautiful. You’ll never get his attention that way.”
“Besides, you don’t have the burgundy dress anymore.” said Michelle.
“Of course I—”
“I got rid of it.”
“You what?” If it had been anyone else, she wouldn’t have believed her capable. But in her own way, Michelle was as bossy as she was. Throwing out her dress so she’d have to wear the one she'd picked out was exactly the sort of childish thing she'd do. “When?”
“Three days ago while you were out.”
“While I was out? Possibly even when I was out begging for money for Andrew.”
Michelle just rolled her eyes while Andrew chuckled. Of course she had no idea how humiliating it was. Particularly when you ended up kissing someone you had no right being attracted to. In that light, her sister getting rid of the admittedly ugly burgundy dress was the least of her worries.
“It doesn’t matter,” Candace said. “I’m not going tonight.”
“You have to go.” Andrew waved a hand over the teal dress. “And in this, he’ll notice you. You’ll look gorgeous.”
For the briefest instant an image flashed through her mind of what it would be like to walk into the party tonight dressed in this beautiful gown. Oh, it had been a while since she’d worn something this lovely. She itched to put it on. To feel the silk shimmer and slide beneath her fingers. To feel the weight of it sway against her legs.
To feel the weight of Nolan's attention as she walked into the room. Sure, he hadn’t wanted her in jeans and an old sweater, but she’d like to see him walk away from her while she was wearing this dress.
Whoa, hang on there, Sparky. You’re not going to the party. You’re not wearing the dress. You’re certainly not trying to snag Nolan's attention.
She raised an accusing pointer finger at Andrew. “Stop trying to distract me. It doesn’t matter how I’ll look. He’s not going to give me the money.”
“He loved you, Michelle. And when he sees you in this—” Michelle began.
“But he doesn’t love me now. He doesn’t even like me. He’s not going to give me the money just because I’m wearing a pretty dress.”
“Candace,” Michelle chided. “This isn’t just a pretty dress. This is a knock-his-socks-off dress. He has to see you in this.”
“But—”
“Just promise me you’ll go.” Andrew snatched at her hands and held them tight within his own. “Just talk to him again. Promise me.” His palms were sweaty against hers. His tone desperate, his eyes pleading.
“Andrew, what is wrong?”
“Nothing. I mean, beside the gun-toting bad guys who want my appendages.” His smile was overly bright. “You guys stay here and commune with the dress. I’m going to get you a cup of coffee.”
“No, I’ve already had—” But he’d disappeared around the corner before she could get out the words “too much caffeine.”
What was she going to do with him? His life was in danger and here he was making her coffee and encouraging her to wear expensive clothes. At times he seemed to have no common sense. He had clearly been living well beyond his means all these years and yet didn’t seem aware of what his means even were.
Something suddenly felt wrong. She stared at Michelle, picked up the dress and said, “I'll think about it,”
She ignored the smile on her sister's face and headed out of the bedroom, but instead of going to hers, she went to Andrew's.
She surveyed his bedroom when she came in. To avoid looking at the dress any more—lest it stir any more images in her mind of bringing Nolan to his knees—she dropped it on a chair and wandered around the room, scooping up clothes to toss in the wicker hamper that sat unused in the corner. Then she quickly made the bed. She found one pillow down at the footboard, the other on the floor on the far side of the bed.
When she picked up the pillow, she noticed something sticking out from under the bed. A set of blueprints.
She stared in confusion at the thick sheaf of papers. Andrew had a lot of interests, but architecture had never been one of them. The plans lay flat, unrolled with some of the pages folded back over the set to reveal a page in the middle. The words Messina Diamonds were printed across the top of the page.
She flipped from one page to the next, dread growing in her belly. There were multiple pages for each of the six floors that Messina Diamonds occupied in their downtown building. Floor plans, design specs and electrical information. There was also page after page of information about the building in general. Pages for Carrington Security and for other businesses she didn’t recognize the names of.
She heard Andrew out in the hall and instinctively shoved everything back under the bed. She straightened just as he entered with the fresh mug of coffee.
“What are you doing?” His tone was sharp with caution.
“Just looking for your pillows,” she said quickly. “Was going to my bedroom, but you know me, I can’t help but pick up after everyone.”