One Stolen Kiss (24 page)

“You’re doing pretty well,” he taunted her. “And you’re still not telling me everything. I’m impressed.”

Christie groaned into his chest, shivering as he drew a slow line down her spine.

“You’re a beast,” she murmured, and her teeth grazed his nipple, sending a lightning bolt straight to the heart of his desire.

“
Shouldn’t have done that,” he grinned, and turned to slide her back underneath him. “That’s another hour forfeit before you’re allowed to get up…”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

Two identical dark blue sports cars were waiting on the narrow slip road, at the very top of Eileen’s estate.

“
Pick one,” said Adrik, as they strolled up. “Sat-nav is already set up for our magical mystery tour. Same destination, different routes. I’ll meet you there.”

“
Why two separate cars?” Christie asked, mystified.

“
In case you change your mind,” he replied. “Easier for you to chicken out of heading off into the unknown with me, if you’re driving yourself in another car. Better than if you’re simply stuck in the passenger seat having regrets, wondering how to broach the subject.”

He opened each of the cars with their remotes.

“You can look in the trunks,” he said. “We’re not being used as mules or stooges for any Sicilian smugglers.”

“
Or New York gang-bangers,” she mused, walking around each pristine car slowly. She pursed her lips to prevent voicing any speculation about Russian family members. The idea of a mystery tour appealed to her youthful sense of mischief returning. “Do I win anything if I get there first?”

“
A speeding ticket,” he replied, and threw her a set of keys as she patted the rear spoiler of her chosen ride. “Don’t fall off any mountain-sides. You’ll find a cradle for your phone and it’s got hands-free speaker connections available. Other than that, it’s all standard. No surveillance tracking, no listening devices, no cameras, no bombs…” He grinned at her expression. “What I’m saying is, you won’t be in trouble if you take a detour. Or change your mind. Ready?”

She nodded, and he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“We’ve got a late lunchtime reservation for two-thirty,” he told her. “Just under four hours. Should be a piece of cake.”

“
I’ll need more than a piece of cake after driving for four hours,” Christie joked, and he laughed, as they both walked to their driver’s doors. “See you there.”

“
I hope so.” Adrik blew another kiss and put on his dark glasses, before getting into his car.

Christie followed suit, sliding onto the leather seat and finding the adjustment to move it forwards, fixing the mirrors for her line of sight, and then setting up her phone to connect to the car’s smart system. She cursed Adrik as he pulled away first.

“Not so fast,” she muttered, touching the ignition, rewarded by an instant throb of the engine, that gave her a small thrill.

The navigation system lit up, and she was prompted to select the one pre-set journey.

DRIVE SIX HUNDRED YARDS AHEAD AND TAKE THE EXIT NORTH.

Christie glanced at the screen.

She knew exactly what was due north of Lake Como.

Journey One,
the navigation display read.
Lake Como, Italy – Bern, Switzerland.

* * * *

The tyres of the sports car ate up the climbing, winding roads while the engine barely hummed, a lot of power at its disposal making it seem like little effort as it cruised along the Alpine route.

Christie felt strange to be back in Switzerland. It was ten years since she was last here. The day was stunning, perfect sunny weather, and still. To be here again was oddly elating, but even the sky and the mountain-sides themselves felt loaded with memories and echoes of her past, waiting to open up like a whole Pandora’s Box of trouble.

I’m different now.
She knew it, and she was evidence of it.

Instead of the rogue European punk rebelling against her parents by hitch-hiking around the countryside, running away to French and German festivals, camping alone and skipping train fares – who had eventually been given the ultimatum of the finishing school, where they worked as proud curators on behalf of the absentee owner, or an American boot camp – she was a graduate of the finishing school, an Arts graduate of a good French University, and a savvy Manhattan businesswoman. Now conditionally engaged to one of the Russian rich list and entrusted by him to drive a car that she was fairly certain wasn’t available to the general public.

And yet she couldn’t stop herself from wondering, every time she passed the dots of farm buildings nestling amongst the steep hills, whether they were any of the farms she had stolen hen’s eggs from while camping as a teenager.

It’s like I’m two different people. Good Christie and bad Christie. Exactly what Adrik said I was.

He must be bringing her here for a reason. Perhaps to try and loosen her tongue.

“
He doesn’t know the half of it…” she muttered to herself, shaking her head.

Her phone rang on the dashboard, interrupting the radio station she was listening to, and she reached over to press Connect. Something made her glance quickly to check Caller ID first.

DEREK GOLDMAN calling…

Christie’s hand froze, hesitating, until she had to change down a gear for a bend, her driving instincts fortunately still alert. She swore anyway, as a truck came the opposite way, making her grateful for what could have been a narrow escape.

Pretend you’ve only just met. Play along. See what he’s after…

She changed back up the gears again on the straight before answering.

“Hello – Christie Harding speaking,” she said.

“
Christie,” Derek’s voice greeted her. “Derek Goldman. We met yesterday, at your engagement party… congratulations, by the way.”

“
Thank you,” she said, cordially. “Sorry if we lose signal at all – I’m driving at the moment.”

“
Ah. Going anywhere nice?”

“
Just a bit of sightseeing,” she replied. “What can I do for you?”

“
I was chatting to Adrik last night. He doesn’t seem to think the two of you are struggling with any PR issues at the moment.”

“
No,” Christie agreed, and her confidence in Adrik cranked up several notches. “He has things under control pretty well, I’d say.”

“
I’ve unexpectedly got some space in my agenda,” Derek continued. “So I thought I’d let you know that I’m here for you if there is anything that you’re not coping with personally. Maybe that you don’t feel you can confide in him about. Jealous ex-boyfriends coming out of the woodwork, that sort of thing. Everyone has a past, Christie. It’s all about good PR management.”

“
That’s very kind of you,” she answered, concentrating on the road and reminding herself not to let her guard down. “I think I have it covered for now. So what happened to your unexpectedly free agenda? Not due to having been ill, I trust? I hope your regular clients aren’t that fickle.”

“
Well…” He laughed, and she could hear him sounding uneasy, and even a little paranoid himself. “Olga Rose has moved on already. But she’ll be back once she’s been spotted throwing up her lunch in a Soho toilet, or accused of smuggling something. These younger models need someone keeping them in line full-time. Right up until they’re older models, some of them.”

“
Oh, I am sorry.” Christie couldn’t stop herself from grinning.
Good for Olga
. “It sounds like a twenty-four hour job, definitely.”

“
Are you sure there isn’t anything bothering you?” he continued, his tone curious – almost desperate.

Christie guessed that if he was merely acting having forgotten her being a part of his life, he was having a hard time believing that she was putting on such a good pretence of not having ever known him either – and he was waiting for her to crack first.

With any luck, she’d have him wondering if his TIA had given him a false memory syndrome of their relationship, and he’d only imagined the last two years. There was no evidence of them together, after all. Not even DNA evidence would show up, if they went around his East Hampton and Bermuda homes with a fingerprint-dusting kit, swabs and a blacklight.

“
Nothing comes to mind, Mr Goldman,” she replied, a little coldly.

“
I don’t want to worry you,” he continued. “But I’m sure there were some rumours about Adrik and Olga that might need to be addressed. And maybe even some about you… gossip can be very undermining to a new relationship…”

Rumours that he started
, Christie thought to herself.
Bastard…

“
I’ve known Adrik for over ten years, Mr Goldman,” she said, the truth of it even more satisfying than simply saying it in her own defence. “If we have any remaining secrets from each other then there’s a good reason for it, trust me.”

There was a pause.

“Over ten years…” Derek’s voice echoed.

“
That’s right.” Christie gritted her teeth, changed down two gears, and overtook a pickup truck full of milk churns trundling between farm sites.

The car purred by with ease, and she resisted allowing it to accelerate until it was flat out, levelling the speed and the gears again to keep it suited to the mountain roads.

She also avoided adding anything to the extended pause.

Your move, Derek
, she thought.

“
Strange,” he said, at last. “I can’t find any news matches for you together prior to a fortnight ago.”

“
I guess that means we’re just good at keeping our private life private,” she replied, and decided to quit while she was ahead. “I’m just approaching a tunnel, so I’ll say goodbye for now. Thank you for the offer, and I’ll be in touch if there’s anything you can do for me…”

“
Oh. Goodbye…” he began, and she cut him off.

“…
Like drop dead,” she muttered to herself, and then, grinning, let the car open up a little as the road straightened out.

* * * *

Adrik was standing by his own car, saving the space alongside, as she pulled into the old town parking lot nearest the cathedral. His grin as she approached was so happy and relieved that it made her want to cry.

“
Made it, then?” he greeted her when she got out, and his hug lifted her clear off the ground. “Mmmm – I forgot how good you smell. Nothing but the smell of performance car for the last four hours. Although that’s quite sexy too.”

“
It is,” she agreed. “I had fun.”

“
Yes, I think you got the better route,” he said, wryly. “Are you hungry? I hope this place we’re heading to does schnitzel. Haven’t had that for years.”

“
Ooh – me too.” Christie clutched her stomach as it growled in anticipation.

“
Everything all right?” He reached for her hand, and they began walking. “I didn’t know if you’d been back in the country since you were at school…”

“
I hadn’t,” she said, truthfully. “It’s strange. Mostly happy memories, though.”

“
Mostly?” he prompted, and squeezed her hand.

“
Mostly,” she nodded, and they shared a smile.

* * * *

“Derek Goldman rang me while I was driving,” Christie admitted, over the menus. “He was fishing to see if I would hire him behind your back.”

“
Did you consider it?” Adrik asked.

“
No,” Christie squirmed at the thought. An amused glint seemed to have appeared in Adrik’s eye. “I think he’s arrogant. Olga fired him.”

“
Good for her.” Adrik echoed exactly what Christie had thought herself when she heard the news. “Sounded like he should have apologised to her as well yesterday for the misunderstanding. I was a bit disgusted that he didn’t. Kept insisting that he was in the right, and put her on the spot. Forced her to explain in public.”

“
I felt bad for her too,” Christie agreed. “She told me a few things about him afterwards…”

“
Ah.” Adrik’s brow went up. “That was her in the bathroom?”

“
Yes.” Christie nodded.

“
I guess that was Derek trying to get in, while you were climbing out of the window…?”

She nodded again.

“Okay.” Adrik sipped his soft drink. “I don’t want to lose my appetite. Let’s not worry about that now. You can tell me the rest later – if you want to. I’ve got something I have to tell you.”

Slightly relieved that she wasn’t under the pressure she had been expecting following the revelation, Christie wondered if Adrik had been bottling something up of his own in the meantime.

“What is it?” she asked, giving him all of her attention at once.

Hoping it was nothing bad… nothing worse than Russian Mafia connections, anyway… and that was pretty serious…

“We’re getting married tomorrow,” he told her.

The menu slipped out of her hands, off her lap under the table, and smacked onto the floor.

“Here,” he added. “In Switzerland. Almost everybody we know is already visiting the immediate area, the venue was available… when you said yes, it made more sense than leaving plans until much later after the engagement party. Things might leak out, and be spoiled by – certain people interfering.”