Honeymoon With a Prince (Royal Scandals) (46 page)

“How so?”

“Did she tell you that she’s a successful closet designer?”
 
At Massimo’s curt nod, Robards said, “That much is true.
 
She’s excellent, in fact.
 
So excellent that a friend of mine offered to buy her business for a decent amount of money.
 
I actually counseled him against it—as great as Kelly is at designing, she’s terrible at accounting, and her business was well in the red—but my friend insisted.
 
He thought he could turn around the finances and make it a success.”

“And?”

“She accepted the offer.
 
Best financial decision she’s ever made.
 
But a few weeks later, she had seller’s remorse.
 
She had told me she planned to spend our marriage working for the philanthropical arm of my business—and I think it would have suited her—but she changed her mind.
 
Of course, by then the ink was dry on all the documents.”

On a roll now, Robards continued, “When I told her it was too late, she became irrational.
 
Started telling our friends that I’d manipulated her into selling, when the opposite was true.
 
It was hurtful, to say the least, both personally and to my business reputation.”

Massimo shifted as the clatter of dishes rose from below them.
 
He doubted they’d have privacy for long.
 
“You could’ve supported her in starting a new business.”

“I tried, but she was fixated on her closet design business.
 
I explained to her that when she sold, she’d signed a noncompete agreement—my friend needed to know she wouldn’t set up a competing operation if he wanted to make her old business thrive—and she was quite upset.
 
Apparently, she hadn’t read the paperwork even though I hired a lawyer for her.
 
I wanted her to be clear about what she was doing.”

Much as Massimo wanted to doubt the man, he knew Robards’ tale was all too common.
 
Newspapers were filled stories of smart businessmen who’d made colossal, career-ending mistakes by signing papers they hadn’t thoroughly vetted.
 
If Kelly thought a friend was offering her a good deal, she might’ve been careless.

“What does this have to do with me?”

“You told me you brought Kelly here tonight.
 
Is it a date?”

“That’s not your concern.”

Robards ran a hand over his jaw and nodded.
 
He was a man’s man.
 
Massimo would give him that.
 
“Understood.
 
But let me give you some food for thought.
 
I’m fortunate in that I’ve been successful.
 
However, success means I can be a target for unscrupulous people.
 
I’m sure you’ve dealt with a few of those yourself.”

When Massimo didn’t respond, Robards continued, “When Kelly ended our relationship, I thought it was over our disagreement regarding the sale of her business.
 
But what I’ve come to suspect since then is that, while discussing the finances of her business, she realized that she’ll never have access to the bulk of my cash.
 
It’s tied up in my companies and in my charitable works.
 
I’ve come to believe my money was her goal in the first place.
 
She targeted me.
 
I thought we’d met by chance, but now I’m not so sure.”

Robards glanced through the crack in the door, ensuring no one was coming, then turned back to Massimo.
 

“One afternoon I met a friend at a Dallas restaurant for lunch.
 
Kelly was at the next table, going over designs with a client.
 
The weather was terrible that day.
 
It’d been raining all morning.
 
I inadvertently left my umbrella on the bench…or so I thought.
 
When I went back for it, Kelly was holding it.
 
She’d picked it up, she claims by accident.
 
We got to talking, and that was the beginning.
 
But now…I just don’t know that it was random.
 
If she’d truly picked it up by mistake, she could’ve turned it in to the hostess.
 
But she waited for me to return.
 
She wanted to meet me.
 
I’m positive now she knew who I am and what I’m worth.
 
In your case, I
know
she knows.
 
You can’t hide your wealth or your family’s influence.”

“Well,” Massimo said, his words deliberate as he looked the man square in the eye, “that gives me tremendous insight.”

He could see why Kelly was attracted to a man like Robards.
 
The man carried himself with dignity, had charm to spare, and was good-looking enough that Massimo had noticed women’s gazes following the tall blond as he’d walked through the ballroom.
 
But Massimo didn’t believe for a second that Kelly would deliberately target the man for his money.
 
It didn’t fit with her independent personality or the sincerity with which she’d conducted herself since they’d met.

“Thank you.
 
I felt I had to speak up.”

“You should have stopped when you told me Kelly lacked financial savvy.
 
I might—
might
—have bought that.
 
But I don’t believe a word of the rest.”
 
Massimo gave Robards a smile he knew would leave the man no doubt he was being dismissed.
 
“Enjoy the rest of your evening.
 
I plan to enjoy mine.”
 

He pushed through the door to see the dance floor packed and Kelly sitting at their table alone.
 
As if drawn by Massimo’s presence, she raised her head, met his eyes, and smiled…then her gaze traveled beyond him, to Robards.

Her smile fell.
 

In that moment, doubt forced its ugly fingers into Massimo’s mind.

* * *

Two men were missing from the ballroom.
 
One she cared about.
 
One she didn’t.

It was the one she didn’t care about who worried her.
 

She hadn’t been gone more than five minutes when she returned to find Massimo gone.
 
He wasn’t on the dance floor, nor was he talking to his parents or siblings.
 
Perhaps, she thought, he’d taken advantage of her absence to make his own trip to the restroom.

Then she saw that Ted was gone, too.
 
Knowing Ted, who calculated each move he made with the precision of a general mapping out battlefield tactics, it wasn’t a coincidence.
 

Trust Massimo more than you distrust Ted.

She smiled to herself, resolved, and took a seat at the table.
 
Then, without knowing why, she looked up at the very moment Massimo emerged from a door at the rear of the ballroom.
 
Her heart leapt at the sight of him making a beeline toward her.

Then movement behind Massimo caught her eye, knocking back her anticipation.
 
She felt her smile falter at the same time Ted shot her a self-satisfied look and mouthed,
It’s over, Kelly.

What little she’d eaten turned to a rock in her stomach as the men approached.
 
Ted peeled off in the direction of his own table while Massimo yanked out the chair beside her.

“You’ve been talking to Ted,” she said.
 
The words sounded accusatory, even to her own ears, though of course Massimo had every right to speak privately with his guests.

His response held even more snap than hers.
 
“I have.”
 

She reached for her water glass, but it was empty, so she settled for toying with its stem.
 
“I’m sure he had plenty to say.”

“He did.”
 
Massimo’s voice demanded her attention.
 
She inhaled and tilted her head to face him as he asked, “Tell me why it ended.”

She should’ve known.

She wasn’t about to relive the humiliation again for Massimo.
 
Not if he was about to accuse her of what she thought…of what Ted convinced all her friends to believe.
 
“I’m sure he told you.
 
And if you feel you have to ask me, then you don’t have to ask.”
 

“Humor me.”

Fine.
 
“It was simple.
 
I believed everything he told me.
 
Until I didn’t.”

A pause.
 
“Did he cheat on you?”

“To his credit, no.
 
I don’t believe he did.”
 
Cheating her, though, that was another story.

“Then you’re saying he lied.”

“Yes.”
 
She pushed back from the table.
 
“Massimo, either you trust me or you don’t.
 
I’m not going to stay here and answer your questions.
 
I won’t pit my reputation against Ted’s.
 
I’ll lose every time.”

“Did he cheat you out of your business?”

“No, but he lied to me about it.”
 
She frowned at him.
 
“He told you that?”

“He told me that’s what you believe.”

Infuriating.
 
She’d spent the last few weeks proving to herself that she was worthwhile.
 
That she was good at her job and a professional.
 
In doing so, she’d hoped she’d proved herself to Massimo.
 
But to have Ted ruin that in the amount of time it took her to blot her mascara….

“Good night, Massimo.”

He stood and reached for her.
 
“Kelly, wait.
 
I don’t believe everything Robards told me.
 
I’m not that gullible.
 
But I need to know—”
 

“I’ll see you in the morning to say my goodbyes,” she said, stepping back from his touch.
 
“My flight home is rather long and I’d like a good night’s sleep.
 
Thank you for this evening.
 
The gown and the necklace are lovely.
 
I’ll make sure they’re returned.”
 

“You don’t have to go.”

“I most certainly do.”

She left the ballroom before he could touch her again.
 

Massimo thought her biggest fear was staying at the ball and facing Ted.
 
Oh, how wrong he was.
 
She’d proven to herself that she could face Ted.
 
She’d done it by leaving him when all her friends urged her to work it out.
 
She’d done it by hiring a lawyer when he’d taken her money, despite the fact the man had every resource at his disposal and might fight her forever over what amounted to a measly sum…to him.

On the contrary, her biggest fear was falling for Massimo and discovering her Cinderella night with him would end just as it had in the fairy tale…with her leaving the party alone, a vast hole in her heart.
 

Now she was forced to face that fear head on.

It was her own damned fault for allowing herself to believe in a princess fantasy when she knew better.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Massimo took a wickedly long, deep drink from his wineglass.
 

He
wanted
to believe Kelly.
 
He wanted to believe that Robards, for all his charm, was nothing more than a snake.

On the other hand, if Kelly had nothing to hide, why walk out on him?
 
The excuse about her flight was just that, an excuse.
 
If she was so intent on getting a good night’s sleep, she’d have mentioned it earlier.
 
As it was, she’d flirted right back with him when he’d mentioned wanting to see the closet later tonight, after they left the ball.

She’d left him wanting.
 
When he’d slipped his arm around her tonight and led her onto the dance floor, he’d allowed his mind to wander to what might happen later, when they returned to his apartment.
 
When he peeled off her gown.
 
Watched it slip to the floor.
 
Savored the expression on her face as he made love to her in his bed, as they were meant to, by the light of the moon.
 
All night.

But then she’d seen him with Robards and her heart had closed to him.
 
He’d recognized it as surely as a door slamming in his face.

He was about to find a waiter to refresh his wine when a feminine body slipped into the seat Kelly just vacated.
 

“Once again, Robert did an excellent job,” his sister said.
 
“You look positively debonair.
 
I assume that tuxedo was one of Robert’s selections?”

“It was.”
 
Sophia’s dark hair draped loosely around her shoulders and she wore a form-fitting, deep red strapless gown that suited her complexion and showed off more cleavage than he cared to see on his own sister.
 
She’d likely spent the evening beating off men with a stick.
 
He looked around to see if her choice of seat was a means to dodge suitors, but no one appeared to be looking their direction.